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60 Years of U: Perspectives on resources, demand, and the evolving role of nuclear energy
Recent years have seen growing global interest in nuclear energy and rising confidence in the sector. For the first time since the early 2000s, there is renewed optimism about the industry’s future. This change is driven by several major factors: geopolitical developments that highlight the need for secure energy supplies, a stronger focus on resilient energy systems, national commitments to decarbonization, and rising demand for clean and reliable electricity.
Jungchung Jung
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 4 | Number 3 | November 1983 | Pages 566-585
Special Section Contents | Radioactivation of Fusion Structures | doi.org/10.13182/FST83-A22808
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Activation analysis has been conducted for several primary fusion blanket materials based on a model of a commercial tokamak fusion reactor design, STARFIRE. The blanket materials studied include two solid tritium breeders, viz., Li20 and α-LiAl02, and four candidate structural materials, viz., PCA stainless steel, V15Cr5Ti, Ti6Al4V, and Al-6063 alloys. The importance of breeder material activation is identified in terms of its impurity contents such as potassium, iron, nickel, molybdenum, and zirconium trace elements. The breeder activation is also discussed with regard to its potential for recycling and its impact on the lithium resource requirements. The structural material activation is analyzed based on two measures, volumetric radioactivity concentration and contact biological dose due to decay gamma emission. Using the radioactivity concentration measure, it is revealed that a substantial advantage exists from a viewpoint of radwaste management, which is inherent in fusion reactor designs based on potential low-activation alloys such as V15Cr5Ti, Ti6Al4V, and Al-6063. On the other hand, from the dose standpoint, the V15Cr5Ti alloy is found to be the only alloy for which one could realize a significant dose reduction (below 2.5 mrem/h) within ∼100 yr after shutdown, possibly by some extrapolation on alloy purification techniques.
