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This division promotes the development and timely introduction of fusion energy as a sustainable energy source with favorable economic, environmental, and safety attributes. The division cooperates with other organizations on common issues of multidisciplinary fusion science and technology, conducts professional meetings, and disseminates technical information in support of these goals. Members focus on the assessment and resolution of critical developmental issues for practical fusion energy applications.
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College students help develop waste-measuring device at Hanford
A partnership between Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) and Washington State University has resulted in the development of a device to measure radioactive and chemical tank waste at the Hanford Site. WRPS is the contractor at Hanford for the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management.
Itacil C. Gomes, Donald L. Smith, Edward T. Cheng
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 706-713
Neutronics Experiments and Analysis | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963697
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Current designs of fusion-reactor systems seek to use radiation-resistant, low-activation materials that support long service lifetimes and minimize radioactive-waste problems after decommissioning. Reliable assessment of fusion materials performance requires accurate neutron-reaction cross sections and radioactive-decay constants. The problem areas usually involve cross sections since decay parameters tend to be better known. The present study was motivated by two specific questions: i) Why are the 51V(n,np)50Ti cross section values in the ENDF/B-VI library so large (a gas production issue)? ii) How well known are the cross sections associated with producing 7.4times105 y 26Al in silicon carbide by the process 28Si(n,np+d)27Al(n,2n)26Al (a long-lived radioactivity issue)? The energy range 14–15 MeV of the D-T fusion neutrons is emphasized. Cross-section error bars are needed so that uncertainties in the gas and radioactivity generated over the lifetime of a reactor can be estimated. We address this issue by comparing values obtained from prominent evaluated cross-section libraries. Small differences between independent evaluations indicate that a physical quantity is well known while the opposite signals a problem. Hydrogen from 51V(n,p)51Ti and helium from 51V(n,α)48Sc are also important sources of gas in vanadium, so they too were examined. We conclude that 51V(n,p)51Ti is adequately known but 51V(n,np+d)50Ti is not. The status for helium generation data is quite good. Due to recent experimental work, 27Al(n,2n)26Al seems to be fairly well known. However, the situation for 28Si(n,np+d)27Al remains unsatisfactory.