Status and Perspectives of Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of Superconducting Magnets for Nuclear Fusion Applications

Abstract. An overview is presented of the work performed over the last years at Politecnico di Torino in the field of thermal-hydraulic modeling of superconducting magnets for fusion, with particular reference to present International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)-related activities, and to future possibilities and needs. The two-fluid Mithrandir code and its multi-conductor version, the M&M code, are used together with the cryogenic network solver Flower. We discuss the capabilities of these validated tools to simulate the evolution of thermal-hydraulic transients characterized by widely disparate time scales, from heat slug propagation to quench, both in single dual-channel conductors like that of the QUELL experiment, and in the ITER model coils (central solenoid CSMC, toroidal field TFMC). 1