L. W. Packer S. Allan S. B. Bradnam M. R. Gilbert T. Stainer
The measurement of the fusion neutron yield provides a direct relationship with fusion power and is hence an important measure of experimental performance. In pulsed neutron emission scenarios, such as those experienced in dense plasma focus devices, inertial confinement fusion and even in short-pulse tokamak experiments, considerations of the dyna…
Preprint PublishedR. Worrall B. Colling M. R. Gilbert E. Litherland-Smith C. R. Nobs L. W. Packer C. Wilson A. Zohar
Spectrum unfolding is a key tool used together with diagnostics in the determination of nuclear fields that are associated with a range of nuclear technologies spanning fusion, fission, nuclear medicine and accelerator domains. The underlying process requires a mathematical method for solving the Fredholm integral equation of the first kind. This p…
Preprint PublishedP.D. Edmondson B. Gault M.R. Gilbert
Tungsten is the prime candidate material for the plasma facing divertor system and first wall armor of future nuclear fusion reactors. However, the understanding of the microstructural and chemical evolution of pure tungsten under neutron irradiation is relatively unknown, in part due to a lack of experimental data on this topic. Here, single cr…
Preprint PublishedAndrey Litnovsky Janina Schmitza Felix Klein Karen De Lannoyea Sophie Weckauf Arkadi Kreter Marcin Rasinski Jan W. Coenen Christian Linsmeier Jesus Gonzalez-Julian Martin Bram Ivan Povstugar Thomas Morgan Duc Nguyen-Manh Mark Gilbert Damjan Sobieraj Jan S. Wróbel
During an accident with loss-of-coolant and air ingress in DEMO, the temperature of tungsten first wall cladding may exceed 1000oC and remain for months leading to tungsten oxidation. The radioactive tungsten oxide can be mobilized to the environment at rates of 10 – 150 kg per hour. Smart tungsten-based alloys are under develop…
Preprint PublishedM.R. Gilbert L.W. Packer T. Stainer
Molybdenum is a potential material for future nuclear fusion experiments and power plants. It has good thermo-mechanical properties and can be readily fabricated, making it attractive as an alternative material to tungsten (the current leading candidate) for high neutron flux and high thermal load regions of fusion devices. Unfortunately, exposu…
Preprint PublishedL W Packer M Angeloni M R Gilbert M Pillon J-C Sublet
Cooling water in the primary circuit in both fission and fusion nuclear reactors is unavoidably exposed to neutrons leading to the generation of problematic short-lived isotopes, most importantly, 16N (T1/2=7.3s) via the 16O(n,p)16N reaction. This presents a significant itinerant radiation source to consi…
Preprint PublishedOlga Vilkhivskaya Mark Gilbert
Recent studies of the neutron irradiation conditions predicted in the plasma-exposed first wall of a conceptual design of fusion DEMO power plant implementing the SPECTRA-PKA code have shown the importance of taking into consideration per-channel analysis of the high-energy threshold reactions for an accurate evaluation of their contribution to …
PreprintSteve Bradnam Vytautas Astromskas Zamir Ghani Mark R. Gilbert Malcolm J. Joyce Lee W. Packer
Conventional means of fast neutron detection typically involves moderation and subsequent detection of thermal neutrons via gas filled detectors such as He-3, or alternatively indirect neutron detection via gamma activation systems. Whilst these are often the most conclusive systems for neutron detection, inherent timing and energy information asso…
PreprintGreg Bailey Mark Gilbert Olga Vilkhivskaya
The public perception of fusion power is that it will provide a clean source of abundant nuclear energy. This is not wholly accurate. Currently planned fusion reactors will use the deuterium-tritium (DT) reaction for power generation. This reaction produces 14 MeV neutrons which, as they cannot be magnetically confined, impinge upon the reactor str…
PreprintJack Reid Greg Bailey Edmund Cracknell Mark Gilbert Lee Packer
For either nuclear fusion or generation IV fission reactors to be viable as a commercial energy source the decommissioning and waste disposal solutions must be considered during the design. A multi-step simulation process combining Monte Carlo Neutron Transport simulations with inventory simulations have been performed to estimate the activa…
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