Transient behavior analysis of the intermediate-circuit-balanced HCPB fusion power plant

The HCPB concept of the EU-DEMO fusion power plant uses helium cooling of the reactor, operated in pulsed mode due to inductive current drive. Since conventional Rankine steam cycle power generation does not allow for pulsed operation, the thermal power must be balanced. For this reason, an intermediate circuit with molten salt thermal storage tanks is used. This circuit acts as a thermal buffer and is designed to stabilize the heat input to the steam generators and steam superheaters. In this paper, the transient behavior of the assembly of the primary heat transfer system, the intermediate heat transfer system, and the steam production for the power conversion system (PCS) is analyzed. A specialized system code has been developed to study the transient behavior of such a thermodynamic system.