The Liquid Immersion Blanket: Robust Accountancy (LIBRA) experiment will be a first-of-a-kind experiment to explore and develop the liquid immersion blanket (LIB) concept. The LIB is a radically simple molten–LiF-BeF2 (FLiBe)–salt tritium breeding blanket for deuterium-tritium (D-T)–fueled fusion power plants (FPPs) achieving a high tritium breeding ratio (TBR) in neutronics models. However, tritium breeding in FLiBe is inherently difficult to study experimentally. As a result, the coupled issues of FLiBe radiochemistry and tritium (T) transport are poorly understood. LIBRA approaches this challenge by simulating an FPP blanket environment using a D-T neutron generator and ≈ 1000 kg of FLiBe. LIBRA will investigate T breeding, containment, and extraction, coupled with FLiBe redox control and radiochemistry. The primary goal of LIBRA is to demonstrate robust T accountancy in blanket prototypical conditions. Here, T accountancy encompasses accurate predictions of T breeding in the FLiBe; detection and measurement of all T bred in LIBRA; and speciation of the T extracted from the FLiBe. Initial neutronics simulations of LIBRA indicate that a global TBR of ~ 1 is possible, where the TBR is defined as the number of tritons bred and extracted from FLiBe relative to the number of neutrons produced by D-T fusion reactions in the neutron generator. In this paper, we present the LIBRA concept and its scientific goals in the context of T breeding experiments. We also consider the potential impact of the LIB on the future fusion power industry, motivating further development of FLiBe-based T breeding research activities such as LIBRA.
Ferry, Sara E., et al. "The LIBRA Experiment: Investigating Robust Tritium Accountancy in Molten FLiBe Exposed to a D-T Fusion Neutron Spectrum." Fusion Science and Technology, vol. 79, no. 1, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2078136
Ferry, Sara E., Woller, Kevin B., Peterson, Ethan E., Sorensen, Caroline, & Whyte, Dennis G. (2022). The LIBRA Experiment: Investigating Robust Tritium Accountancy in Molten FLiBe Exposed to a D-T Fusion Neutron Spectrum. Fusion Science and Technology, 79(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2078136
Ferry, Sara E., Woller, Kevin B., Peterson, Ethan E., et al., "The LIBRA Experiment: Investigating Robust Tritium Accountancy in Molten FLiBe Exposed to a D-T Fusion Neutron Spectrum," Fusion Science and Technology 79, no. 1 (2022), https://doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2022.2078136
@article{osti_2422388,
author = {Ferry, Sara E. and Woller, Kevin B. and Peterson, Ethan E. and Sorensen, Caroline and Whyte, Dennis G.},
title = {The LIBRA Experiment: Investigating Robust Tritium Accountancy in Molten FLiBe Exposed to a D-T Fusion Neutron Spectrum},
annote = {The Liquid Immersion Blanket: Robust Accountancy (LIBRA) experiment will be a first-of-a-kind experiment to explore and develop the liquid immersion blanket (LIB) concept. The LIB is a radically simple molten–LiF-BeF2 (FLiBe)–salt tritium breeding blanket for deuterium-tritium (D-T)–fueled fusion power plants (FPPs) achieving a high tritium breeding ratio (TBR) in neutronics models. However, tritium breeding in FLiBe is inherently difficult to study experimentally. As a result, the coupled issues of FLiBe radiochemistry and tritium (T) transport are poorly understood. LIBRA approaches this challenge by simulating an FPP blanket environment using a D-T neutron generator and ≈ 1000 kg of FLiBe. LIBRA will investigate T breeding, containment, and extraction, coupled with FLiBe redox control and radiochemistry. The primary goal of LIBRA is to demonstrate robust T accountancy in blanket prototypical conditions. Here, T accountancy encompasses accurate predictions of T breeding in the FLiBe; detection and measurement of all T bred in LIBRA; and speciation of the T extracted from the FLiBe. Initial neutronics simulations of LIBRA indicate that a global TBR of ~ 1 is possible, where the TBR is defined as the number of tritons bred and extracted from FLiBe relative to the number of neutrons produced by D-T fusion reactions in the neutron generator. In this paper, we present the LIBRA concept and its scientific goals in the context of T breeding experiments. We also consider the potential impact of the LIB on the future fusion power industry, motivating further development of FLiBe-based T breeding research activities such as LIBRA.},
doi = {10.1080/15361055.2022.2078136},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2422388},
journal = {Fusion Science and Technology},
issn = {ISSN 1536-1055},
number = {1},
volume = {79},
place = {United States},
publisher = {Taylor & Francis},
year = {2022},
month = {06}}