Multi-objective optimization and evaluation of supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle for nuclear power generation

The supercritical CO_(2) Brayton cycle is considered a promising energy conversion system for Generation IV reactors for its simple layout,compact structure,and high cycle efficiency.Mathematical models of four Brayton cycle layouts are developed in this study for different reactors to reduce the cost and increase the thermohydraulic performance of nuclear power generation to promote the commercialization of nuclear energy.Parametric analysis,multi-objective optimizations,and four decision-making methods are applied to obtain each Brayton scheme’s optimal thermohydraulic and economic indexes.Results show that for the same design thermal power scale of reactors,the higher the core’s exit temperature,the better the Brayton cycle’s thermo-economic performance.Among the four-cycle layouts,the recompression cycle(RC)has the best overall performance,followed by the simple recuperation cycle(SR)and the intercooling cycle(IC),and the worst is the reheating cycle(RH).However,RH has the lowest total cost of investment(C_(tot))of$1619.85 million,and IC has the lowest levelized cost of energy(LCOE)of 0.012$/(kWh).The nuclear Brayton cycle system’s overall performance has been improved due to optimization.The performance of the molten salt reactor combined with the intercooling cycle(MSR-IC)scheme has the greatest improvement,with the net output power(W_(net)),thermal efficiencyη_(t),and exergy efficiency(η_(e))improved by 8.58%,8.58%,and 11.21%,respectively.The performance of the lead-cooled fast reactor combined with the simple recuperation cycle scheme was optimized to increase C_(tot) by 27.78%.In comparison,the internal rate of return(IRR)increased by only 7.8%,which is not friendly to investors with limited funds.For the nuclear Brayton cycle,the molten salt reactor combined with the recompression cycle scheme should receive priority,and the gas-cooled fast reactor combined with the reheating cycle scheme should be considered carefully.

First-principles study on the diffusion behavior of Cs and I in Cr coating

Cs and I can migrate through fuel-cladding interfaces and accelerate the cladding corrosion process induced by the fuel-cladding chemical interaction.Cr coating has emerged as an important candidate for mitigating this chemical interaction.In this study,first-principles calculations were employed to investigate the diffusion behavior of Cs and I in the Cr bulk and grain boundaries to reveal the microscopic interaction mitigation mechanisms at the fuel-cladding interface.The interaction between these two fission products and the Cr coating were studied systematically,and the Cs and I temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients in Cr were obtained using Bocquet’s oversized solute-atom model and Le Claire’s nine-frequency model,respectively.The results showed that the Cs and I migration barriers were significantly lower than that of Cr,and the Cs and I diffusion coefficients were more than three orders of magnitude larger than the Cr self-diffusion coefficient within the temperature range of Generation-IV fast reactors(below 1000 K),demonstrating the strong penetration ability of Cs and I.Furthermore,Cs and I are more likely to diffuse along the grain boundary because of the generally low migration barriers,indicating that the grain boundary serves as a fast diffusion channel for Cs and I.

Design of a 3D-printed liquid lithium divertor target plate and its interaction with high-density plasma

A liquid Li divertor is a promising alternative for future fusion devices.In this work a new divertor model is proposed,which is processed by 3D-printing technology to accurately control the size of the internal capillary structure.At a steady-state heat load of 10 MW m^(-2),the thermal stress of the tungsten target is within the bearing range of tungsten by finite-element simulation.In order to evaluate the wicking ability of the capillary structure,the wicking process at 600℃ was simulated by FLUENT.The result was identical to that of the corresponding experiments.Within 1 s,liquid lithium was wicked to the target surface by the capillary structure of the target and quickly spread on the target surface.During the wicking process,the average wicking mass rate of lithium should reach 0.062 g s^(-1),which could even supplement the evaporation requirement of liquid lithium under an environment>950℃.Irradiation experiments under different plasma discharge currents were carried out in a linear plasma device(SCU-PSI),and the evolution of the vapor cloud during plasma irradiation was analyzed.It was found that the target temperature tends to plateau despite the gradually increased input current,indicating that the vapor shielding effect is gradually enhanced.The irradiation experiment also confirmed that the 3D-printed tungsten structure has better heat consumption performance than a tungsten mesh structure or multichannel structure.These results reveal the application potential and feasibility of a 3D-printed porous capillary structure in plasma-facing components and provide a reference for further liquid-solid combined target designs.

Opportunities for production and property research of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126 at HIAF

The study of nuclide production and its properties in the N=126 neutron-rich region is prevalent in nuclear physics and astrophysics research.The upcoming High-energy FRagment Separator(HFRS)at the High-Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility(HIAF),an in-flight separator at relativistic energies,is characterized by high beam intensity,large ion-optical acceptance,high magnetic rigidity,and high momentum resolution power.This provides an opportunity to study the production and properties of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126.In this paper,an experimental scheme is proposed to produce neutron-rich nuclei around N=126 and simultaneously measure their mass and lifetime based on the HFRS separator;the feasibility of this scheme is evaluated through simulations.The results show that under the high-resolution optical mode,many new neutron-rich nuclei approaching the r-process abundance peak around A=195 can be produced for the first time,and many nuclei with unknown masses and lifetimes can be produced with high statistics.Using the time-of-flight corrected by the measured dispersive position and energy loss information,the cocktails produced from 208 Pb fragmentation can be unambiguously identified.Moreover,the masses of some neutron-rich nuclei near N=126 can be measured with high precision using the time-of-flight magnetic rigidity technique.This indicates that the HIAF-HFRS facility has the potential for the production and property research of neutron-rich nuclei around N=126,which is of great significance for expanding the chart of nuclides,developing nuclear theories,and understanding the origin of heavy elements in the universe.

Investigation of Nuclear Binding Energy and Charge Radius Based on Random Forest Algorithm

The random forest algorithm was applied to study the nuclear binding energy and charge radius.The regularized root-mean-square of error(RMSE)was proposed to avoid overfitting during the training of random forest.RMSE for nuclides with Z,N>7 is reduced to 0.816 MeV and 0.0200 fm compared with the six-term liquid drop model and a three-term nuclear charge radius formula,respectively.Specific interest is in the possible(sub)shells among the superheavy region,which is important for searching for new elements and the island of stability.The significance of shell features estimated by the so-called shapely additive explanation method suggests(Z,N)=(92,142)and(98,156)as possible subshells indicated by the binding energy.Because the present observed data is far from the N=184 shell,which is suggested by mean-field investigations,its shell effect is not predicted based on present training.The significance analysis of the nuclear charge radius suggests Z=92 and N=136 as possible subshells.The effect is verified by the shell-corrected nuclear charge radius model.

Investigation ofβ—‑decay half‑life and delayed neutron emission with uncertainty analysis

β-decay half-life and β-delayed neutron emission(βn) are of great importance in the development of basic science and industrial applications, such as nuclear physics and nuclear energy, where β--decay plays an important role. Many theoretical models have been proposed to describe β-decay half-lives, whereas the systematic study of βn is still rare. This study aimed to investigate β--decay half-lives and βn probabilities through analytical formulas and by comparing them with experimental data. Analytical formulas for β--decay properties have been proposed by considering prominent factors, that is, decay energy,odevity, and the shell effect. The bootstrap method was used to simultaneously evaluate the total uncertainty on calculations,which was composed of statistic and systematic uncertainties. β--decay half-lives, βn probabilities, and the corresponding uncertainties were evaluated for the neutron-rich region. The experimental half-lives were well reproduced. Additional predictions are also presented with theoretical uncertainties, which helps to better understand the disparity between the experimental and theoretical results.

Design optimization of plastic scintillators with wavelength-shifting fibers and silicon photomultiplier readouts in the top veto tracker of the JUNO-TAO experiment

Plastic scintillators(PSs)embedded with wavelength-shifting fibers are widely used in high-energy particle physics,such as in muon taggers,as well as in medical physics and other applications.In this study,a simulation package was built to evaluate the effects of the diameter and layout of optical fibers on the light yield with different configurations.The optimal optical configuration was designed based on simulations and validated using two PS prototypes under certain experimental condi-tions.A top veto tracker(TVT)for the JUNO-TAO experiment,comprising four layers of 160 strips of PS,was designed and evaluated.The threshold was evaluated when the muon tagging efficiency of a PS strip was>99%.The efficiency of three layer out of four layer of TVT is>99%,even with a tagging efficiency of a single strip as low as 97%,using a threshold of 10 photoelectrons and assuming a 40%silicon PM photon detection efficiency.

Random forest-based prediction of decay modes and half-lives of superheavy nuclei

Information on the decay process of nuclides in the superheavy region is critical in investigating new elements beyond oganesson and the island of stability.This paper presents the application of a random forest algorithm to examine the competition among different decay modes in the superheavy region,includingα decay,β^(-)decay,β^(+)decay,electron capture and spontaneous fission.The observed half-lives and dominant decay mode are well reproduced.The dominant decay mode of 96.9%of the nuclei beyond ^(212) Po is correctly obtained.Further,α decay is predicted to be the dominant decay mode for isotopes in new elements Z=119-122,except for spontaneous fission in certain even–even elements owing to the increased Coulomb repulsion and odd–even effect.The predicted half-lives demonstrate the existence of a long-lived spontaneous fission island southwest of ^(298) Fl caused by the competition between the fission barrier and Coulomb repulsion.A better understanding of spontaneous fission,particularly beyond ^(286)Fl,is crucial in the search for new elements and the island of stability.

Impact of resonant magnetic perturbation on blob motion and structure using a gas puff imaging diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

The impact of resonant magnetic perturbation(RMP)on blob motion and structure in the SOL of the HL-2A tokamak is studied using a gas puff imaging diagnostic.Ellipse fitting is applied to study the structure and motion of blobs quantitatively.The radial locations,amplitudes and scale sizes of blobs are obtained based on the fitted ellipse.Furthermore,based on the measurement of blob location,the radial and poloidal velocities of blobs are calculated.With the application of RMP,the edge poloidal shear flow is significantly weakened and the wave number spectrum changes from quasisymmetric to significantly up-down asymmetric.The application of RMP also causes the detected blob location to be much further into the far scrape-off layer(SOL)and increases the blob amplitude.Blob poloidal velocity in the SOL is slowed.Larger-size and longer-lifetime blobs are observed with RMP.With the application of RMP,stronger-amplitude and larger-size blobs are detected in the far SOL and they may cause a more serious erosion problem to the first wall.

Gas-and plasma-driven hydrogen permeation behavior of stagnant eutectic-solid GaInSn/Fe double-layer structure

Gas-driven permeation(GDP)and plasma-driven permeation(PDP)of hydrogen gas through Ga In Sn/Fe are systematically investigated in this work.The permeation parameters of hydrogen through Ga In Sn/Fe,including diffusivity,Sieverts'constant,permeability,and surface recombination coefficient are obtained.The permeation flux of hydrogen through Ga In Sn/Fe shows great dependence on external conditions such as temperature,hydrogen pressure,and thickness of liquid Ga In Sn.Furthermore,the hydrogen permeation behavior through Ga In Sn/Fe is well consistent with the multilayer permeation theory.In PDP and GDP experiments,hydrogen through Ga In Sn/Fe satisfies the diffusion-limited regime.In addition,the permeation flux of PDP is greater than that of GDP.The increase of hydrogen plasma density hardly causes the hydrogen PDP flux to change within the test scope of this work,which is due to the dissolution saturation.These findings provide guidance for a comprehensive and systematic understanding of hydrogen isotope recycling,permeation,and retention in plasma-facing components under actual conditions.

Influence of element substitutions on poisoning behavior of ZrV_(2)alloy:theoretical and experimental investigations

A ZrV_(2)alloy is typically susceptible to poisoning by impurity gases,which causes a considerable reduction in the hydrogen storage properties of the alloy.In this study,the adsorption characteristics of oxygen on ZrV_(2)surfaces doped with Hf,Ti,and Pd are investigated,and the effect of oxygen on the hydrogen storage performance of the alloy was discussed.Subsequently,the adsorption energy,bond-length change,density of states,and differential charge density of the alloy before and after doping are analyzed using the first-principles method.The theoretical results show that Ti doping has a limited effect on the adsorption of oxygen atoms on the ZrV_(2)surface,whereas Hf doping decreases the adsorption energy of oxygen on the ZrV_(2)surface.Oxygen atoms are more difficult to adsorb at most adsorption sites on Pd-substituting surfaces,which indicates that Pd has the best anti-poisoning properties,followed by Hf.The analysis of the differential charge density and partial density of states show that the electron interaction between the oxygen atom and surface atom of the alloys is weakened,and the total energy is reduced after Hf and Pd doping.Based on theoretical calculations,the hydrogen absorption kinetics of ZrV_(2),Zr_(0.9)Hf_(0.1)V_(2),and Zr(V_(0.9)Pd_(0.1))_(2) alloys are studied in a hydrogen-oxygen mixture of 0.5 vol%O_(2) at 25℃.The experimental results show that the hydrogen storage capacities of ZrV_(2),Zr_(0.9)Hf_(0.1)V_(2),and Zr(V_(0.9)Pd_(0.1))_(2) decrease to 19%,69%,and 80%of their original values,respectively.The order of alloy resistance to 0.5 vol%O_(2) poisoning is Zr(V_(0.9)Pd_(0.1))_(2)>Zr_(0.9)Hf_(0.1)V_(2)>ZrV_(2).Pd retains its original hydrogen absorption performance to a greater extent than undoped surfaces,and it has the strongest resistance to poisoning,which is consistent with previous theoretical calculations.

Preparation of a beam emission spectroscopy diagnostic based on a Lyman-alpha line to diagnose core and edge-plasma density fluctuation on the HL-2A tokamak

In this article,the design of a Lyman-alpha-based beam emission spectroscopy(LAB)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak has been proposed for the first time.The purpose of this novel diagnostic is to measure density fluctuations of tokamak plasma.The light-collection system of LAB,which consists of the first mirror and two groups of coaxial double-mirror telescopes,can realize a twosegmented viewing field ofρ=0–0.2 andρ=0.75–1,which is optimized to measure plasma density fluctuation,not only in the edge transport barrier region but also in the internal transport barrier region,to investigate the underlying physics of turbulence in tokamaks.Spectrometers are developed to separate out the Doppler-shifted target line(122.03 and 122.17 nm)from the background Lyman-alpha line(121.53 nm).Here,30 Core-LAB channels and 30 Edge-LAB channels are under development on the HL-2A tokamak.It has high radial spatial resolutions of about 2.7 mm and 3.3 mm for the core and edge channels,respectively.Taking the high light intensity of this Lyman-alpha line into account,temporal resolution of 200 k Hz can be ensured by broad bandwidth amplifiers.This high spatio-temporal resolution makes LAB a potential keen tool to experimentally investigate tokamak plasma physics.

Summary of the 10th Conference on Magnetically Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation(CMCFTS)

This paper gives a summary of the organization and the presentations delivered at the 10th Conference on Magnetically Confined Fusion Theory and Simulation(CMCFTS)held in Zhuhai,China,from 28th to 31st October 2022.The conference focused on the latest progress in the research of the magnetic confined fusion plasma theory and simulations,as well as the largescale numerical simulation techniques developed in recent years.This conference is held both online and offline,with about 110 domestic participants from 18 institutes participating in the live conference,and the statistical data from the live broadcast platform indicated that the online conference attracted over 20000 views per day.A summary of the conference is given,and the history of the CMCFTS is presented.A brief introduction to the poster section is also included in this paper.

Fabrication of a single-crystal diamond neutron detector and its application in 14.1 MeV neutron detection in deuterium-tritium fusion experiments

A single-crystal diamond detector is fabricated to diagnose 14.1 MeV deuterium-tritium(D-T)fusion neutrons.The size of its diamond film is 4.5 mm×4.5 mm×500μm.This film is sandwiched by a flat,strip-patterned gold electrode.The dark current of this detector is experimentally measured to be lower than 0.1 nA under an electric field of 30 kV cm^(-1).This diamond detector is used to measure D-T fusion neutrons with a flux of about 7.5×10^(5) s^(-1)cm^(-2).The pronounced peak with a central energy of 8.28 MeV characterizing the^(12)C(n,α)~9Be reaction in the neutron energy spectrum is experimentally diagnosed,and the energy resolution is better than 1.69%,which is the best result reported so far using a diamond detector.A clear peak with a central energy of 6.52 MeV characterizing the^(12)C(n,n')3αreaction is also identified with an energy resolution of better than 7.67%.

Research and applications of nuclear tracks: Developments in Pakistan and global comparison

The present paper describes the development and applications of nuclear track detection technique in Pakistan. Pakistan entered in the field of nuclear tracks in early 1970s when it was still quite new. Highlights of successes of different Pakistani laboratories, working on nuclear tracks, achieved on their own or in collaboration with similar centers in the world are described briefly. The robust features of this investigation are the comprehensive investigation of the addressed research, analysis and review of results, and discussions with the perspectives of applications and new research directions. Further analysis of the published results by the present author and some new results are also presented. This paper portrays a comprehensive picture of the nuclear track detection research and technology in Pakistan and can be useful for a similar development in any country around the globe.

Particle-in-cell simulations of EUV-induced hydrogen plasma in the vicinity of a reflective mirror

Particle-In-Cell(PIC)simulations were performed in this work to study the dynamics of the EUVinduced hydrogen plasma.The Monte-Carlo Collision(MCC)model was employed to deal with the collisions between charged particles and background gas molecules.The dynamic evolution of the plasma sheath,as well as the flux and energy distribution of ions impacting on the mirror surface,was discussed.It was found that the emission of secondary electrons under the EUV irradiation on the ruthenium mirror coating creates a positively charged wall and then prevents the ions from impacting on the mirror and therefore changes the flux and energy distribution of ions reaching the mirror.Furthermore,gas pressure has a notable effect on the plasma sheath and the characteristics of the ions impinging on the mirrors.With greater gas pressure,the sheath potential decreases more rapidly.The flux of ions received by the mirror grows approximately linearly and at the same time the energy corresponding to the peak flux decreases slightly.However,the EUV source intensity barely changes the sheath potential,and its influence on the ion impact is mainly limited to the approximate linear increase in ion flux.

Progress of Lyman-alpha-based beam emission spectroscopy(Ly BES)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

An edge Lyman-alpha-based beam emission spectroscopy(LyBES)diagnostic,using a heating NBI(neutral beam injection)system,is currently under development on the HL-2A tokamak.The 20-channel edge LyBES,which is intended to measure the density fluctuation in plasma edge(from R=1960 mm to R=2026 mm)with an improved spatial resolution of 3.3 mm,is a complement to the existing conventional beam emission spectroscopy(BES)diagnostic.In this article,we introduce the progress of LyBES diagnostic,including the collection optics,the monochromator,and the detector system.The reflectance of the collection mirrors is measured to be~82%at 122 nm,and the aberration geometrical radius of the collection optics is tested to be~150μm in the aimed area.The linear dispersion of the LyBES monochromator is designed to be~0.09 nm mm^(-1).The bandwidth of the detector system with the 5×10^(7)V A^(-1)preamplifier gain is measured to be~280 kHz,and the peak-to-peak noise of the detector system is tested to be~16 mV.The finalized design,components development and testing of the LyBES diagnostic have been completed at present,and an overall performance of the LyBES diagnostic is to be confirmed in the next HL-2A campaign.

The research progress of an E//B neutral particle analyzer

An E//B neutral particle analyzer(NPA)has been designed and is under development at Sichuan University and Southwestern Institute of Physics.The main purpose of the E//B NPA is to measure the distribution function of fast ions in the HL-2A/3 tokamak.The E//B NPA contains three main units,i.e.the stripping unit,the analyzing unit and the detection unit.A gas stripping chamber was adopted as the stripping unit.The results of the simulations and beam tests for the stripping chamber are presented.Parallel electric and magnetic fields provided by a NdFeB permanent magnet and two parallel electric plates were designed and constructed for the analyzing unit.The calibration of the magnetic and electric fields was performed using a 50 kV electron cyclotron resonance ion source(ECRIS)platform.The detection unit consists of 32lutetium-yttrium oxyorthosilicate(LYSO)detector modules arranged in two rows.The response functions ofα,hydrogen ions(H^(+),H_(2)^(+)and H_(3)^(+))andγfor a detector module were measured with^(241)Am,^(137)Cs and^(152)Eu sources together with the 50 kV ECRIS platform.The overall results indicate that the designed E//B NPA device is capable of measuring the intensity of neutral hydrogen and deuteron atoms with energy higher than 20 keV.

Optical design of a novel near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnostic on the HL-2A tokamak

The optical design of near-infrared phase contrast imaging(NI-PCI)diagnosis on HL-2A is introduced in this paper.This scheme benefits from the great progress of near-infrared laser technology and is a broadening of traditional phase contrast technology.This diagnostic can work as a keen tool to measure plasma wavenumber spectra by inferring string-integrated plasma density fluctuations.Design of both the front optical path which is the path before the laser transmitting into the tokamak plasma and the rear optics which is the path after the laser passing through the plasma is detailed.The 1550 nm laser is chosen as the probe beam and highprecision optical components are designed to fit the laser beam,in which a phase plate with a 194-nm-deep silver groove is the key.Compared with the conventional 10.6μm laser-based PCI system on HL-2A,NI-PCI significantly overcomes the unwanted phase scintillation effect and promotes the measurement capability of high-wavenumber turbulence with an increased maximal measurable wavenumber from 15 cm^(-1)to 32.6 cm^(-1).

Multi-layer phenomena in petawatt laser-driven acceleration of heavy ions

Laser-accelerated high-flux-intensity heavy-ion beams are important for new types of accelerators.A particle-in-cell program(Smilei) is employed to simulate the entire process of Station of Extreme Light(SEL) 100 PW laser-accelerated heavy particles using different nanoscale short targets with a thickness of 100 nm Cr, Fe, Ag, Ta, Au, Pb, Th and U, as well as 200 nm thick Al and Ca. An obvious stratification is observed in the simulation. The layering phenomenon is a hybrid acceleration mechanism reflecting target normal sheath acceleration and radiation pressure acceleration, and this phenomenon is understood from the simulated energy spectrum,ionization and spatial electric field distribution. According to the stratification, it is suggested that high-quality heavy-ion beams could be expected for fusion reactions to synthesize superheavy nuclei. Two plasma clusters in the stratification are observed simultaneously, which suggest new techniques for plasma experiments as well as thinner metal targets in the precision machining process.