Heat Transfer Characteristics of Impingement Jet for a Cooling System of Fusion Reactor Breeding Blanket

Breeding blanket, a crucial component breeding tritium for the operation of a nuclear fusion reactor, is exposed to high thermal loads due to radiation from plasma, particle collisions, and heat generating reaction such as multiplying and breeding. To provide appropriate thermal design, impinging jets are employed within the cooling system. In this study, a numerical analysis was conducted to assess the cooling performance of these impinging jet structures. ANSYS Fluent 22R2 was utilized for the numerical simulations. The nozzle-to-target spacing (H / d) was varied to determine an optimal structure with efficient heat transfer, and the flow rate was varied within the range of Re 5,500 to 87,000 to analyze changes in Nusselt number and pressure drop. Based on these findings, the cooling flow rate required to maintain the appropriate wall average temperature was determined, it was confirmed that supplying the adequate cooling flow rate could maintain the wall temperature. ©2024 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.