Search arXiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/arXiv

arXiv · physics/0608011

Design of the EURISOL multi-MW target assembly: radiation and safety issues

M. Felcini·A. Herrera-Martinez·Y. Kadi·T. Otto·L. Tecchio
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The multi-MW target proposed for the EURISOL facility will be based on fission of uranium (or thorium) compounds to produce rare isotopes far from stability. A two-step process is used for the isotope production. First, neutrons are generated in a liquid mercury target, irradiated by the 1 GeV proton or deuteron beam, provided by the EURISOL linac driver. Then, the neutrons induce fission in a surrounding assembly of uranium carbide. R&D projects on several aspects of the target assembly are ongoing. Key criteria for the target design are a maximum beam power capability of 4 MW, a remote handling system with minimum downtime and maximum reliability, as well as radiation safety, minimization of hazards and the classification of the facility. In the framework of the ongoing radiation characterization and safety studies, radiation transport simulations have been performed to calculate the prompt radiation dose in the target and surrounding materials, as well as to determine shielding material and angle-dependent parameters. In this paper, we report the results of these studies and the proposed radiation shield design for the multi-MW target area. Furthermore, accurate estimates have been performed of the amount of fissile elements being produced in the uranium target assembly, for typical running conditions, in order to understand the implications for the classification of the facility. The results are reported and briefly discussed.

Explore related subjects

physics.acc-ph

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

M. Felcini, A. Herrera-Martinez, Y. Kadi, T. Otto, L. Tecchio. 2006-08-03. Design of the EURISOL multi-MW target assembly: radiation and safety issues. https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0608011

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

arXiv2026

Impedance of multilayer cylindrical structures with a material-filled beam region

Beam-coupling impedances in material media are relevant for ionization-cooling channels of a future muon collider, where the beam propagates in matter rather than vacuum. We extend the cylindrical field-matching formalism for multilayer structures to the case of a material-filled beam region surrounded by external layers with arbitrary electromagnetic properties. Relative to the vacuum formulation, the usual factor $1/γ^2$ is replaced by the material-dependent factor $F=1/\varepsilon_1-μ_1β^2$, and the radial propagation constant is modified accordingly. Analytical expressions are obtained for the monopolar longitudinal and dipolar transverse impedances, with the surrounding structure encoded through reflection coefficients determined by field matching. The formalism reduces to the known vacuum and perfectly conducting limits in the appropriate cases. Representative calculations are presented for absorber-relevant configurations, illustrating the dependence on the material properties of both the beam region and the surrounding layers. In particular, a finite beam-region conductivity can generate a real impedance component and reverse the sign of the imaginary space-charge impedance, while sufficiently high permittivity can give rise to resonant structures associated with oscillatory radial fields. The effect of finite-conductivity surroundings is also examined, showing the approach towards the perfectly conducting limit as the external conductivity is increased. The applicability of the infinite-length approximation is also discussed by comparison with finite-length mode-matching results.

physics.acc-ph↗
arXiv2026

Brilliance for adaptive computational research in accelerator physics

Computational research requires repeated decisions about models, calculations and the interpretation of results. We introduce Brilliance, an agent that combines large language models, reusable physics expertise and numerical simulation to construct and revise investigations in accelerator physics. Starting from a detailed expert-specified request, Brilliance develops an ideal storage-ring lattice meeting the specified emittance ceiling and sampled nonlinear-acceptance criteria after revising optics that fail particle-tracking tests. Further scientist-guided exploration produces a candidate with a natural emittance of 6.51 pm rad and millimeter-scale transverse acceptance, while exposing unresolved momentum-acceptance limitations. Using measured responses from the High Energy Photon Source, Brilliance also performs offline optics calibration consistent with an independent specialist analysis. An expert-module ablation examines how reusable domain knowledge influences research choices and outcomes. Here, we demonstrate a practical route to scientist-agent collaboration in sustained numerical research.

physics.acc-ph↗
arXiv2026

High-transformer-ratio plasma-based afterburner for extending X-ray free-electron laser photon energies to $\gtrsim$50 keV

Bright coherent X-rays in the $\gtrsim$50 keV range are highly desirable for applications in materials science, high-energy-density physics, and nuclear physics, but are difficult to obtain from present X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) facilities. Plasma-based afterburners offer a compact route to increasing the electron-beam energy, yet high transformer ratio (TR) operation is vulnerable to hosing instability, which can severely degrade the witness beam quality. We propose using a transversely elliptical driver beam to excite an elliptical nonlinear plasma wake with an axially varying focusing gradient, thereby suppressing the witness beam hosing through betatron decoherence. Three-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations show that, for a 3 kA driver and a 2.35 kA witness beam with an rms length of 4 $\mathrmμ$m and a beam separation of 94 $\mathrmμ$m (TR $\approx 3$), this scheme can accelerate an 8 GeV witness beam to $\sim30$ GeV while nearly half of the electrons meet the XFEL requirements. Start-to-end simulations show that the resulting beam can drive $\gtrsim50$ keV XFEL radiation with peak powers of $\sim10$ GW and durations of $\sim10$ fs, even when quantum diffusion is included, offering a compact route to extend existing XFEL facilities to higher photon energies.

physics.acc-ph↗