neutrons generated by 100 MeV protons from the FFAG accelerator were successfully injected into uranium- [1, 2, 4] and thorium-loaded [5, 7] cores.
In the ADS facility at KUCA, reactor physics experiments are being carried out
to study the neutronic characteristics through the measurements of reactor physics
parameters, including reaction rates, neutron spectrum, neutron multiplication,
subcriticality, and neutron decay constant. Among these, neutron multiplication
was considered as an important index to recognize the number of fission neutrons in
the core induced by the external neutron source.
The mockup experiments [5] of thorium-loaded ADS carried out by varying the
neutron spectrum and the external neutron source were aimed at investigating the
influence of different neutron profiles on thorium capture reactions and the prompt
and delayed neutron behaviors in the subcritical system. The results provided
important effects of the neutron spectrum and the external neutron source on both
static and kinetic parameters: the effect of the neutron spectrum was investigated by
varying the moderator material in the fuel region, and that of external neutron
source by injecting separately 14 MeV neutrons and 100 MeV protons into the
thorium-loaded core varying the moderator. Before the subcritical experiments, a
thorium plate irradiation experiment was carried out in the KUCA core to analyze
the thorium capture and fission reactions in the critical system as a reference of the
subcritical system, although the feasibility of
232 Th capture and
233 U fission reactions could be examined in the subcritical state.
In this chapter, experimental results of the uranium- and thorium-loaded ADS
are shown. Accuracy was evaluated through the comparison between the experiments and the calculations of the Monte Carlo analyses through the MCNPX [9]
code with ENDF/B-VII.0 [10], JENDL/HE-2007 [11], and JENDL/D-99 [12]
libraries. The ADS static and kinetic experiments at KUCA are presented in
Sect. 9.2, the results and discussion of the experiments and calculations in
Sect. 9.3, and the conclusion of the study in Sect. 9.4.
9.2 Experimental Settings
9.2.1 Uranium-Loaded ADS Experiments
KUCA comprises two solid polyethylene-moderated thermal cores designated A
and B and one water-moderated thermal core designated C. The A-core is mainly
used for experiments of ADS basic research. The three cores are operated at a low
mW power in the normal operating state; the maximum power is 100 W. The
constitution and the configuration of the cores can be altered easily, and the
coupling with the conventional Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator and with the
FFAG accelerator has allowed conducting experiments separately with the use of
14 MeV neutrons from deuteron–tritium fusion reactions and 100 MeV protons
with the heavy metal target, respectively.
82
C.H. Pyeon
In the ADS facility at KUCA, reactor physics experiments are being carried out
to study the neutronic characteristics through the measurements of reactor physics
parameters, including reaction rates, neutron spectrum, neutron multiplication,
subcriticality, and neutron decay constant. Among these, neutron multiplication
was considered as an important index to recognize the number of fission neutrons in
the core induced by the external neutron source.
The mockup experiments [5] of thorium-loaded ADS carried out by varying the
neutron spectrum and the external neutron source were aimed at investigating the
influence of different neutron profiles on thorium capture reactions and the prompt
and delayed neutron behaviors in the subcritical system. The results provided
important effects of the neutron spectrum and the external neutron source on both
static and kinetic parameters: the effect of the neutron spectrum was investigated by
varying the moderator material in the fuel region, and that of external neutron
source by injecting separately 14 MeV neutrons and 100 MeV protons into the
thorium-loaded core varying the moderator. Before the subcritical experiments, a
thorium plate irradiation experiment was carried out in the KUCA core to analyze
the thorium capture and fission reactions in the critical system as a reference of the
subcritical system, although the feasibility of
232 Th capture and
233 U fission reactions could be examined in the subcritical state.
In this chapter, experimental results of the uranium- and thorium-loaded ADS
are shown. Accuracy was evaluated through the comparison between the experiments and the calculations of the Monte Carlo analyses through the MCNPX [9]
code with ENDF/B-VII.0 [10], JENDL/HE-2007 [11], and JENDL/D-99 [12]
libraries. The ADS static and kinetic experiments at KUCA are presented in
Sect. 9.2, the results and discussion of the experiments and calculations in
Sect. 9.3, and the conclusion of the study in Sect. 9.4.
9.2 Experimental Settings
9.2.1 Uranium-Loaded ADS Experiments
KUCA comprises two solid polyethylene-moderated thermal cores designated A
and B and one water-moderated thermal core designated C. The A-core is mainly
used for experiments of ADS basic research. The three cores are operated at a low
mW power in the normal operating state; the maximum power is 100 W. The
constitution and the configuration of the cores can be altered easily, and the
coupling with the conventional Cockcroft-Walton type accelerator and with the
FFAG accelerator has allowed conducting experiments separately with the use of
14 MeV neutrons from deuteron–tritium fusion reactions and 100 MeV protons
with the heavy metal target, respectively.
82
C.H. Pyeon