Abstract
Within European Partitioning & Transmutation research programs, infrastructures specifically dedicated to the study of fundamental reactor physics and engineering parameters of future fast-neutron-based reactors are very important, being some of these features not available in present zero-power prototypes. This presentation will illustrate the conceptual design of an Accelerator-Driven System with high safety standards, but ample flexibility for measurements. The design assumes as base option a 70 MeV, 0.75 mA proton cyclotron, as the one which will be installed at the INFN National Laboratory in Legnaro, Italy and a Beryllium target, with Helium gas as core coolant. Safety is guaranteed by limiting the thermal power to 200 kW, with a neutron multiplication coefficient around 0.94, loading the core with fuel containing Uranium enriched at 20% inserted in a solid-lead diffuser. The small decay heat can be passively removed by thermal radiation from the vessel. Such a system could be used to study, among others, some specific aspects of neutron diffusion in lead, beam-core coupling, target cooling and could serve as a training facility.
Highlights
Operation of the widespread thermal nuclear reactors results in the accumulation of important quantities of highly radioactive, highly toxic, long-lived nuclear materials, in the form of plutonium, Minor Actinides (MA) and Long-Lived Fission Products (LLFP)
One of the possible strategies for waste minimization implies the so-called double-strata approach [5], in which the second stratum is a transuranic (Pu, MA) transmutation scheme based on dedicated fast reactors and Accelerator-Driven Systems (ADS)1
The more energetic neutron spectrum is obtained by using as a coolant a medium or heavy element, such as sodium or lead, or a low density gas
Summary
Operation of the widespread thermal nuclear reactors results in the accumulation of important quantities of highly radioactive, highly toxic, long-lived nuclear materials, in the form of plutonium, Minor Actinides (MA) and Long-Lived Fission Products (LLFP). Most of these requirements are more severe than in conventional research accelerators and require, at least for a high-power ADS, a special design Another important aspect in the framework of innovative nuclear energy system projects is the opportunity to use infrastructures for research and study where experimental tests on new concepts can be performed, in order to validate measurement methodologies, simulation codes and data libraries, as well as to improve our understanding of the complex dynamic and kinetic effects in fast-neutron heavymetal-cooled sub-critical systems. Among the basic R&D requirements are the capability to test and develop experimental methods for the on-line measurement of sub-criticality in ADS systems and the need for hands-on experience on the kinetic and dynamic behaviour in fast systems Such an experience is essential in order to validate our theoretical understanding of the main processes and parameters underlying fast neutron systems, but it is fundamental to assess the potential impact of these effects on control and safety parameters.
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