Systems engineering approach for pre-conceptual design of DEMO divertor cassette

This paper presents the pre-conceptual design activities conducted for the European DEMO divertor, focusing on cassette design and Plasma Facing Components (PFC) integration. Following the systems engineering principles, a systematic design method, the Iterative and Participative Axiomatic Design Process (IPADeP), has been adopted. Basing on Axiomatic Design, IPADeP supports the early conceptual design of complex systems. The work moved from the geometrical and interface constraints imposed by the 2015 DEMO configuration model. Then, since different materials will be used for cassette and PFCs, the divertor geometry has been developed taking into account the cooling parameters of the cassette Eurofer steel and the integration of PFCs cooling system. Accordingly, the design process led to a double wall cassette structure with internal reinforcing ribs to withstand cassette coolant pressure and three different kinds of piping schemes for PFCs with dual circuits. These three solutions differs in the feeding pipes layouts and target manifold protection and they have been proposed and evaluated considering heat flux issues, shielding problems, interface requirements with blanket and vacuum vessel and remote maintenance needs. A cassette parametric shell model has been used to perform first structural analyses of the cassette body against coolant pressure. Taking advantages of the parametric surface modelling and its linkage with Finite Element (FE) code, the cassette ribs layout and thickness has been evaluated and optimized, considering at the same time the structural strength needed to withstand the coolant parameters and the maximum stiffness required for cassette preloading and locking needs.