Design and beam dynamic studies of a 30-MW superconducting linac for an accelerator-driven subcritical system

Yee-Rendon, B.; Kondo, Yasuhiro; Maekawa, Fujio; Meigo, Shinichiro; Tamura, Jun

Physical Review Accelerators and Beams (Internet), 24(12), p.120101_1 - 120101_17, 2021/12

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.24.120101

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is working on the research and development of a 30-MW continuous wave (CW) proton linear accelerator (linac) for the JAEA accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS) proposal. The linac will accelerate a 20 mA proton beam to 1.5 GeV, using mainly superconducting cavities. The main challenge for an ADS accelerator is the high reliability required to prevent thermal stress in the subcritical reactor; thus, we pursue a robust lattice to achieve stable operation. To this end, the beam optics design reduces the emittance growth and the beam halo through the superconducting part of the linac. First, we simulated an ideal machine without any errors to establish the operation conditions of the beam. Second, we applied element errors and input beam errors to estimate the tolerance of the linac design. Finally, we implemented a correction scheme to increase the lattice tolerance by reducing the beam centroid offset on the transverse plane. Massive multiparticle simulations and a cumulative statistic of 110 macroparticles have shown that the JAEA-ADS linac can operate with less than 1 W/m beam losses in error scenarios.

Fast fault recovery scenarios for the JAEA-ADS linac

Yee-Rendon, B.; Tamura, Jun; Kondo, Yasuhiro; Nakano, Keita; Takei, Hayanori; Maekawa, Fujio; Meigo, Shinichiro

Proceedings of 18th Annual Meeting of Particle Accelerator Society of Japan (Internet), p.61 - 65, 2021/10

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is designing a 30 MW CW superconducting proton linac as a major component for the accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS) project. The main challenge of the linac operation is the high reliability required to suppress thermal stress in the subcritical reactor. To this end, we implemented fault compensation schemes to enable a fast beam recovery; consequently, reducing the beam trip duration. This work presents strategies to increase the fault-tolerance capacity of the JAEA-ADS linac.

Effect of irradiation on corrosion behavior of 316L steel in lead-bismuth eutectic with different oxygen concentrations

Okubo, Nariaki; Fujimura, Yuki; Tomobe, Masakatsu*

Quantum Beam Science (Internet), 5(3), p.27_1 - 27_9, 2021/09

https://doi.org/10.3390/qubs5030027

In an accelerator driven system (ADS), the beam window material of the spallation neutron target is heavily irradiated under severe conditions. Displacement damage and corrosion occur simultaneously because of high-energy neutron and/or proton irradiation in the lead-bismuth flow. The materials used in ADSs need to be compatible with the liquid metal, which is lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE), to prevent issues such as liquid metal embrittlement (LME) and liquid metal corrosion (LMC). In this study, the LMC behavior after ion irradiation of 316L austenitic steel is considered for self-ion irradiations followed by the corrosion tests. The 316L specimens were irradiated by 10.5 MeV-Fe ions at temperature of 450C up to 50 displacement per atom (dpa). After the corrosion test at 450C in LBE with low oxygen concentration, the surface of the non-irradiated area was not oxidized but corrosive morphology with pits, whereas the irradiated area was covered by an iron/chromium oxide layer. The surface of the irradiated area was covered by the duplex layers of iron and iron/chromium oxides in the case of higher oxygen concentration in LBE. It is suggested that irradiation can advance oxide layer formation because of enhanced Fe diffusion caused by the residual vacancies in 316L steel.

Multipacting studies for the JAEA-ADS five-cell elliptical superconducting RF cavities

Yee-Rendon, B.; Kondo, Yasuhiro; Maekawa, Fujio; Meigo, Shinichiro; Tamura, Jun; Cicek, E.*

Proceedings of 12th International Particle Accelerator Conference (IPAC 21) (Internet), p.793 - 795, 2021/08

https://doi.org/10.18429/JACoW-IPAC2021-MOPAB247

The Five-cell Elliptical Superconducting Radio-Frequency Cavities (SRFC) provide the final acceleration in the JAEA-ADS linac (from 600 MeV to 1.5 GeV); thus, their performance is essential for the success of the JAEA-ADS project. After their optimization of the cavity geometry to achieve a high-acceleration gradient with lower electromagnetic peaks, the next step in the R&D strategy is the accurate estimation of beam-cavity effects which can affect the performance of the cavities. To this end, multipacting studies were developed to investigate its effect in the cavity operation regimen and find countermeasures. The results of this study will help in the development of the SRFC models and in the consolidation of the JAEA-ADS project.

A Plan of materials irradiation facility at J-PARC for development of ADS and high-power accelerator facilities

Maekawa, Fujio

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 33, p.011042_1 - 011042_6, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.33.011042

Development of beam window (BW) materials is one of crucial issues in development of accelerator driven nuclear transmutation systems (ADS). The BW is exposed to high energy protons and spallation neutrons, and also to corrosive lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) alloy at high temperature of about 500C. Recently, not only high-power accelerators but also high-power targets are the rate-limiting factor for increasing the power of accelerator facilities in terms of radiation damage and heat removal. To study radiation damage on BW and target materials for high-power accelerator facilities including ADS, we are planning a materials irradiation facility by utilizing the proton beam of 400 MeV and 250 kW provided by the J-PARC's Linac. The target is flowing LBE alloy which is a candidate target and coolant material of ADS. When a steel sample is irradiated in the target for one year, the sample receives radiation damage of about 10 dpa at maximum which is equivalent to the yearly radiation damage of ADS's BW. In the current facility concept, the facility is equipped with a hot-laboratory for efficient post-irradiation examination. The facility will be outlined in this presentation.

Status of LBE study and experimental plan at JAEA

Saito, Shigeru; Wan, T.*; Okubo, Nariaki; Obayashi, Hironari; Watanabe, Nao; Ohdaira, Naoya*; Kinoshita, Hidetaka; Yamaki, Kenichi*; Kita, Satoshi*; Yoshimoto, Hidemitsu*; et al.

JPS Conference Proceedings (Internet), 33, p.011041_1 - 011041_6, 2021/03

https://doi.org/10.7566/JPSCP.33.011041

An Accelerator Driven System (ADS) for waste transmutation investigated in JAEA employs lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) as a neutron production target material and coolant. The neutrons are to be produced via the spallation with 1.5 GeV proton beam injection. As materials irradiation data are important for ADS development, JAEA plans to construct an irradiation facility with LBE neutron production target in J-PARC. There are many technical issues on LBE for practical use. In JAEA, various R&Ds are being carried out. Concerning corrosion study, conditioning operation and functional tests of OLLOCHI started. Oxygen concentration control technology has also developing. In the large scale LBE loop experiment, the operation for steady state and transient experiments was performed by using IMMORTAL. In the area of instrument, development of ultrasonic flow meter and freeze seal valve are progressing as a key technology for the LBE loop system. Investigation of behavior of impurities in LBE, which is important for design of the irradiation facility, started. In this paper, the status of the LBE studies and experimental plan will be presented.

Estimation of oxygen consumption amount in LBE-cooled accelerator-driven system

Sugawara, Takanori; Komatsu, Atsushi

JAEA-Research 2020-016, 44 Pages, 2021/01

JAEA-Research-2020-016.pdf:2.94MB

It is required to control the oxygen concentration in lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) to prevent the corrosion of structures in LBE-cooled nuclear system. This study estimated the oxygen consumption amount in the LBE-cooled accelerator-driven system (ADS). We used the evaluation formula for the oxide layer thickness, which were derived by various experiments, to estimate the oxygen consumption amount. It was found that the maximum oxide layer thicknesses for the fuel assembly and the beam window were about 35 [m] and 20 [m], respectively. Based on these results, the oxygen consumption amount for the ADS plant was estimated as 30 [kg] during one cycle (one year). Through this study, it was indicated that an oxygen supply device which could supply 3-4 [g/h] oxygen in the normal operation, 150 [g/h] in the peak and about 30 [kg] during one cycle was necessary.

Corrosion behaviour of Al-added high Mn austenitic steels in molten lead bismuth eutectic with saturated and low oxygen concentrations at 450C

Wang, H.*; Yu, H.*; Kondo, Sosuke*; Okubo, Nariaki; Kasada, Ryuta*

Corrosion Science, 175, p.108864_1 - 108864_12, 2020/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.corsci.2020.108864

Corrosion tests were performed on newly developed alumina-forming austenitic (AFA) steels in stagnant lead bismuth eutectic (LBE) with saturated and low oxygen concentrations at 450C for 430 h. The steels exhibited enhanced corrosion resistance to the LBE environments with the increasing of Al content. A continuous and protective Al-rich oxide scale formed on the steel specimens that were exposed to LBE with a low oxygen concentration, whereas a non-protective and stratified oxide scale formed in the oxygen saturated LBE.

Two-parameter model for optimizing target beam distribution with an octupole magnet

Meigo, Shinichiro; Oi, Motoki; Fujimori, Hiroshi*

Physical Review Accelerators and Beams (Internet), 23(6), p.062802_1 - 062802_24, 2020/06

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevAccelBeams.23.062802

As hadron accelerators for such as the ADS and spallation neutron source achieve increasing beam power, damage to targets is becoming increasingly severe. To mitigate this damage, nonlinear beam optics based on octupole magnets is attractive. Nonlinear optics can decrease the beam-focusing hazard due to failure of the rastering magnet. As a side effect of nonlinear optics, the beam size is known to expand drastically compared with linear optics. Nonlinear effects have been studied via a simplified filament model that ignores beam-divergence spread at the octupole magnet. In this study, a new generalized model is proposed for application to an octupole magnet, regardless of the filament-model approximation. It is found that the transverse distribution obtained by beam tracking can be specified by the introduction of only two parameters, namely the normalized octupole strength of and the of the phase advance. To achieve the two antagonistic requirements of reduction of the beam-peak density and minimization of the beam loss, the transverse distribution is surveyed for a large range of beam position. It is found that a bell-shaped distribution with 1 and 3 can satisfy requirements. This result is applied to beam transport in the spallation neutron source at J-PARC. The calculation result given by the present model shows good agreement with the experimental data, and the peak current density is reduced by 50% compared with the linear-optics case.

Characterization of mechanical strain induced by lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) freezing in stainless steel cup

Ohdaira, Naoya*; Saito, Shigeru

Heliyon (Internet), 6(2), p.e03429_1 - e03429_8, 2020/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e03429

Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) is a candidate liquid metal coolant for a fast reactor, especially accelerator driven system (ADS). Freeze sealed valve is a candidate design to be possible to add passive safety to the reactor. On the other hand, since LBE is known that it causes expansion after its solidification, quantitative evaluation of the stress to the pipe produced by the LBE expansion should be considered. Many researchers produced related data for the expansion, however, evaluations of the strain by LBE expansion was barely reported. Therefore, the strain measurement using a stainless steel cup and the stress evaluation was performed together with visual observation using an optical microscopy. The results indicated keeping above room temperature (RT) was a significantly effective way to reduce the strain to the pipe.