Definition and application of proton source efficiency in accelerator driven systems

• In order to study the beam power amplification of an accelerator-driven system (ADS), a new parameter, the proton source efficiency psi* is introduced. psi* represents the average importance of the external proton source, relative to the average importance of the eigenmode production, and is closely related to the neutron source efficiency rho*, which is frequently used in the ADS field. rho* is commonly used in the physics of subcritical systems driven by any external source (spallation source, (d,d), (d, t), Cf-252 spontaneous fissions, etc.). On the contrary, psi* has been defined in this paper exclusively for ADS studies where the system is driven by a spallation source. The main advantage with using psi* instead of rho* for ADS is that the way of defining the external source is unique and that it is proportional to the core power divided by the proton beam power, independent of the neutron source distribution. Numerical simulations have been performed with the Monte Carlo code MCNPX in order to study psi* as a function of different design parameters. It was found that, in order to maximize psi* and therefore minimize the proton current needs, a target radius as small as possible should be chosen. For target radii smaller than similar to30 cm, lead-bismuth is a better choice of coolant material than sodium, regarding the proton source efficiency, while for larger target radii the two materials are equally good. The optimal axial proton beam impact was found to be located similar to 20 cm above the core center. Varying the proton energy, psi*/E-p was found to have a maximum for proton energies between 1200 and 1400 MeV Increasing the americium content in the fuel decreases psi* considerably, in particular when the target radius is large.

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Maskinteknik -- Energiteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Mechanical Engineering -- Energy Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Atomic physics

Atomfysik

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