Research and development program on accelerator driven subcritical system in JAERI

Tsujimoto, Kazufumi ; Oigawa, Hiroyuki ; Ouchi, Nobuo ; Kikuchi, Kenji; Kurata, Yuji; Mizumoto, Motoharu; Sasa, Toshinobu   ; Nishihara, Kenji  ; Saito, Shigeru   ; Umeno, Makoto*; Tazawa, Yujiro

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) has been proceeding with the research and development (R&D) on accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS). The ADS proposed by JAERI is a lead-bismuth (Pb-Bi) eutectic cooled fast subcritical core with 800 MWth. To realize such an ADS, some technical issues should be studied, developed and demonstrated. JAERI has started a comprehensive R&D program since the fiscal year of 2002 to acquire knowledge and elemental technology that are necessary for the validation of engineering feasibility of the ADS. The first stage of the program had been continued for three years. The program is conducted by JAERI, and many institutes, universities and private companies were involved. Items of R&D are concentrated on three technical areas peculiar to the ADS: (1) superconducting linear accelerator (SC-LINAC), (2) Pb-Bi eutectic as spallation target and core coolant, and (3) subcritical core design and technology. In the present work, the outline and the results in the first stage of the program are reported.