Utilisation and Reliability of High Power Proton Accelerators
Workshop Proceedings, Daejeon, Republic of Korea, 16-19 May 2004
Accelerator-driven systems (ADS) are being considered for their potential use in the transmutation of radioactive waste. The performance of such hybrid nuclear systems depends to a large extent on the specification and reliability of high power accelerators, as well as the integration of the accelerator with spallation targets and sub-critical systems. At present, much R&D work is still required in order to demonstrate the desired capability of the system as a whole.
Accelerator scientists and reactor physicists from around the world gathered at an NEA workshop to discuss issues of common interest and to present the most recent achievements in their research. Discussions focused on accelerator reliability; target, window and coolant technology; sub-critical system design and ADS simulations; safety and control of ADS; and ADS experiments and test facilities. These proceedings contain the technical papers presented at the workshop as well as summaries of the working group discussions held. They will be of particular interest to scientists working on ADS development as well as on radioactive waste management issues in general.
Comparative Transient Analysis of Pb/Bi and Gas-cooled XADS Concepts
Agence pour l'Energie Nucléaire
In the field of waste management incorporating a transmutation option, accelerator-driven systems (ADS) represent an important alternative to conventional reactors due to their higher safety level when minor actinides (such as neptunium and americium) are loaded into the core. The Preliminary Design Study of an Experimental Accelerator-driven System (PDS-XADS) is being performed within the European Union’s Fifth Framework Programme. The main goal of PDS-XADS is to demonstrate the feasibility of an ADS and to compare different coolant (Pb/Bi and gas) and power (50-80 MWth) options. At this stage, all options use MOX fuel. Comparative safety analyses were performed using the TRAC/AAA code for the 80 MWth Pb/Bi and gas-cooled designs. The analyses covered reactivity increase (as an example of perturbations of the core), transient overcurrent (as an example of perturbations of the source) and loss of coolant (as an example of transients coming from faults in the primary and secondary coolant systems).