Multi-design innovative cooling research & optimization (MICRO):novel proposals for high performance cooling in DEMO

Several novel design solutions for high performance cooling systems have been developed by Consorzio RFX, permitting to simulate the challenging heat transfer conditions foreseen in the future fusion devices. The project, called Multi-design Innovative Cooling Research & Optimization (MICRO), aims, on one hand, to verify the present solution applied inside the MITICA experiment and, on the other, to perform further improvements in the heat transfer process with an acceptable pressure drop and reliable manufacturing process. A comprehensive parametric investigation has been carried out with the goal of comparing various design options and establishing a standard approach to be applied in several devices, characterized by comparable heat loads both in terms of spatial distribution and amplitude. The main advantages rely on the possibility to extend the fatigue life-cycle of different high thermal stress components and to investigate the possibility to employ alternative dielectric fluids instead of water. Such design solutions would in fact allow the exploitation of less performing fluids in terms of cooling capability. Despite the unavoidable deterioration of the cooling performances such approach would represent a significantly advantageous option with respect to the existing ultrapure water technologies. This is particularly relevant in view of DEMO and future power plants characterized by higher efficiency and reliability. The paper gives a detailed description of the Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis and the samples manufacturing process.