ITER Test Blanket Modules: Design & Purpose

[fys iks!]

Not sure if applicable here but I was doing some reading on ITER the fusion reactor. I have read about "Test Blanket Modules" being designed by both China and the United States. I understand that these blanket modules will be used to surround the reactor however I was wondering if these test blanket will surround the full reaction or just special sections. For example are these test blanket modules going to completely surround the plasma or are they just special modules for breeding purposes and other modules will surround the bulk of the plasma.

I couldn't find any info on this any help is much appreciated thanks.

 

[Astronuc]

Not sure if applicable here but I was doing some reading on ITER the fusion reactor. I have read about "Test Blanket Modules" being designed by both China and the United States. I understand that these blanket modules will be used to surround the reactor however I was wondering if these test blanket will surround the full reaction or just special sections. For example are these test blanket modules going to completely surround the plasma or are they just special modules for breeding purposes and other modules will surround the bulk of the plasma.

I couldn't find any info on this any help is much appreciated thanks.

http://www.iter.org/mach/blanket

The blanket covers the interior surfaces of the vacuum vessel, providing shielding to the vessel and the superconducting magnets from the heat and neutron fluxes of the fusion reaction. The neutrons are slowed down in the blanket where their kinetic energy is transformed into heat energy and collected by the coolants. In a fusion power plant, this energy will be used for electrical power production.

For purposes of maintenance on the interior of the vacuum vessel, the blanket wall is modular. It consists of 440 individual segments, each measuring 1x1.5 metres and weighing up to 4.6 tons. Each segment has a detachable first wall which directly faces the plasma and removes the plasma heat load, and a semi-permanent blanket shield dedicated to the neutron shielding.
. . . .

Looking back 10 years - US Participation in the ITER Test Blanket Module Program (2003)
http://sites.apam.columbia.edu/fusion/Presentations_Papers/Abdou_Presentation.pdf

ITER First Plasma was predicted in 2013.

The objectives of the blanket would be to protect the magnetics and structure from high energy (14.1 MeV) neutrons and to recover as much of the 14.1 MeV (~80 % of the kinetic energy released in dt-fusion) as possible.