The operation of a
tritium breeder is a most process among engineering problems of DEMO. In this study, a design for monitoring
tritium-
breeding in the reactor is discussed. Additionally, a system for the experimental estimation of the
tritium-
breeding ratio (TBR) and the
tritium-
breeding dynamics in a lead-lithium cooled ceramic breeder (LLCB) test module used in the ITER is proposed. The systems are based on
tritium and neutron-flux measurements under the ITER plasma D-T experiments and the use of lithium ortho-silicate and lithium carbonate samples and neutron detectors. Different lithum-6 and lithium-7 isotope contents in the samples are used to measure neutron spectrum. The samples and detectors are delivered in containers to the test breeder module (TBM) on a monitor channel connecting the TBM to an operating
zone of the ITER. The
tritium content in the samples is measured in a laboratory by the liquid scintillation method.
Pneumatic control is used to deliver the samples to the TBM and to extract the samples using the channel during plasma-operational pauses. Neutron calculation is performed to estimate the tritium content in the samples and the heat distribution in the materials of the channel under reactor irradiation. A measurement accuracy of the tritium content in the carbonate and orthosilicate samples can attain a level of 7 % and 10 % , respectively. The results of the channel-cooling calculation performed under the nominal operating conditions of the TBM (a plasma pulse) are presented in the paper.
