Re-evaluation of shielding ability and induced activity of KSTAR with increased neutron yields

Abstract

To determine the viability of the 2-fold neutron yield increase of the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) owing to the installation of a second neutral beam injection system to increase the plasma density and a divertor material change from graphite to tungsten to reduce the heat load, we performed a radiological evaluation and shielding analysis of an existing building structure and the KSTAR with an increased neutron yield per shot. According to the shielding analysis results, the weekly and annual doses outside the building did not exceed the criteria, and the fluxes and doses in the plasma experimental room were unaffected by the divertor material change. The maximum dose rate in the working area in the tokamak was 2.16E+03 μSv/h at the surface-plasma-facing components. However, the dose rate was reduced to the background level one month after a 1-shot operation of 300 s. Ar-41 was the major nuclide for the air activation calculations; however, the effluent level exceeded the derived air concentration after the 1-shot operation ended. The residual activity concentration of Ar-41 was reduced below the derived air concentration after 243 min. The annual operating condition of the KSTAR is suggested based on the evaluation results.