The accomplishment of the Engineering Design Activities of IFMIF/EVEDA: The European–Japanese project towards a Li(d,xn) fusion relevant neutron source

TLDR

The IFMIF plant design is closely tied to the EVA phase begun in June 2007, and ongoing activities demonstrate the maturity of the European–Japanese collaboration. The IIEDR enables construction decisions and guides the next development step to meet the fusion community’s evolving needs. The IFMIF EVEDA phase finished on schedule in summer 2013, producing the engineering design report and incorporating design improvements such as reduced beam losses, lower operational costs with superconducting accelerators, a relocated quench tank, separated irradiation modules, enhanced remote handling, water‑cooled liners, and a revised maintenance strategy for shorter yearly stops and better sample management.

Abstract

The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF), presently in its Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (EVEDA) phase under the frame of the Broader Approach Agreement between Europe and Japan, accomplished in summer 2013, on schedule, its EDA phase with the release of the engineering design report of the IFMIF plant, which is here described. Many improvements of the design from former phases are implemented, particularly a reduction of beam losses and operational costs thanks to the superconducting accelerator concept, the re-location of the quench tank outside the test cell (TC) with a reduction of tritium inventory and a simplification on its replacement in case of failure, the separation of the irradiation modules from the shielding block gaining irradiation flexibility and enhancement of the remote handling equipment reliability and cost reduction, and the water cooling of the liner and biological shielding of the TC, enhancing the efficiency and economy of the related sub-systems. In addition, the maintenance strategy has been modified to allow a shorter yearly stop of the irradiation operations and a more careful management of the irradiated samples. The design of the IFMIF plant is intimately linked with the EVA phase carried out since the entry into force of IFMIF/EVEDA in June 2007. These last activities and their on-going accomplishment have been thoroughly described elsewhere (Knaster J et al [19]), which, combined with the present paper, allows a clear understanding of the maturity of the European–Japanese international efforts. This released IFMIF Intermediate Engineering Design Report (IIEDR), which could be complemented if required concurrently with the outcome of the on-going EVA, will allow decision making on its construction and/or serve as the basis for the definition of the next step, aligned with the evolving needs of our fusion community.