Chikara Konno

ITER Nuclear Analysis Strategy and Requirements

Abstract The principle needs of ITER with regard to nuclear analysis can be divided into the broad categories of safety and licensing, plant operation, and decommissioning although there is much overlap and interdependence within these categories. This paper reviews the status of the methods applied to date and recommends the future strategy which ITER should adopt to address the continuing requirements and responsibilities. This is done by consideration of the application of radiation transport codes, the creation of an ITER reference neutronics model, the application of a neutronics results database, and the management tools which will be required. Areas in which new codes and techniques need to be developed will be identified.

New Production Routes for Medical Isotopes 64Cu and 67Cu Using Accelerator Neutrons

We have measured the activation cross sections producing 64Cu and 67Cu, promising medical radioisotopes for molecular imaging and radioimmunotherapy, by bombarding a natural zinc sample with 14 MeV...

R&D of a Li2TiO3 pebble bed for a test blanket module in JAEA

At JAEA, a test blanket module (TBM) with a water-cooled solid breeder is being developed. This paper presents recent achievements of research activities for the TBM, particularly addressing the pebble bed of the tritium breeder materials and tritium behaviour. For the breeder material, the chemical stability of Li2TiO3 was improved using Li2O additives. To analyse the pebble bed behaviour, thermomechanical properties of the Li2TiO3 pebble bed were assessed experimentally. To verify the pebble beds nuclear properties, the activation foil method was proposed and a preliminary experiment was conducted. To reduce the tritium permeation, the chemical densified coating method was developed and the coating was attached to F82H steel. For tritium behaviour, the tritium recovery system was modified in consideration of the design change of the TBM.

Measurement of tritium production rate in water cooled pebble bed multi-layered blanket mockup by DT neutron irradiation experiment

For the first time, tritium production rates in the water cooled pebble bed blanket are experimentally examined by using DT neutrons with two partial mockups; multi-layered mockup with water and pebble bed mockup. Tritium production rates (TPRs) are calculated by numerical analyses using Monte Carlo code MCNP-4C with nuclear data libraries FENDL-2.1 and JENDL-3.3. For experimental analysis on the pebble bed mockup, precise modelling method is proposed using the hexagonal close-packed heterogeneous geometry. Prediction uncertainties of TPRs are clarified through the experimental analyses. Ratios of the calculation results to the experimental results on local TPRs are 0.89–1.10 in the multi-layered mockup, and 0.95–1.13 in the pebble bed mockup. The calculation results on integrated tritium productions agree well with the experimental ones in both mockups. It is clarified that integrated tritium productions can be accurately evaluated.

Successful labeling of 99mTc-MDP using 99mTc separated from 99Mo produced by 100Mo(n,2n)99Mo

We have for the first time succeeded in separating 99m Tc from a MoO 3 sample irradiated with accelerator neutrons free from any radioactive impurities and in formulating 99m Tc-methylene diphosphonate ( 99m Tc-MDP). 99 Mo, the mother nuclide of 99m Tc, was produced by the 100 Mo( n ,2 n ) 99 Mo reaction using about 14 MeV neutrons provided by the 3 H( d , n ) 4 He reaction at the Fusion Neutronics Source of Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The 99m Tc was separated from 99 Mo by sublimation and its radionuclide purity was confirmed to be higher than 99.99% by γ-spectroscopy. The labeling efficiency of 99m Tc-MDP was shown to be higher than 99% by thin-layer chromatography. These values exceed the United States Pharmacopeia requirements for a fission product, 99 Mo. Consequently, a 99m Tc radiopharmaceutical preparation formed by using the mentioned 99 Mo can be a promising substitute for the fission product 99 Mo, which is currently produced using a highly enriched uranium target in aging research reactors. A ...

Development of neutron spectrometer toward deuterium plasma diagnostics in LHD.

Neutron spectrometer based on coincident counting of associated particles has been developed for deuterium plasma diagnostics on Large Helical Device (LHD) at the National Institute for Fusion Science. Efficient detection of 2.5 MeV neutron with high energy resolution would be achievable by coincident detection of a scattered neutron and a recoiled proton associated with an elastic scattering of incident neutron in a plastic scintillator as a radiator. The calculated neutron spectra from deuterium plasma heated by neutral beam injection indicate that the energy resolution of better than 7% is required for the spectrometer to evaluate energetic deuterium confinement. By using a prototype of the proposed spectrometer, the energy resolution of 6.3% and the detection efficiency of 3.3×10(-7) count/neutron were experimentally demonstrated for 2.5 MeV monoenergetic neutron, respectively.

Measurement and Analysis of Neutron-Induced Alpha Particle Emission Double-Differential Cross Section of Carbon at 14.2 MeV

We carried out a detailed measurement of the neutron-induced α-particle emission double-differential cross section of carbon at 14.2MeV, for which there are few measured data in spite of its importance in many applications. In our measurement, a superior S/N ratio, high angular/energy resolutions and a wide detection energy range were realized with a pencil DT neutron beam and a countertelescope system. The obtained cross section for the 12C(n,α0)9Be(ground state) reaction agreed well with the results of previous experiments and evaluated nuclear data. The obtained angular-differential cross section of the 12C(n,n′+3α) reaction for α-particles showed a strong forward-peaked distribution that suggested a significant contribution of the direct reaction process to the 3α breakup. We attempted to calculate the emitted particle spectra by a Monte Carlo method and estimate the branching ratio of the channels that contribute to the 12C(n,n′+3α) reaction. As a result, it was found that the 12C(n,α)9Be* channels play an important role in generating the experimental double-differential cross section both of emitted α-particles and neutrons. The estimated ratio of the 12C(n,α)9Be* channels was approximately 40%, somewhat larger than those evaluated in previous studies.

Neutronics Experimental Study on Tritium Production in Solid Breeder Blanket Mockup with Neutron Reflector

Neutronics experiments have been performed for the solid breeder blanket using a DT neutron source at the FNS facility in JAEA. We have applied the blanket mockup composed of two enriched Li2TiO3 and three beryllium layers, and measured the detailed spatial distribution of the tritium production rate (TPR) using enriched Li2CO3 pellets. TPRs in the pellets have been measured by a liquid scintillation counter. Experiments have been done under a condition with a neutron reflector surrounding the DT neutron source. Numerical simulations have been performed using the MCNP-4C with the FENDL-2.0 and JENDL-3.3. The ranges of ratios of calculation results to experimental ones (C/Es) are 0.97–1.17 concerning with local TPR, and 1.04–1.09 for the integrated tritium production. It is found that the total integrated tritium production, which corresponds to tritium breeding ratio, can be predicted within uncertainty of 10% using the Monte Carlo calculation code and latest nuclear data libraries.

Measurement of Charged-Particle Emission Double-Differential Cross Section of Fluorine for 14.2MeV Neutrons

We carried out detailed measurement of the double-differential cross sections of fluorine for the emissions of protons, deuterons, tritons, and α-particles with 14.2MeV incident neutrons. An improved charged-particle spectrometer with a pencil DT-neutron beam furnished at the FNS facility of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency enabled us to obtain precise data with a fine energy resolution over a wide energy range and an angular range from 15 to 150°. The present experiment is the first simultaneous measurement of the four different kinds of charged particles and provides useful data to establish a nuclear reaction model of fluorine as well as to confirm previous experimental data. Angular-differential cross sections for several discrete peaks corresponding to excited states of residual nuclei were extracted to discuss the reaction mechanism of charged-particle emission. The obtained data suggest that the charged-particle emission reaction of fluorine has a complicated mechanism in which there are contributions from the direct reaction, pre-equilibrium, and equilibrium processes. The obtained data were compared with the nuclear data evaluated in JENDL-3.3 and ENDF/B-VII.0. The results show large differences in the energy and angular distributions of emitted particles and the charged-particle production cross sections between the measured and evaluated data.

Application of a 6LiF Small Neutron Detector with an Optical Fiber to Tritium Production Rate Measurement in D-T Neutron Fields

6LiF small neutron detectors with an optical fiber have been used to measure 6Li(n,α)T reaction rate distributions at thermal research reactors and accelerator facilities. In the present study, we developed an experimental method for the measurement of tritium production rate (TPR) of 6Li using this small detector in deuterium-tritium (D-T) neutron fields. Reaction rate measurements with the detector were conducted in the D-T neutron fields at the Fusion Neutronics Source (FNS) facility. From the results, we determined that this detector can be used to measure the TPR distribution in soft neutron spectrum fields such as in a Be assembly. It is difficult to obtain 6Li(n,α)T reaction rate separately in hard neutron spectrum fields such as in a Li2O assembly, because many kinds of charged particle production reactions need to be taken into consideration. However, a time-dependent reaction rate measurement method combined with the 6LiF detector and the ZnS detector is effective to separate the 6Li(n,α)T reaction from other reactions even in a hard spectrum field, and it can be applied to the measurement of the TPR distribution accurately.