In fusion reactors, the Breeding Blanket (BB) is essential for both heat extraction and tritium breeding. With-in the BB, the First Wall (FW) which forms the plasma-facing boundary is one of the most critical and tech-nologically challenging components to manufacture as it is subjected to extreme operating loads. Extensive research over the past three decades mostly among ITER member states has focused on developing robust FW manufacturing technologies for various Test Blanket Module (TBM) and DEMO concepts, especially those utilizing Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steels. Reported fabrication routes include conventional processes such as Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) + cold forming and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) as well as emerging additive and hybrid methods such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Cold Spray deposition.
This
seminar aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the various FW
manufacturing technologies. To assess the technological maturity and
practical applicability of these approaches for DEMO scale FW
manu-facturing, a comparative evaluation has been carried out using five
key criteria relevant to component pro-duction: manufacturability,
industrial scalability, production quality, cost-effectiveness, and its
coverage in nuclear codes and standards (C&S). The evaluation
indicates that conventional technologies such as EDM + forming and
HIP-based manufacturing routes for U-shaped FW designs currently
demonstrate relatively higher maturity compared to the recently emerging
additive and hybrid manufacturing techniques. For the non-typical
Japanese ?O? Cylindrical blanket configuration, conventional
forging-based FW manufacturing remains the most mature solution.
However, it is constrained by the reliance on fusion welding for joining
pressure boundary components, which introduces concerns regarding joint
reliability. To address this limita-tion by eliminating fusion welds in
the FW pressure boundary region, a novel modular Monoblock
configura-tion recently developed at KIT has been presented and its
advantages over other FW manufacturing tech-nologies is highlighted.
In fusion reactors, the Breeding Blanket (BB) is essential for both heat extraction and tritium breeding. With-in the BB, the First Wall (FW) which forms the plasma-facing boundary is one of the most critical and tech-nologically challenging components to manufacture as it is subjected to extreme operating loads. Extensive research over the past three decades mostly among ITER member states has focused on developing robust FW manufacturing technologies for various Test Blanket Module (TBM) and DEMO concepts, especially those utilizing Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steels. Reported fabrication routes include conventional processes such as Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM) + cold forming and Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) as well as emerging additive and hybrid methods such as Selective Laser Melting (SLM) and Cold Spray deposition.
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This seminar aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the
various FW manufacturing technologies. To assess the technological
maturity and practical applicability of these approaches for DEMO scale
FW manu-facturing, a comparative evaluation has been carried out using
five key criteria relevant to component pro-duction: manufacturability,
industrial scalability, production quality, cost-effectiveness, and its
coverage in nuclear codes and standards (C&S). The evaluation indicates
that conventional technologies such as EDM + forming and HIP-based
manufacturing routes for U-shaped FW designs currently demonstrate
relatively higher maturity compared to the recently emerging additive
and hybrid manufacturing techniques. For the non-typical Japanese ?O?
Cylindrical blanket configuration, conventional forging-based FW
manufacturing remains the most mature solution. However, it is
constrained by the reliance on fusion welding for joining pressure
boundary components, which introduces concerns regarding joint
reliability. To address this limita-tion by eliminating fusion welds in
the FW pressure boundary region, a novel modular Monoblock
configura-tion recently developed at KIT has been presented and its
advantages over other FW manufacturing tech-nologies is highlighted.
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