Synthetic neutron camera and spectrometer in JET based on AFSI- ASCOT simulations

The ASCOT Fusion Source Integrator (AFSI) has been used to calculate neutron production rates and spectra corresponding to the JET 19-channel neutron camera (KN3) and the time-of-flight spectrometer (TOFOR) as ideal diagnostics, without detector-related effects. AFSI calculates fusion product distributions in 4D, based on Monte Carlo integration from arbitrary reactant distribution functions. The distribution functions were calculated by the ASCOT Monte Carlo particle orbit following code for thermal, NBI and ICRH particle reactions. Fusion cross-sections were defined based on the Bosch-Hale model and both DD and DT reactions have been included. Neutrons generated by AFSI-ASCOT simulations have already been applied as a neutron source of the Serpent neutron transport code in ITER studies. Additionally, AFSI has been selected to be a main tool as the fusion product generator in the complete analysis calculation chain: ASCOT AFSI - SERPENT (neutron and gamma transport Monte Carlo code) - APROS (system and power plant modelling code), which encompasses the plasma as an energy source, heat deposition in plant structures as well as cooling and balance-of-plant in DEMO applications and other reactor relevant analyses. This conference paper presents the first results and validation of the AFSI DD fusion model for different auxiliary heating scenarios (NBI, ICRH) with very different fast particle distribution functions. Both calculated quantities (production rates and spectra) have been compared with experimental data from KN3 and synthetic spectrometer data from ControlRoom code. No unexplained differences have been observed. In future work, AFSI will be extended for synthetic gamma diagnostics and additionally, AFSI will be used as part of the neutron transport calculation chain to model real diagnostics instead of ideal synthetic diagnostics for quantitative benchmarking.

Fission–fusion neutron source

Gang Yu

In order to meet the requirements of fusion power reactors and nuclear waste treatment, a concept of fission-fusion neutron source is proposed, which consists of a LiD assembly located in the heavy water region of the China Advanced Research Reactor. This assembly of LiD fuel rods will be irradiated with slow neutrons and will produce fusion neutrons in the central hole via the reaction Li-6(n,alpha). More precisely, tritium ions with a high energy of 2.739 MeV will be produced in LiD by the impinging slow neutrons. The tritium ions will in turn bombard the deuterium ions present in the LiD assembly, which will induce fusion reaction and then the production of 14 MeV neutrons. The fusion reaction rate will increase with the accumulation of tritium in LiD by the reaction between tritium and deuteron recoils produced by the 14 MeV neutrons. When the concentration of tritium reaches 0.5 . 10(22) and the fraction of fusion reactions between tritium and deuteron recoils approaches 1, the 14 MeV neutron flux is doubled and redoubled, an so forth, approaching saturation in which the tritium produced at a time t is exhausted by the fusion reactions to keep constant the tritium concentration in LiD. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elsevier2009

Versatile fusion source integrator AFSI for fast ion and neutron studies in fusion devices

Otto Asunta, Henri Weisen

ASCOT Fusion Source Integrator AFSI, an efficient tool for calculating fusion reaction rates and characterizing the fusion products, based on arbitrary reactant distributions, has been developed and is reported in this paper. Calculation of reactor-relevant D-D, D-T and D-(3) He fusion reactions has been implemented based on the Bosch-Hale fusion cross sections. The reactions can be calculated between arbitrary particle populations, including Maxwellian thermal particles and minority energetic particles. Reaction rate profiles, energy spectra and full 4D phase space distributions can be calculated for the non-isotropic reaction products. The code is especially suitable for integrated modelling in self-consistent plasma physics simulations as well as in the Serpent neutronics calculation chain. Validation of the model has been performed for neutron measurements at the JET tokamak and the code has been applied to predictive simulations in ITER.

Iop Publishing Ltd2018

Multiphysics approach to plasma neutron source modelling at the JET tokamak

Henri Weisen

A novel multiphysics methodology for the computation of realistic plasma neutron sources has been developed. The method is based on state-of-the-art plasma transport and neutron spectrum calculations, coupled with a Monte Carlo neutron transport code, bridging the gap between plasma physics and neutronics. In the paper two JET neutronics tokamak models are used to demonstrate the application of the developed plasma neutron sources and validate them. Diagnostic data for the record JET D discharge 92436 are used as input for the TRANSP code, modelling neutron emission in two external plasma heating scenarios, namely using only neutral beam injection and a combination of the latter and ion cyclotron resonance heating. Neutron spectra, based on plasma transport results, are computed using the DRESS code. The developed PLANET code package is employed to generate plasma neutron source descriptions and couple them with the MCNP code. The effects of using the developed sources in neutron transport calculations on the response of JET neutron diagnostic systems is studied and compared to the results obtained with a generic plasma neutron source. It is shown that, although there are significant differences in the emissivity profiles, spectra shape and anisotropy between the neutron sources, the integral response of the time-resolved ex-vessel neutron detectors is largely insensitive to source changes, with major relative deviations of up to several percent. However it is calculated that, due to the broadening of neutron spectra as a consequence of external plasma heating, larger differences may occur in activation of materials which have threshold reactions located at DD neutron peak energies. The PLANET plasma neutron source computational methodology is demonstrated to be suitable for detailed neutron source effect studies on JET during DT experiments and can be applied to ITER analyses.

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2019

Multiphysics approach to plasma neutron source modelling at the JET tokamak

Henri Weisen

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2019