Neutronic and photonic analysis of the single box water-cooled lithium lead blanket for a DEMO reactor

The water-cooled Pb–17Li demonstration plant (DEMO) breeding blanket line was selected in 1995 as one of the two EU lines to be further developed in the next decade. In this paper the results of a neutronic and photonic analysis of the `single boxʹ concept is presented. A full three-dimensional model, including the whole assembly and many of the DEMO reactor components, has been developed, together with a three-dimensional neutron source. A tritium breeding ratio (TBR) value of 1.16, with no ports and a Li6 enrichment of 90%, has been obtained and a further analysis has been performed to determine Li6 enrichment that would still ensure tritium breeding self-sufficiency. Selected power densities, calculated for the different materials and zones, are also presented. Material damage through displacements per atom and helium gas production has been investigated. Some shielding capability considerations are presented too.