Thermohydraulic responses of a water-cooled tokamak fusion DEMO to loss-of-coolant accidents

Nakamura, Makoto; Tobita, Kenji; Someya, Yoji; Uto, Hiroyasu; Sakamoto, Yoshiteru; Gulden, W.*

Major in- and ex-vessel loss-of-coolant accidents (LOCAs) of a water-cooled tokamak fusion DEMO reactor have been analysed. Analyses have identified responses of the DEMO systems to these accidents and pressure loads to confinement barriers for radioactive materials. The thermohydraulic analysis results suggests that the in- and ex-vessel LOCAs crucially threaten integrity of the primary and final confinement barriers, respectively. As for the in-vessel LOCA, it was found that the pressure in the vacuum vessel reaches its design value due to the LOCA even though a pressure suppression system is in service. As for the ex-vessel LOCA, the pressure load to the tokamak hall due to the double-ended break of the primary cooling pipe was found to be so large that integrity of the hall was crucially challenged. Mitigations of the loads to the confinement barriers are also discussed.