2011 Particle Accelerator Conference - Classification: Applications of Accelerators, Tech Transfer, Industry / Applications 03: Transmutation and Power Generation

Paper

Title

Page

Comparison of Accelerator Technologies for use in ADSS

4

W.-T. Weng, H. Ludewig, D. Raparia, M. Todosow, D. Trbojevic
BNL, Upton, Long Island, New York, USA
P.M. McIntyre, A. Sattarov
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

Funding: Work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy
Accelerator Driven Subcritical (ADS) fission is an interesting candidate basis for nuclear waste transmutation and for nuclear power generation. ADS can use either thorium or depleted uranium as fuel, operate below criticality, and consume rather than produce long-lived actinides. A case study with a hypothetical, but realistic nuclear core configuration is used to evaluate the performance requirements of the driver proton accelerator in terms of beam energy, beam current, duty factor, beam distribution delivered to the fission core, reliability, and capital and operating cost. Comparison between a CW IC and that of an SRF proton linac is evaluated. Future accelerator R&D required to improve each candidate accelerator design is discussed.

Slides MOOBN3 [1.540 MB]

WEOAS1

Inertial Fusion Driven by Intense Heavy-Ion Beams

1386

W. M. Sharp, J.J. Barnard, R.H. Cohen, M. Dorf, A. Friedman, D.P. Grote, S.M. Lund, L.J. Perkins, M.R. Terry
LLNL, Livermore, California, USA
F.M. Bieniosek, A. Faltens, E. Henestroza, J.-Y. Jung, A.E. Koniges, J.W. Kwan, E. P. Lee, S.M. Lidia, B.G. Logan, P.N. Ni, L.R. Reginato, P.K. Roy, P.A. Seidl, J.H. Takakuwa, J.-L. Vay, W.L. Waldron
LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA
R.C. Davidson, E.P. Gilson, I. Kaganovich, H. Qin, E. Startsev
PPPL, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
I. Haber, R.A. Kishek
UMD, College Park, Maryland, USA

Funding: Work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, by LBNL under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, and by PPPL under Contract DE-AC02-76CH03073.
Intense heavy-ion beams have long been considered a promising driver option for inertial-fusion energy production. This paper briefly compares inertial confinement fusion (ICF) to the more-familiar magnetic- confinement approach and presents some advantages of using beams of heavy ions to drive ICF instead of lasers. Key design choices in heavy-ion fusion (HIF) facilities are discussed, particularly the type of accelerator. We then review experiments carried out at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) over the past thirty years to understand various aspects of HIF driver physics. A brief review follows of present HIF research in the US and abroad, focusing on a new facility, NDCX-II, being built at LBNL to study the physics of warm dense matter heated by ions, as well as aspects of HIF target physics. Future research directions are briefly summarized.

Slides WEOAS1 [18.657 MB]

THP027

Status and Development of a Proton FFAG Accelerator at KURRI for ADSR Study

2172

Y. Kuriyama, Y. Ishi, J.-B. Lagrange, Y. Mori, R. Nakano, T. Planche, T. Uesugi, E. Yamakawa
KURRI, Osaka, Japan
Y. Niwa, K. Okabe, I. Sakai
University of Fukui, Faculty of Engineering, Fukui, Japan

In Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI), the fixed-field alternating gradient (FFAG) proton accelerator has been constructed to make an experimental study of accelerator driven sub-critical reactor (ADSR) system with spallation neutrons produced by the accelerator. The world first ADSR experiment has been carried out in March of 2009. The proton FFAG accelerator consists of three FFAG rings; injetor (spiral sector FFAG), booster(radial sector FFAG) and main ring(radial sector FFAG), respectively. In March 2010, the experiment conducted with a thorium-loaded accelerator driven system using the proton FFAG accelerator has also been carried out. In order to increase the beam intensity of the proton FFAG accelerator, a new injector with H⁻ ions is under construction. In this scheme, H⁻ ions accelerated up to the energy of 11 MeV with a linac are injected into the main ring with charge-exchange injection. In this paper, the details of ADSR experiments with the proton FFAG accelerator at KURRI, and also the R&Ds of the accelerator will be presented.

THP029

Temperature and Optimize Design of Beam Window in the Accelerator

2175

J.J. Tian, H. Hao, G. Liu, H.L. Luo, X.Q. Wang, H.L. Wu
USTC/NSRL, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China

Careful evaluation of the heat-transfer and corresponding problems is important in the beam window in the design and operation of Accelerator Driven sub-critical System (ADS). Using the Monte-Carlo code Fluka, we studied the energy deposition of the beam window in high power proton accelerator. The temperature distribution of the beam window is calculated in presence of the coolant. The process of computation for various materials will be introduced, and an optimized design scheme is given. The results suggest that some measures could be used to reduce the damage to the beam window, such as dividing current into branch currents, expanding the bunch or using beryllium as the material of the beam window, et al.

THP030

GEANT4 Studies of the Thorium Fuel Cycle

2178

C. Bungau
Manchester University, Manchester, United Kingdom
R.J. Barlow
UMAN, Manchester, United Kingdom
A. Bungau, R. Cywinski
University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom

Thorium “fuel” has been proposed as an alternative to uranium fuel in nuclear reactors. New GEANT4 developments allow the Monte Carlo code to be used for the first time in order to simulate the time evolution of the concentration of isotopes present in the Thorium fuel cycle. A full study is performed in order to optimise the production of Uranium-233 starting with "pure" Thorium fuels, leading to levels of Uranium-233 which ensure the operation of the nuclear reactor in a regime close to criticality.

THP034

Accelerators for Subcritical Molten Salt Reactors

2181

R.P. Johnson
Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA
C. Bowman
ADNA, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA

Funding: Supported in part by Accelerator Technologies Inc.
Accelerator parameters for subcritical reactors that have been considered in recent studies * are based on using solid nuclear fuel much like that used in all operating critical reactors as well as the thorium-burning accelerator-driven energy amplifier ** proposed by Rubbia et al. An attractive alternative reactor design that used molten salts was experimentally studied at ORNL in the 1960s, where a critical molten salt reactor was successfully operated using enriched U235 or U233 tetrafluoride fuels ***. These experiments give confidence that an accelerator-driven subcritical molten salt reactor will work as well or better than conventional reactors, having better efficiency due to their higher operating temperature and having the inherent safety of subcritical operation. Moreover, the requirements to drive a molten salt reactor are considerably relaxed compared to a solid fuel reactor, especially regarding accelerator reliability and spallation neutron targetry, to the point that the required technology exists today.
* http://www.er.doe.gov/hep/files/pdfs/ADSWhitePaperFinal.pdf
** http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_amplifier
*** Paul N. Haubenreich and J. R. Engel, Nuc. Apps & Tech, 8, Feb. 1970

Paper	Title	Page
MOOBN3	Comparison of Accelerator Technologies for use in ADSS	4
	W.-T. Weng, H. Ludewig, D. Raparia, M. Todosow, D. Trbojevic BNL, Upton, Long Island, New York, USA P.M. McIntyre, A. Sattarov Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
	Funding: Work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy Accelerator Driven Subcritical (ADS) fission is an interesting candidate basis for nuclear waste transmutation and for nuclear power generation. ADS can use either thorium or depleted uranium as fuel, operate below criticality, and consume rather than produce long-lived actinides. A case study with a hypothetical, but realistic nuclear core configuration is used to evaluate the performance requirements of the driver proton accelerator in terms of beam energy, beam current, duty factor, beam distribution delivered to the fission core, reliability, and capital and operating cost. Comparison between a CW IC and that of an SRF proton linac is evaluated. Future accelerator R&D required to improve each candidate accelerator design is discussed.
	Slides MOOBN3 [1.540 MB]

WEOAS1	Inertial Fusion Driven by Intense Heavy-Ion Beams	1386
	W. M. Sharp, J.J. Barnard, R.H. Cohen, M. Dorf, A. Friedman, D.P. Grote, S.M. Lund, L.J. Perkins, M.R. Terry LLNL, Livermore, California, USA F.M. Bieniosek, A. Faltens, E. Henestroza, J.-Y. Jung, A.E. Koniges, J.W. Kwan, E. P. Lee, S.M. Lidia, B.G. Logan, P.N. Ni, L.R. Reginato, P.K. Roy, P.A. Seidl, J.H. Takakuwa, J.-L. Vay, W.L. Waldron LBNL, Berkeley, California, USA R.C. Davidson, E.P. Gilson, I. Kaganovich, H. Qin, E. Startsev PPPL, Princeton, New Jersey, USA I. Haber, R.A. Kishek UMD, College Park, Maryland, USA
	Funding: Work performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy by LLNL under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, by LBNL under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, and by PPPL under Contract DE-AC02-76CH03073. Intense heavy-ion beams have long been considered a promising driver option for inertial-fusion energy production. This paper briefly compares inertial confinement fusion (ICF) to the more-familiar magnetic- confinement approach and presents some advantages of using beams of heavy ions to drive ICF instead of lasers. Key design choices in heavy-ion fusion (HIF) facilities are discussed, particularly the type of accelerator. We then review experiments carried out at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) over the past thirty years to understand various aspects of HIF driver physics. A brief review follows of present HIF research in the US and abroad, focusing on a new facility, NDCX-II, being built at LBNL to study the physics of warm dense matter heated by ions, as well as aspects of HIF target physics. Future research directions are briefly summarized.
	Slides WEOAS1 [18.657 MB]

THP027	Status and Development of a Proton FFAG Accelerator at KURRI for ADSR Study	2172
	Y. Kuriyama, Y. Ishi, J.-B. Lagrange, Y. Mori, R. Nakano, T. Planche, T. Uesugi, E. Yamakawa KURRI, Osaka, Japan Y. Niwa, K. Okabe, I. Sakai University of Fukui, Faculty of Engineering, Fukui, Japan
	In Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute (KURRI), the fixed-field alternating gradient (FFAG) proton accelerator has been constructed to make an experimental study of accelerator driven sub-critical reactor (ADSR) system with spallation neutrons produced by the accelerator. The world first ADSR experiment has been carried out in March of 2009. The proton FFAG accelerator consists of three FFAG rings; injetor (spiral sector FFAG), booster(radial sector FFAG) and main ring(radial sector FFAG), respectively. In March 2010, the experiment conducted with a thorium-loaded accelerator driven system using the proton FFAG accelerator has also been carried out. In order to increase the beam intensity of the proton FFAG accelerator, a new injector with H⁻ ions is under construction. In this scheme, H⁻ ions accelerated up to the energy of 11 MeV with a linac are injected into the main ring with charge-exchange injection. In this paper, the details of ADSR experiments with the proton FFAG accelerator at KURRI, and also the R&Ds of the accelerator will be presented.

THP029	Temperature and Optimize Design of Beam Window in the Accelerator	2175
	J.J. Tian, H. Hao, G. Liu, H.L. Luo, X.Q. Wang, H.L. Wu USTC/NSRL, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China
	Careful evaluation of the heat-transfer and corresponding problems is important in the beam window in the design and operation of Accelerator Driven sub-critical System (ADS). Using the Monte-Carlo code Fluka, we studied the energy deposition of the beam window in high power proton accelerator. The temperature distribution of the beam window is calculated in presence of the coolant. The process of computation for various materials will be introduced, and an optimized design scheme is given. The results suggest that some measures could be used to reduce the damage to the beam window, such as dividing current into branch currents, expanding the bunch or using beryllium as the material of the beam window, et al.

THP030	GEANT4 Studies of the Thorium Fuel Cycle	2178
	C. Bungau Manchester University, Manchester, United Kingdom R.J. Barlow UMAN, Manchester, United Kingdom A. Bungau, R. Cywinski University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, United Kingdom
	Thorium “fuel” has been proposed as an alternative to uranium fuel in nuclear reactors. New GEANT4 developments allow the Monte Carlo code to be used for the first time in order to simulate the time evolution of the concentration of isotopes present in the Thorium fuel cycle. A full study is performed in order to optimise the production of Uranium-233 starting with "pure" Thorium fuels, leading to levels of Uranium-233 which ensure the operation of the nuclear reactor in a regime close to criticality.

THP034	Accelerators for Subcritical Molten Salt Reactors	2181
	R.P. Johnson Muons, Inc, Batavia, USA C. Bowman ADNA, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA
	Funding: Supported in part by Accelerator Technologies Inc. Accelerator parameters for subcritical reactors that have been considered in recent studies * are based on using solid nuclear fuel much like that used in all operating critical reactors as well as the thorium-burning accelerator-driven energy amplifier proposed by Rubbia et al. An attractive alternative reactor design that used molten salts was experimentally studied at ORNL in the 1960s, where a critical molten salt reactor was successfully operated using enriched U235 or U233 tetrafluoride fuels . These experiments give confidence that an accelerator-driven subcritical molten salt reactor will work as well or better than conventional reactors, having better efficiency due to their higher operating temperature and having the inherent safety of subcritical operation. Moreover, the requirements to drive a molten salt reactor are considerably relaxed compared to a solid fuel reactor, especially regarding accelerator reliability and spallation neutron targetry, to the point that the required technology exists today. http://www.er.doe.gov/hep/files/pdfs/ADSWhitePaperFinal.pdf http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_amplifier * Paul N. Haubenreich and J. R. Engel, Nuc. Apps & Tech, 8, Feb. 1970