CONCEPTUAL DESIGN AND NEUTRONICS ANALYSES OF A FUSION REACTOR BLANKET SIMULATION FACILITY

DENIS EUGENE BELLER, Purdue University

Abstract

A new conceptual design of a fusion reactor blanket simulation facility has been developed. This design follows the principles that have been successfully employed in the Purdue Fast Breeder Blanket Facility (FBBF), because experiments conducted in it have resulted in the discovery of deficiencies in neutronics prediction methods. With this design, discrepancies between calculation and experimental data can be fully attributed to calculation methods because design deficiencies which could affect results are insignificant. Inelastic scattering cross sections are identified as a major source of these discrepancies. The conceptual design of this FBBF-analog, the fusion reactor blanket facility (FRBF), is presented. Essential features are a cylindrical geometry and a distributed, cosine-shaped line source of 14 MeV neutrons. This source can be created by sweeping a deuteron beam over an elongated titanium-tritide target. To demonstrate that the design of the FRBF will not contribute significant deviations in experimental results, neutronics analyses were performed: results of comparisons of 2-dimensional to 1-dimensional predictions are reported for two blanket compositions. Expected deviations from 1-D predictions which are due to source anisotropy and blanket asymmetry are minimal. Then 1-D calculations can be performed in fine detail to produce course-group constants for 2-D predictions. When these 2-D neutronics studies include the asymmetry and anisotropy, differences between prediction and experimental results caused by the design will be less than 1%. Thus, the design of the FRBF allows simple and straightforward interpretation of experimental results, without a need for course 3-D calculations.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Nuclear physics

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