Development and validation of magneto-hydrodynamics turbulence models for the thermal-hydraulic design of fusion reactor liquid blankets

This study presents the application of MHD turbulence models for analysing the thermal-hydraulic performance of liquid blankets in ARC-class fusion reactors. These models have been implemented and tested within an OpenFOAM-based modular multiphysics workflow that couples CFD with simplified neutron transport, enabling efficient evaluation of the volumetric heating, flow redistribution, and thermal-hydraulic performance. Multiphysics simulations on a 3D sector of the ARC blanket are ongoing with the objective to highlight effects of magnetic damping on velocity profiles, pressure drop, and temperature distribution. Preliminary results demonstrate the potential of the OpenFOAM-based platform as a flexible, high-fidelity tool for multiphysics design of fusion reactors blankets.