Failure probability analysis on mercury target vessel

Ishikura, Shuichi*; Shiga, Akio*; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Kogawa, Hiroyuki; Sato, Hiroshi; Haga, Katsuhiro; Ikeda, Yujiro

JAERI-Tech 2005-026, 65 Pages, 2005/03

JAERI-Tech-2005-026.pdf:2.86MB

Failure probability analysis was carried out to estimate the lifetime of the mercury target which will be installed into the JSNS (Japan spallation neutron source) in J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex). The lifetime was estimated as taking loading condition and materials degradation into account. Considered loads imposed on the target vessel were the static stresses due to thermal expansion and static pre-pressure on He-gas and mercury and the dynamic stresses due to the thermally shocked pressure waves generated repeatedly at 25 Hz. Materials used in target vessel will be degraded by the fatigue, neutron and proton irradiation, mercury immersion and pitting damages, etc. The imposed stresses were evaluated through static and dynamic structural analyses. The material-degradations were deduced based on published experimental data. As results, it was quantitatively confirmed that the failure probability for the lifetime expected in the design is very much lower, 10 in the safety hull, meaning that it will be hardly failed during the design lifetime. On the other hand, the beam window of mercury vessel suffered with high-pressure waves exhibits the failure probability of 12%. It was concluded, therefore, that the leaked mercury from the failed area at the beam window is adequately kept in the space between the safety hull and the mercury vessel to detect mercury-leakage sensors.

Bubble dynamics in the thermal shock problem of the liquid metal target

Ishikura, Shuichi*; Kogawa, Hiroyuki; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Kikuchi, Kenji; Hino, Ryutaro; Arakawa, Chuichi

Journal of Nuclear Materials, 318, p.113 - 121, 2003/05

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3115(03)00086-2

The thermal shock stress in the mercury target vessel was analyzed: the target receives the incident proton beam at the energy of 1 MW with the pulse duration of 1ms. Negative pressure of maximal 61MPa was generated when the initial pressure of 52MPa propagated in mercury. It is expected then that the cavitation may be arisen by the negative pressure. So in order to know the cavitation behavior, the simulation study was carried out by using the equation of motion based on the bubble dynamics for a single bubble, and fundamental parameter analysis was carried out. It is found that a bubble has a potential expansion more than 1000 times with a change of the pressure at the window of the target vessel. Consequently wave propagation will be affected. Theoretical consideration was given to the wave motion of propagation in bubbly liquid. The equation of state in bubbly liquid can be approximated by the polynomial. The diameter of a bubble and the bubble volume fraction inherent in mercury can be decided if the critical pressure, the sound velocity, and resonance frequency is successfully measured by static and dynamic experiment.