Radiation-Hardened Field Coils for FMIT Quadrupoles

Abstract

Modern accelerators of the Fusion Materials Irradiation Test (FMIT) class deliver enormous power onto their targets. The high beam currents of such machines produce highly activating radiation fields from beam/target interaction and normal beam losses. The 100-mA deuteron beam from the FMIT accelerator produces a backstreaming fast-neutron flux of 10 <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">11</sup> n/s-cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> near the target. In addition, the neutron contribution from distributed beam spill of 3 μA/m along the rest of the machine prevents the use of epoxy resin potting materials in all magnet field coils above 10-MeV beam energies. Two special techniques for radiation-hardened field coils have been developed at Los Alamos for use on the FMIT accelerator. One technique uses vitreous enamel coatings on the conductors and appears attractive for the drift-tube quadrupoles. Another method uses a thermally efficient two-layer coil design that has solid mineral-insulated (MI) conductors with indirect cooling coils, all bonded together in a lead matrix. Test results are discussed, along with applications of the quadrupoles in the FMIT facility that reduce gamma exposures during maintenance periods.