Activation of the IFMIF prototype accelerator and beam dump by deuterons and protons

Abstract

An assessment of the activation caused by deuteron and proton beam losses in the accelerating components and by the full beam current in the beam dump during the International Fusion Material Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) prototype accelerator testing period was performed. The losses along the acceleration line were calculated by the Monte Carlo codes PARTMTEQM and PARMILA. The activation analysis was performed by the European Activation System EASY-2007 recently upgraded to include charge particle-induced reactions. The deuteron and proton activation cross-sections from this library for the dominant reactions were validated against experimental data demonstrating an acceptable uncertainty. The transport of the decaying gamma-rays and the calculation of the radiation dose rate on the external surfaces of the accelerator tank and beam dump have been performed by the MCNP-5 code. The results show that activation induced by the deuteron and proton beam losses in the accelerating components are below the legal transport and hands-on limits. This is also proved to be the case for the proposed design of the beam dump employing the tungsten as ions stopper to accommodate 1.2 MW beam power.