• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.08a
• /
• pp.431-431
• /
• 2012

A compact tokamak reactor concept as a 14 MeV neutron source is desirable from an economic viewpoint for a fusion-driven transmutation reactor. LAR (Low Aspect Ratio) tokamak allows a potential of high "see full txt" operation with high bootstrap current fractions and can be used for a compact fusion neutron source. For the optimal design of a reactor, a radial build of reactor components has to be determined by considering the plasma physics and engineering constraints which inter-relate various reactor components and are constrained to use ITER physics and technology. In a transmutation reactor, the blanket should produce enough tritium for tritium self-sufficiency and the neutron multiplication factor, keff should be less than 0.95 to maintain sub-criticality. The shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil against radiation damage and heating effects of the fusion neutrons, fission neutrons, and secondary gammas. In this work, characteristics of transmutation reactor based on LAR tokamak is investigated by using the coupled system analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.08a
• /
• pp.311.2-311.2
• /
• 2013

Transmutation characteristics of minor actinides in a transmutation reactor based on a Low Aspect Ratio (LAR) tokamak are investigated. One-dimensional neutron transport and burn-up calculation coupled with the tokamak systems analysis were performed to find the optimal system parameters. The dependence of the transmutation characteristics such as neutron multiplication factor, produced power and transmutation rate on an aspect ratio A in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 was investigated. By adding Pu239 in the transmutation blanket as a neutron multiplication material, it was shown that the one unit of the transmutation reactor based on the LAR tokamak producing fusion power of 150 MWth can destroy the minor actinides contained in the spent fuels produced from more than 19 units of l GWe PWRs with production of the power being in the range of 0.9 - 3.4 GWth.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2014.02a
• /
• pp.456.1-456.1
• /
• 2014

Transmutation characteristics of transuranics (TRU) in a transmutation reactor based on LAR (Low Aspect Ratio) tokamak as a neutron source are investigated. Optimum radial build of a transmutation reactor is found by coupled analysis of the tokamak systems and the neutron transport. The dependence of the transmutation characteristics on an aspect ratio, A in the range of 1.5 to 2.5, and on a fusion power in the range of 150 MW to 500 MW are investigated. Equilibrium fuel cycle is developed for effective transmutation and it is shown that with one unit of the transmutation reactor based on the LAR tokamak producing fusion power in the range of a few hundred MW, up to 3 PWRs (1.0 GWe capacity) can be supported with the burn-up fraction bigger than 50%.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2011.02a
• /
• pp.397-397
• /
• 2011

In a low aspect ratio (LAR) tokamak reactor with a superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil, the radial build of TF coil and the shield play a key role in determining the size of a reactor. For self-consistent determination of the reactor components and physics parameters, a system analysis code is coupled with one-dimensional radiation transport code. Conceptual design study of a compact superconducting LAR tokamak reactor with aspect ratio less than 2.5 was conducted and the optimum radial build was identified. It is shown that the use of an improved shielding material and high temperature superconducting magnets with high critical current density opens up the possibility of a fusion power plant with compact size and small re-circulating power simultaneously at low aspect ratio, and that by using an inboard neutron reflector instead of breeding blanket, tritium self-sufficiency is possible with outboard blanket only and thus compact sized reactor is viable.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.08a
• /
• pp.314-314
• /
• 2010

For the optimal design of a tokamak-type reactor, self-consistent determination of a radial build of reactor systems is important and the radial build has to be determined by considering the plasma physics and engineering constraints which inter-relate various reactor systems. In a low aspect ratio (LAR) tokamak reactor with a superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil, the shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting TF coil and the shield plays a key role in determining the size of a reactor. To determine the radial build of a reactor, neutronic effects such as tritium breeding in the blanket, nuclear heating, and radiation damage to toroidal field (TF) coil has to be included in the systems analysis. In this work, the outboard blanket only is considered where tritium self-sufficiency is possible by using an inboard neutron reflector instead of breeding blanket. The reflecting shield should provide not only protection for the superconducting TF coil but also improved neutron economy for the tritium breeding in outboard blanket. Tungsten carbide, metal hydride such as titanium hydride and zirconium hydride can be used for improved shielding performance and thus smaller shield thickness. With the use of advanced technology in the shield, conceptual design of a compact superconducting LAR reactor with aspect ratio of less than 2 will be presented as a viable power plant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2010.02a
• /
• pp.314-314
• /
• 2010

The design of the blanket and shield play a key role in determining the size of a reactor since it has an impact on the various reactor components. The blanket should produce enough tritium for tritium self-sufficiency and the shield should provide sufficient protection for the superconducting TF coil. Neutronic optimization of the blanket and the shield is necessary, and we coupled the system analysis with a neutronic calculation to account for the interrelation of the blanket and shield with the plasma performance of a reactor system in a self-consistent manner. By using the coupled system analysis code, the operational space for a low aspect ratio (LAR) tokamak reactor with a superconducting toroidal field (TF) coil is investigated with an spect ratio in the range of 1.5 - 2.5. The minimum major radius which satisfies all the physics and engineering requirements increases with the magnetic field at the magnetic axis. A required inboard shield thickness is mainly determined by the requirement on the protection of the TF coil against radiation damage. It is shown that to have a fusion power bigger than 3,000 MW in the LAR tokamak with a superconducting TF coil, a major radius bigger than 4.0 m is required.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.670-670
• /
• 2013

The concept of a fusion-driven transmutation reactor based on LAR (Low Aspect Ratio) tokamak as a neutron source is studied based on ITER physics and technology. The radial build of transmutation reactor components are self-consistently determined by coupling the systems analysis with radiation transport analysis and an optimal configuration of a transmutation reactor for aspect ratio, A in the range of 1.5 to 2.0 is found. The performance of a transmutation reactor is investigated and shows that a transmutation reactor with a neutron source producing fusion power less than 150 MW can destroy the transuranic actinides contained in the spent fuels produced from more than two 1 GWe PWRs with production of the fission power being greater than 2 GW.