The application of leak before break concept to W7-X target module

•LBB application to Wendelstein 7-X fusion reactor.•R6 method application to crack analysis.•Through wall crack opening analysis.•Determination of leak rate function.•Crack growth analysis. Fusion is the energy production technology, which could potentially solve problems with growing energy demand of population in the future. Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is an experimental stellarator of the helias type fusion reactor currently being built in Greifswald, Germany. This experimental stellarator is a complex structure, such as nuclear power plants and high level of safety requirements should be used for structural integrity analysis. It is thus not possible to obtain simple solutions for general cases, therefore sophisticated methods are necessary for the analysis. Inside the Plasma Vessel (PV) of W7-X there is a number of different components such as pipes, divertors, baffles and targets. A guillotine failure of one component is very dangerous for structural integrity of surrounding components located in PV. For this reason it is very important to evaluate possibility to apply “leak before break” (LBB) concept for W7-X. The LBB concept is widely used in the nuclear industry to describe the idea that in the piping carrying the coolant of a power reactor a leak will occur before a catastrophic break will occurred. LBB allows to conduct the structural design without considering the loads due to postulated line breaks. The LBB analysis was made for the case when plasma vessel is operating in “baking” mode. “Baking” is the mode, when the cooling system is working as a warming system and it heats the plasma vessel structures up to 160°C in order to release the absorbed gases from the surfaces and to pump them out of the plasma vessel before plasma operation. The LBB analysis was performed for most loaded component of target module. According to the results of the analysis it is possible to conclude that target module 1H fulfils the LBB requirements.