Stress analysis and structural integrity assessment using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is carried out on key in‑vessel components of fusion reactors, notably:
A further objective is the assessment of the suitability of the nuclear design code RCC‑MRx (Design and Construction Rules for Mechanical Components of Nuclear Installations: High‑Temperature, Research and Fusion Reactors) for application to monotonic and cyclic loading conditions in fusion‑relevant components.
Current practice in both academia and industry increasingly relies on the elastic analysis approach to approximate elastic–plastic material behaviour. While this method offers several advantages—such as simplicity, computational efficiency, and compatibility with existing design rules—it also carries risks of over‑conservatism and can be challenging to implement in certain scenarios.
This work therefore performs a systematic comparison between elastic and inelastic analyses as applied to fusion reactor components, with the overarching aim of improving stress‑analysis methodologies and informing more robust design approaches.
