Simulations of magnetic field effects on 3-GeV proton beam brought by magnets for muon beam in future proton beam transport line of J-PARC

Yamaguchi, Yuji; Kondo, Yasuhiro; Meigo, Shinichiro; Shinozaki, Shinichi; Takayanagi, Tomohiro; Fujimori, Hiroshi*; Kawamura, Naritoshi*

Journal of Physics; Conference Series, 3094(1), p.012023_1 - 012023_5, 2025/09

https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/3094/1/012023

The 3-GeV proton beam from the rapid cycling synchrotron (RCS) of J-PARC is transported to the spallation neutron source at Materials and Life Science Experimental Facility (MLF) by a 3-GeV RCS to Neutron facility Beam Transport (3NBT) line. Recently, the first design idea of a new proton beam transport line has been proposed for a future target station of the MLF (TS2). In the present study, proton beam transport is simulated near the TS2 target where a bending magnet and a solenoid are located for muon beam transport. The purposes are to clarify the magnetic field effects on the proton beam by the magnets and to present a method to correct each effect. Orbit deviation by the bending magnet and vertical size expansion due to profile rotation by the solenoid can be corrected by installing additional bending magnets and a solenoid with reversal magnetic field, respectively. The correction method is expected to be effective and also needs to be studied further for detail design.

Effect of inner wall cracking on the cavitation bubble formation in the mercury spallation target at J-PARC

Ariyoshi, Gen; Saruta, Koichi; Kogawa, Hiroyuki; Futakawa, Masatoshi; Maeno, Koki*; Li, Y.*; Tsutsui, Kihei*

Proceedings of 20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-20) (Internet), p.1407 - 1420, 2023/08

https://doi.10.13182/NURETH20-41514

Cavitation damage on a target vessel due to proton beam-induced pressure waves is one of the crucial issues for the pulsed neutron source using a mercury spallation target. As a mitigation technique for the damage, the helium microbubble injection into the mercury has been carried out by using a swirl bubbler in order to utilize compressibility of bubbles. Moreover, double-walled structure, which consists of an outer wall and an inner wall, has been applied as the target head structure. In this study, we aim to develop an abnormality diagnostic technology to detect the inner wall cracking, which is caused by such cavitation damage, from the outside of the target vessel. The mercury flow fields in the case with the cracking are evaluated by computational fluid dynamics analysis based on finite element method. And then, effect of the cracking on the flow field is discussed from the point of view of the flow-induced vibration and the acoustic vibration.

Technical note for the cavitation damage inspection for interior surface of the mercury target vessel, 1; Development of specimen cutting machine for remote handling

Naoe, Takashi; Kinoshita, Hidetaka; Wakui, Takashi; Kogawa, Hiroyuki; Haga, Katsuhiro

JAEA-Technology 2022-018, 43 Pages, 2022/08

JAEA-Technology-2022-018.pdf:7.84MB

In the liquid mercury target system for the pulsed spallation neutron source of Materials and Life science experimental Facility (MLF) at the Japan in the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC), cavitation that is generated by the high-energy proton beam-induced pressure waves, resulting severe erosion damage on the interior surface of the mercury target vessel. The erosion damage is increased with increasing the proton beam power, and has the possibility to cause the leakage of mercury by the penetrated damage and/or the fatigue failure originated from erosion pits during operation. To achieve the long term stable operation under high-power proton beam, the mitigation technologies for cavitation erosion consisting of surface modification on the vessel interior surface, helium gas microbubble injection, double-walled beam window structure has been applied. The damage on interior surface of the vessel is never observed during the beam operation. Therefore, after the target operation term ends, we have cut out specimen from the target nose of the target vessel to inspect damaged surface in detail for verification of the cavitation damage mitigation technologies and lifetime estimation. We have developed the techniques of specimen cutting out by remote handling under high-radiation environment. Cutting method was gradually updated based on experience in actual cutting for the used target vessel. In this report, techniques of specimen cutting out for the beam entrance portion of the target vessel in high-radiation environment and overview of the results of specimen cutting from actual target vessels are described.

Measurement of thick target neutron yield at 180 for a mercury target induced by 3-GeV protons

Matsuda, Hiroki; Iwamoto, Hiroki; Meigo, Shinichiro; Takeshita, Hayato*; Maekawa, Fujio

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 483, p.33 - 40, 2020/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2020.09.012

A thick target neutron yield for a mercury target at an angle of 180 from the incident beam direction is measured with the time-of-flight method using a 3-GeV proton beam at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). Comparing the experimental result with a Monte Carlo particle transport simulation by the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS) shows that there are apparent discrepancies. We find that this trend is consistent with an experimental result of neutron-induced re- action rates obtained using indium and niobium activation foils. Comparing proton-induced neutron-production double-differential cross-sections for a lead target at backward directions between the PHITS calculation and experimental data suggests that the dis- crepancies for our experiments would be linked to the neutron production calculation around 3 GeV by the PHITS spallation model and/or the calculation of nonelastic cross-sections around 3 GeV in the particle transport simulation.

The Analytical study of inventories and physicochemical configuration of spallation products produced in Lead-Bismuth Eutectic of Accelerator Driven System

Miyahara, Shinya*; Ohdaira, Naoya*; Arita, Yuji*; Maekawa, Fujio; Matsuda, Hiroki; Sasa, Toshinobu; Meigo, Shinichiro

Nuclear Engineering and Design, 352, p.110192_1 - 110192_8, 2019/10

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nucengdes.2019.110192

Lead-Bismuth Eutectic (LBE) is used as a spallation neutron target and coolant materials of Accelerator Driven System (ADS), and many kinds of elements are produced as spallation products. It is important to evaluate the release and transport behavior of the spallation products in the LBE. The inventories and the physicochemical composition of the spallation products produced in LBE have been investigated for an LBE loop in the ADS Target Test Facility (TEF-T) in J-PARC. The inventories of the spallation products in the LBE were estimated using the PHITS code. The physicochemical composition of the spallation products in the LBE was calculated using the Thermo-Calc code under the conditions of the operation temperatures of LBE from 350C to 500C and the oxygen concentrations in LBE from 10 ppb to 1 ppm. The calculation showed that the 5 elements of Rb, Tl, Tc, Os, Ir, Pt, Au and Hg were soluble in LBE under the all given conditions and any kinds of compound were not formed in LBE. It was suggested that the oxides of Ce, Sr, Zr and Y were stable as CeO, SrO, ZrO and YO in the LBE.

Thick target neutron yields from 100- and 230-MeV/nucleon helium ions bombarding water, PMMA, and iron

Tsai, P.-E.; Heilbronn, L. H.*; Lai, B.-L.*; Iwata, Yoshiyuki*; Murakami, Takeshi*; Sheu, R.-J.*

Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 449, p.62 - 70, 2019/06

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nimb.2019.04.030

The secondary neutrons produced from 100- and 230-MeV/nucleon He ions, respectively, stopping in the thick iron, PMMA and water targets are measured by the time of flight method combined with the pulse shape discrimination of liquid scintillators. The experimental data show that the secondary neutrons were contributed from breakup of projectiles, emission from overlap regions of projectile nuclei and target nuclei, and evaporation of projectiles and target nuclei. The measured double-differential thick target neutron yields, angular distributions, and total neutron yields per ion, were benchmarked by the PHITS, FLUKA, and MCNP model calculations. The default models in these codes agree the experimental data well at intermediate-to-large angles in the low-to-intermediate energy range. However, the physics models implemented in PHITS need further improvement for some particular nuclear interaction mechanisms, and this work can be an importance reference for future model development.

Conceptual design and verification of long-distance laser-probe system for Li target diagnostics of intense fusion neutron source

Kondo, Hiroo*; Kanemura, Takuji*; Hirakawa, Yasushi; Furukawa, Tomohiro

Fusion Engineering and Design, 136(Part A), p.24 - 28, 2018/11

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2017.12.015

In the IFMIF-EVEDA project, we designed and constructed the IFMIF-EVEDA Li Test Loop (ELTL), and we performed experiments to validate the stability of the Li target. This project required a diagnostic tool to be developed in order to examine the Li target; as such, we developed a unique laser-based method that we call the laser-probe method; this method combines a high-precision laser distance meter with a statistical data analysis method. Following the successful development of the laser-probe method, we proposes a long-distance-measurement of the laser probe method (long-distance LP method) as a diagnostics tool in off-beam conditions for IFMIF or the relevant neutron sources. In this study, the measurement uncertainty resulting from coherency of the laser in a long-distance-measurement has been verified by using stationary objects and a water jet simulating the liquid Li target.

Development of LINAC-based neutron source for boron neutron capture therapy in University of Tsukuba

Kumada, Hiroaki*; Naito, Fujio*; Hasegawa, Kazuo; Kobayashi, Hitoshi*; Kurihara, Toshikazu*; Takada, Kenta*; Onishi, Takahiro*; Sakurai, Hideyuki*; Matsumura, Akira*; Sakae, Takeji*

Plasma and Fusion Research (Internet), 13, p.2406006_1 - 2406006_6, 2018/02

https://doi.org/10.1585/pfr.13.2406006

Monte Carlo simulations of the n_TOF lead spallation target with the Geant4 toolkit; A Benchmark study

Lerendegui-Marco, J.*; Corts-Giraldo, M. A.*; Guerrero, C.*; Harada, Hideo; Kimura, Atsushi; n_TOF Collaboration*; 114 of others*

EPJ Web of Conferences, 146, p.03030_1 - 03030_4, 2017/09

https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/201714603030

Design of 250kW LBE spallation target for the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC)

Sasa, Toshinobu; Saito, Shigeru; Obayashi, Hironari; Sugawara, Takanori; Wan, T.; Yamaguchi, Kazushi*; Yoshimoto, Hidemitsu

NEA/CSNI/R(2017)2 (Internet), p.111 - 116, 2017/06

https://www.oecd-nea.org/science/docs/2017/nsc-r2017-2.pdf

Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) proposes to reduce the environmental impact caused from high-level radioactive waste by using Accelerator-driven system (ADS). To realize ADS, JAEA plans to build the Transmutation Experimental Facility (TEF) within the framework of J-PARC project. For the JAEA-proposed ADS, lead-bismuth eutectic alloy (LBE) is adopted as a coolant for subcritical core and spallation target. By using TEF in J-PARC, we are planning to solve technical difficulties for LBE utilization by completion of the data for the design of ADS. The 250kW LBE spallation target will be located in TEF facility to prepare material irradiation database. Various R&Ds for important technologies required to build the facilities are investigated such as oxygen content control, instruments development, remote handling techniques for target maintenance, and spallation target design. The large scale LBE loops for 250kW target mock up and material corrosion studies are also manufactured and ready for various experiments. The latest status of 250kW LBE spallation target optimization will be described in the presentation.