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Engineering development of large-scale engineering systems is becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive and collaborative. The involvement of multiple, competing functionality requirements and lots of resources has imposed high expectations, and at the same time challenges, for achieving reliable, affordable design. In this contest, concept design stage results a complex and iterative process in which design tasks are highly interdependent. While design freedom is at its maximum in early design stage, product knowledge is only partially known initially and is changing over time. This research discusses the use of a systematic design method, the Iterative and Participative Axiomatic Design Process (IPADeP), for the early conceptual design stage of large-scale engineering systems. Systems Engineering focuses on how to design and manage complex systems over their life cycles. Both must begin by discovering the real problems that need to be resolved and identifying from the early stage of the design the main stakeholder requirements and customer needs. The Axiomatic Design (AD) has demonstrated its strength in various type of systems design. IPADeP provides a systematic methodology for applying AD theory in the conceptual design of large-scale engineering systems. The IPADeP process is an iterative and incremental, participative process, requirements driven. It aims to provide a systematic process to face the conceptual design activities minimizing the risk related to the uncertainty and incompleteness of the requirements and to improve the collaboration of multi-disciplinary design teams. IPADeP has been developed within the pre-conceptual design activities of the DEMOnstration fusion power plant sub-systems. Accordingly, the second main aim of this dissertation is to discuss and demonstrate the advantages in using IPADeP in large-scale engineering system, in particular for the applications concerning the design of fusion tokamak reactors. Indeed the development of tokamak sub-systems has to take into account interface, structural, functional requirements and multi-physics issues that can be completely known only during the development of the process. The conceptual design o DEMO divertor fixation system has been used in this research to prove the general efficacy of the methodological instruments considered in dealing systematically with the conceptual design stage of systems characterized by high levels of complexity and poor knowledge of the technologies.

The EUROfusion Consortium is setting up – as part of the EU Fusion Roadmap – the framework for the implementation of the (pre)conceptual design phase of the DEMO reactor. Configuration management needs have been identified as one of the key elements of this framework and is the topic of this paper, in particular the configuration of the CAD design data. The desire is to keep the definition and layout of the corresponding systems “light weight” and relatively easy to manage, whilst simultaneously providing a level of detail in the definition of the design configuration that is fit for the purpose of a conceptual design. This paper aims to describe the steps followed during the definition of the configuration management system of the DEMO design data in terms of (i) the identification of the appropriate product data management system, (ii) the description of the philosophy of the configuration management of the design data, and (iii) the introduction of the most important enabling processes.

This paper presents the enhancements related to the structural analyses of DEMO Divertor in the framework of the EUROfusion Power Plant Physics & Technology (PPPT) program. This activity started two years ago and its preliminary results were published in previous papers. It has been divided in some areas defined by the similarity of the matters they contain: the structural analysis, of utmost importance, has been preceded by a preliminary phase, like the geometry definition or the thermal and the electric-magnetic analysis for loads evaluation; then the structural analysis has been finally confirmed with further evaluations related to excessive deformation or plastic instability. This paper discusses the improvements adopted either in the preliminary analysis or in the main structural analysis. Specifically it highlights the introduction of the thermal and electro-magnetic loads application in terms of a detailed spatial distribution that is now available. More the supports have been introduced in the model and their structural behavior has been investigated considering their interaction with the cassette. The structural assessment, according to the Design and Construction Rules for Mechanical Components of Nuclear Installation (RCC-MRx), has been performed either for the cassette or for the attachments: for the former it is positive while for the latter case serious limitations have been found.

The Iterative and Participative Axiomatic Design Process (IPADeP) deals with the early conceptual design stage of complex mechanical assemblies. It provides a systematic approach based on the theory of Axiomatic Product Development Lifecycle and aims to minimize the risks related to the uncertainty and incompleteness of the requirements, considering that the requirements will be refined and completed during the process. IPADeP has an iterative nature and is focused on the experience of the people involved in the design process. The functional requirements and the design parameters are conceived through brainstorming sessions and the concept selection is performed involving several experts through a Multi Criteria Decision Making technique. IPADeP has been adopted as methodology to address the early conceptual design stage of a subsystem of the DEMOnstration fusion power plant: the divertor cassette-to-vacuum vessel locking system. A first iteration was performed, resulting in the selection of a "high level" rough solution. According with IPADeP this paper presents an improvement of this solution, performing a new iteration of the process, since the system is ripe to proceed with the decomposition and zigzagging to the second level and new requirements are coming in from the development of the interfaced systems. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.

This paper deals with pre-concept studies of DEMO divertor cassette-to-vacuum vessel locking system under the work program WP13-DAS-07-T06: Divertor Remote Maintenance System pre-concept study. An iterative design process, consistent with Systems Engineering guidelines and named Iterative and Participative Axiomatic Design Process (IPADeP), is used in this paper to propose new innovative solutions for divertor locking system, which can overcome the difficulties in applying the ITER principles to DEMO. The solutions conceived have been analysed from the structural point of view using the software Ansys and, eventually, evaluated using the methodology known as Fuzzy-Analytic Hierarchy Process. Due to the lack and the uncertainty of the requirements in this early conceptual design stage, the aim is to cover a first iteration of an iterative and incremental process to propose an innovative design concept to be developed in more details as the information will be completed.

This paper refers to the activity of structural design of DEMO Divertor in the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium. The structural analysis and its preparatory assessments were carried on since a year and the first results were published in a previous paper. The Cassette Body has been examined considering the most conservatives loads (e.g. coolant pressure, volumetric nuclear heating and electro-magnetic loads) according to their latest estimates. This work is based on the design-by-analysis approach adopted in the conceptual design phase of the DEMO Divertor. This design activity has been focused on some key parameters e.g. loads, main geometric dimensions, positions of the Cassette attachments on the vacuum vessel, way of loads application to characterize the structural behavior of the Divertor Cassette. In addition to the existing 3D solid element model, a shell element model has also been developed: with this new model a parametric analysis can be done for a fast optimization. The structural assessment was done according to the Design and Construction Rules for Mechanical Components of Nuclear Installation (RCC-MRx).

This paper describes the activity addressed to the conceptual design of the first wall and the main containment structures of DTT device. The work moved from the geometrical constraints imposed by the desired plasma shape and the configuration needed for the magnetic coils. Many other design constraints have been taken into account such as remote maintainability, space reservations for diagnostic and heating equipment, etc. The basic vessel design resulted in an all-welded single-wall toroidal structure made of 18 sectors. Proper supports have been designed for the first wall, which was conveniently segmented in view of remote maintenance. This provisional model allowed evaluating the electromagnetic loads on the metallic structure of the vacuum vessel resulting from the current quench due to a plasma disruption. After a FEA mechanical assessment, which was conducted according to ASME code, INCONEL® 625 has been provisionally selected as reference material for vacuum vessel. The design principles of the cryostat were chiefly based on cost minimization and functionality; thus it was conceived as a single-wall cylindrical vessel supported by a steel frame structure. The same structure will hold the vacuum vessel and the magnets.

This paper presents eligere, a new open-source distributed software platform for group decision making in engineering design. It is based on the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP), a multiple criteria decision making method used in group selection processes to rank a discrete set of alternatives with respect to some evaluation criteria. eligere is built following the paradigm of distributed cyber-physical systems. It provides several features of interest in group decision making problems: a web-application where experts express their opinion on the alternatives using the natural language, a fuzzy AHP calculation module for transforming qualitative into quantitative data, a database for collecting both the experts' answers and the results of the calculations. The resulting software platform is: distributed, interactive, multi-platform, multi-language and open-source. Eligere is a flexible cyber-physical information system useful in various multiple criteria decision making problems: in this paper we highlight its key concepts and illustrate its potential through a case study, i.e., the optimum selection of design alternatives in a robotic product design.

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.

This paper describes the development of a master model concept of the DEMO vacuum vessel (VV) conducted within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium. Starting from the VV space envelope defined in the DEMO baseline design 2014, the layout of the VV structure was preliminarily defined according to the design criteria provided in RCC-MRx. A surface modelling technique was adopted and efficiently linked to the finite element (FE) code to simplify future FE analyses. In view of possible changes to shape and structure during the conceptual design activities, a parametric design approach allows incorporating modifications to the model efficiently.

Divertor is a crucial component in Tokamaks, aiming to exhaust the heat power and particles fluxes coming from the plasma during discharges. This paper focuses on the optimization process of FAST divertor, aimed at achieving required thermo-mechanical capabilities and the remote handling (RH) compatibility. Divertor RH system final layout has been chosen between different concept solutions proposed and analyzed within the principles of Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). The design was aided by kinematic simulations performed using Digital Mock-Up capabilities of Catia software. Considerable electromagnetic (EM) analysis efforts and top-down CAD approach enabled the design of a final and consistent concept, starting from a very first dimensioning for EM loads. In the final version here presented, the divertor cassette supports a set of tungsten (W) actively cooled tiles which compose the inner and outer vertical targets, facing the plasma and exhausting the main part of heat flux. W-tiles are assembled together considering a minimum gap tolerance (0.1-0.5 mm) to be mandatorily respected. Cooling channels have been re-dimensioned to optimize the geometry and the layout of coolant volume inside the cassette has been modified as well to enhance the general efficiency. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The present paper proposes a structured Product Development Lifecycle (PDL) model to deal with the concept design stage of complex assemblies. The proposed method provides a systematic approach to design, aimed to improve requirements management, project management and communication among stakeholders as well as to avoid project failures reducing project development time. This research also provides suggestions and recommendations for utilizing different analysis, synthesis and assessment methodologies along with the proposed approach. The process developed, named Iterative and Participative Axiomatic Design Process (IPADeP), is consistent with ISO/IEC 15288: 2008 – “Systems and software engineering”, and INCOSE Systems engineering handbook. It is an iterative and incremental design process, participative and requirements driven, based on the theory of Axiomatic Product Development Lifecycle (APDL). IPADeP provides a systematic methodology in which, starting from a set of experts’ assumptions, a number of conceptual solutions are generated, analysed and evaluated. Based on the results obtained, new iterations can be performed for each level of decomposition while product requirements are refined. In this paper, we applied IPADeP to the initial phase of conceptual design activities for DEMO divertor-to-vacuum vessel locking system in order to propose new innovative solutions.

This paper presents the recent progress in the pre-conceptual design activities for the EU-DEMO divertor Cassette Body, performed in the framework of the work package “Divertor” of the EUROfusion Power Plant Physics & Technology (PPPT) program. According to Systems Engineering Principles, the divertor CAD model is reviewed, considering the updates in the DEMO configuration model presented by the Programme Management Unit (PMU) in 2017. The design parameters affected by these changes and their impact on the divertor design and on the interfaced systems are analysed. Then, the paper focuses on the integration on the new cassette geometry of the divertor sub-systems. This includes the design of a “shielding liner” for cassette body and Vacuum Vessel protection, as well as the development of the cassette body-to-Vacuum Vessel fixation system. The design activities related to these main sub-systems are discussed in detail, in terms of CAD model and thermo-mechanical calculations.

In the European fusion roadmap, reliable power handling has been defined as one of the most critical challenges for realizing a commercially viable fusion power. In this context, the divertor is the key in-vessel component, as it is responsible for power exhaust and impurity removal for which divertor target is subjected to very high heat flux loads. To this end, an integrated R&D project was launched in the EUROfusion Consortium in order to deliver a holistic conceptual design solution together with the core technologies for the entire divertor system of a DEMO reactor. The work package ‘Divertor’ consists of two project areas: ‘Cassette design and integration’ and ‘Target development’. The essential mission of the project is to develop and verify advanced design concepts and the required technologies for a divertor system being capable of meeting the physical and system requirements defined for the next-generation European DEMO reactor. In this contribution, a brief overview is presented of the works from the first project year (2014). Focus is put on the loads specification, design boundary conditions, materials requirements, design approaches, and R&D strategy. Initial ideas and first estimates are presented. © 2015 EURATOM

This paper focuses on a preliminary structural analysis of the current concept design of DEMO vacuum vessel (VV). The VV structure is checked against a vertical load due to a Vertical Displacement Event in combination with the weight force of all components that the main vessel shall bear. Different configurations for the supports are considered. Results show that the greatest safety margins are reached when the tokamak is supported through the lower ports rather than the equatorial ports, though all analyzed configurations are compliant with RCC-MRx design rules.