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Growth beyond megawatts
Hash Hashemianpresident@ans.org
When talking about growth in the nuclear sector, there can be a somewhat myopic focus on increasing capacity from year to year. Certainly, we all feel a degree of excitement when new projects are announced, and such announcements are undoubtedly a reflection of growth in the field, but it’s important to keep in mind that growth in nuclear has many metrics and takes many forms.
Nuclear growth—beyond megawatts—also takes the form of increasing international engagement. That engagement looks like newcomer countries building their nuclear sectors for the first time. It also looks like countries with established nuclear sectors deepening their connections and collaborations. This is one of the reasons I have been focused throughout my presidency on bringing more international members and organizations into the fold of the American Nuclear Society.
Weiping Deng, Yanbin Zhang, Huan Jia, Tao Wan, Weifeng Yang, Chengwen Qiang, Long Li, Fei Wang, Honglin Ge, Fei Ma, Xueying Zhang
Nuclear Science and Engineering | Volume 196 | Number 7 | July 2022 | Pages 899-909
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/00295639.2022.2027177
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A granular flow target coupled with a beam window was studied. The beam window isolates the accelerator from the target, making the system more secure and flexible. Preliminary analyses for the beam window and beam tube, including neutronics, thermal hydraulics, and structural mechanics were performed by Geant4 and ANSYS. The effects of geometry and coolant flow direction on the temperature field and the stress distribution of the beam window are studied. The results show that the maximum temperature can be reduced by 13% through optimization. Comparing the thermal deposition distribution of the beam tube with and without the beam window, we find that there is an extra peak due to the beam window. In addition, the effect of the cooling pattern on the temperature distribution of the beam tube is also studied. The results show that it is reasonable to arrange six U-shaped cooling channels. Detailed analyses show that the material temperature and the mechanical property of the beam window and beam tube meet the design standards, which confirm the possibility of granular flow target with a beam window for engineering application.