[rank_math_breadcrumb]
Tritium breeding and monitoring in molten salt for fusion energy applications
Tritium breeding and monitoring in molten salt for fusion energy applications
Blankets
LIBRA

Tritium breeding and monitoring in molten salt for fusion energy applications

LIBRA will be the first project demonstrating reproducible and scalable tritium breeding in molten salts with a robust tritium accountancy system and D-T neutrons.

Principal Investigator
A middle-aged bald white man with a red beard and bright blue eyes smiles mildly
Kevin Woller
Group Leader, Accelerators and Molten Salt Laboratories & Principal Research Scientist
Team
Emily Edwards
Emily Edwards
Remi Delaporte-Mat...
Remi Delaporte-Mathurin
Rick Leccacorvi
Rick Leccacorvi
A younger white man with sandy hair and a short sandy beard, wearing a red and navy plaid button down.
Ethan Peterson
Ethan Peterson
Stefano Segantin
Stefano Segantin
Rui Vieira
Rui Vieira
Collin Dunn
Collin Dunn
Nikola Goles
Nikola Goles
A young man with tan skin and dark curly hair wearing a black tshirt smiles mildly
Andrew Lanzrath
Andrew Lanzrath
01
Abstract

Tritium breeding is crucial for achieving self-sustaining D-T fusion devices. ARC-class tokamaks, whose conceptual design was originally developed at MIT PSFC and is now under development at CFS, exploit a molten salt Liquid Immersion Blanket to breed tritium. We are working to bridge the scientific and technological gaps for tritium breeding in molten salt with LIBRA (Liquid Immersion Blanket: Robust Accountancy) by taking a staged approach, starting with small scale experiments (BABY) and progressing to larger scales (LIBRA). LIBRA will be the first project demonstrating reproducible and scalable tritium breeding in molten salts with a robust tritium accountancy system and D-T neutrons.

Importance of Research

The challenging environment of a fusion reactor requires integrated modeling and experiments to validate conceptual designs, such as molten salt Liquid Immersion Blankets (LIBs). To date, no one has demonstrated tritium breeding in molten salts with a fusion neutron source at scales relevant for commercial fusion energy. The ambitious goal of LIBRA is to achieve a tritium breeding ratio greater than one, demonstrating the capability of LIB to breed enough tritium, and de-risking the path to a fusion power plant. Additional research objectives include:
characterizing thermophysical properties of molten salts;
characterizing fusion neutron sources, and detectors;
studying tritium transport in molten salt;
developing and testing tritium accountancy systems;
establishing manufacturing capabilities for fusion-relevant materials;
investigating safety and handling techniques for hazardous materials.

02

Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum

Morbi sed imperdiet in ipsum, adipiscing elit dui lectus. Tellus id scelerisque est ultricies ultricies. Duis est sit sed leo nisl, blandit elit sagittis. Quisque tristique consequat quam sed. Nisl at scelerisque amet nulla purus habitasse.

Nunc sed faucibus bibendum feugiat sed interdum. Ipsum egestas condimentum mi massa. In tincidunt pharetra consectetur sed duis facilisis metus. Etiam egestas in nec sed et. Quis lobortis at sit dictum eget nibh tortor commodo cursus.

Odio felis sagittis, morbi feugiat tortor vitae feugiat fusce aliquet. Nam elementum urna nisi aliquet erat dolor enim. Ornare id morbi eget ipsum. Aliquam senectus neque ut id eget consectetur dictum. Donec posuere pharetra odio consequat scelerisque et, nunc tortor.Nulla adipiscing erat a erat. Condimentum lorem posuere gravida enim posuere cursus diam.

03
Project Outputs
The LIBRA Experiment: Investigating Robust Tritium Accountancy in Molten FLiBe Exposed to a D-T Fusion Neutron Spectrum
Slidedeck