Physical studies of minor actinide transmutation in the accelerator-driven subcritical system

The accelerator-driven subcritical system (ADS) with a hard neutron energy spectrum was used to study transmutation of minor actinides (MAs). The aim of the study was to improve the efficiency of MA transmutation while ensuring that variations in the effective multiplication factor (keff) remained within safe margins during reactor operation. All calculations were completed using code COUPLE3.0. The subcritical reactor was operated at a thermal power level of 800 MW, and a mixture of mononitrides of MAs and plutonium (Pu) was used as fuel. Zirconium nitride (ZrN) was used as an inert matrix in the fuel elements. The initial mass composition in terms of weight percentages in the heavy metal component (IHM) was 30.6% Pu/IHM and 69.4% MA/IHM. To verify the feasibility of this MA loading scheme, variations in keff, the amplification factor of the core, maximum power density and the content of MAs and Pu were calculated over six refueling cycles. Each cycle was of 600 days duration, and therefore, there were 3600 effective full power days. Results demonstrated that the effective transmutation support ratio of MAs was approximately 28, and the ADS was able to efficiently transmute MAs. The changes in other physical parameters were also within their normal ranges.It is concluded that the proposed MA transmutation scheme for an ADS core is reasonable.

Development and validation of the code COUPLE3.0 for the coupled analysis of neutron transport and burnup in ADS

The analysis of the fuel depletion behavior is critical for maintaining the safety of accelerator-driven subcritical systems(ADSs). The code COUPLE2.0 coupling 3-D neutron transport and point burnup calculation was developed by Tsinghua University. A Monte Carlo method is used for the neutron transport analysis, and the burnup calculation is based on a deterministic method. The code can be used for the analysis of targets coupled with a reactor in ADSs. In response to additional ADS analysis requirements at the Institute of Modern Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the COUPLE3.0 version was developed to include the new functions of(1) a module for the calculation of proton irradiation for the analysis of cumulative behavior using the residual radionuclide operating history,(2) a fixed-flux radiation module for hazard assessment and analysis of the burnable poison, and(3) a module for multi-kernel parallel calculation, which improves the radionuclide replacement for the burnup analysis to balance the precision level and computational efficiency of the program. This paper introduces thevalidation of the COUPLE3.0 code using a fast reactor benchmark and ADS benchmark calculations. Moreover,the proton irradiation module was verified by a comparison with the analytic method of calculating the210 Po accumulation results. The results demonstrate that COUPLE3.0 is suitable for the analysis of neutron transport and the burnup of nuclides for ADSs.

Development and validation of depletion code system IMPC Burnup for ADS

Depletion calculation is important for studying the transmutation efficiency of minor actinides and longlife fission products in accelerator-driven subcritical reactor system(ADS). Herein the Python language is used to develop a burnup code system called IMPC-Burnup by coupling FLUKA, OpenMC, and ORIGEN2. The program is preliminarily verified by OECD-NEA pin cell and IAEAADS benchmarking by comparison with experimental values and calculated results from other studies. Moreover,the physics design scheme of the CIADS subcritical core is utilized to test the feasibility of IMPC-Burnup program in the burnup calculation of ADS system. Reference results are given by the COUPLE3.0 program. The results of IMPC-Burnup show good agreement with those of COUPLE3.0. In addition, since the upper limit of the neutron transport energy for OpenMC is 20 MeV, neutrons with energies greater than 20 MeV in the CIADS subcritical core cannot be transported; thus, an equivalent flux method has been proposed to consider neutrons above 20 MeV in the OpenMC transport calculation. The results are compared to those that do not include neutrons greater than 20 MeV. The conclusion is that the accuracy of the actinide nuclide mass in the burnup calculation is improved when the equivalent flux method is used. Therefore, the IMPC-Burnup code is suitable for burnup analysis of the ADS system.

Preparation and verification of mixed high-energy neutron crosssection library for ADS

An accelerator-driven subcritical system(ADS)is driven by an external spallation neutron source, which is generated from a heavy metal spallation target to maintain stable operation of the subcritical core, where the energy of the spallation neutrons can reach several hundred megaelectron volts. However, the upper neutron energy limit of nuclear cross-section databases, which are widely used in critical reactor physics calculations, is generally 20 MeV.This is not suitable for simulating the transport of highenergy spallation neutrons in the ADS. We combine the Japanese JENDL-4.0/HE high-energy evaluation database and the ADS-HE and ADS 2.0 libraries from the International Atomic Energy Agency and process all the data files for nuclides with energies greater than 20 MeV. We use the continuous pointwise cross-section program NJOY2016 to generate the ACE-formatted cross-section data library IMPC-ADS at multiple temperature points. Using the IMPC-ADS library, we calculate 10 critical benchmarks of the International Criticality Safety Benchmark Evaluation Project manual, the 14-MeV fixed-source problem of the Godiva sphere, and the neutron flux of the ADS subcritical core by MCNPX. To verify the correctness of the IMPCADS, the results were compared with those calculated using the ENDF/B-VII.0 library. The results showed thatthe IMPC-ADS is reliable in effective multiplication factor and neutron flux calculations, and it can be applied to physical analysis of the ADS subcritical reactor core.

Preliminary physics study of the Lead–Bismuth Eutectic spallation target for China Initiative Accelerator-Driven System

The Lead-Bismuth Eutectic(LBE) spallation target has been considered as one of the two alternatives for the spallation target for China Initiative Accelerator-Driven System.This paper reports the preliminary study on physical feasibility of a U-type LBE target with window.The simulation results based on Monte Carlo transport code MCNPX indicate that the spallation neutron yield is about 2.5 per proton.The maximum spallation neutron flux is observed at about 3 cm below the lowest part of the window.When the LBE target is coupled with the reactor,the reactor neutrons from the fission reaction increased the neutron field significantly.The energy deposition of highenergy protons is the main heat source;the spallation neutrons and reactor neutrons contribute only a small fraction.The maximum energy deposition in the LBE is about 590 W/cm^3 and that in the target window is about319 W/cm^3.To estimate the lifetime of the target window,we have calculated the radiation damages.The maximum displacement production rate in the target window is about10 dpa/FPY.The hydrogen and helium production rates generated during normal operation were also evaluated.By analyzing the residual nucleus in the target during the steady operation,we estimated the accumulated quantities of the extreme radioactivity toxicant ^(210)Po in the LBE target loop.The results would be helpful for the evaluation of the target behavior and will be beneficial to the optimization of the target design work of the experimental facilities.