A Comparative Multidimensional Nuclear Analysis of Candidate Blanket Designs for Tokamak and Tandem Mirror Reactor Concepts

Three-dimensional, tritium breeding, and energy multiplication analyses were performed for nine tandem mirror reactor (TMR) designs and seven tokamak reactor designs that had evolved as the “rank-1” concept from the latest Blanket Comparison and Selection Study. These designs include a variety of combinations of candidate breeder, coolant, and structural materials that seem most promising for the respective TMR/tokamak concept application. The analysis was performed using a single consistent computational technique, i.e., a continuous energy Monte Carlo transport method based on MCNP with the associated cross-section libraries based on the latest ENDF/B-V data. Through a comparative study of those 16 candidate blanket designs, an attempt is made to rank them from a standpoint of the neutronic blanket performance.