Development of a Thermal-Hydraulic Model for the European DEMO TF Coil

In the framework of the “roadmap to fusion electricity by 2050,” the design of the European DEMO machine strongly relies on available technologies. The superconducting toroidal field (TF) magnets will be built using available low-temperature superconducting strands; the ENEA winding pack (WP) proposal will exploit graded layer-wound rectangular conductors, whose design is ongoing. The WP will be encapsulated in a stainless steel casing, whose cooling has not yet been designed. In this paper, we present the thermal-hydraulic (TH) model of an entire TF coil for the European demonstration power plant DEMO. Two cooling options are proposed and investigated for the casing, whereas for the WP, the ENEA design, with multiple low-impedance hydraulic channels, is considered. The thermal coupling between WP and casing is parametrically included in the model. The TH behavior of a TF coil (WP + casing) during a plasma burn is presented and discussed, comparing the two cooling options of the casing.