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Playing the “bad guy” to enhance next-generation safety
Sometimes, cops and robbers is more than just a kid’s game. At the Department of Energy’s national laboratories, researchers are channeling their inner saboteurs to discover vulnerabilities in next-generation nuclear reactors, making sure that they’re as safe as possible before they’re even constructed.
G. H. Miley, B. Ulmen, L. Wu, H. Momota, H. Hora, P. J. Shrestha
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 60 | Number 2 | August 2011 | Pages 620-624
Alternate Concepts & Magnets | Proceedings of the Nineteenth Topical Meeting on the Technology of Fusion Energy (TOFE) (Part 2) | doi.org/10.13182/FST11-A12452
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The design basis for a possible near-term driven subcritical assembly for student labs using a cylindrical Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion neutron source is described. The rebirth of nuclear fission power is going to require a new generation of training facilities for students. The IEC driven subcritical provides a very versatile facility for such training. The IEC source can provide various neutron wave forms (pulses, sinusoidal ramp, etc.) by varying the applied voltage. This opens up an important class of dynamic experiments for student lab study. Driven subcritical operation also eases regulatory requirements and limitations on core configuration changes needed in various student experiments while also introducing the student to the important fusion-fission reactor concept. The possibility of employing the IEC source for future fusion-fission reactors is also briefly discussed.