Neutrons from a proton-driven deuterium target as a possible competitor to spallation for nuclear energy applications
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Measurements are reported on the yield of neutrons from protons in the energy range from 7 to 17 MeV striking a stopping-length target of deuterium gas. This combination of beam and target is being investigated as an alternative to spallation for accelerator-driven transmutation technology with perhaps equivalent or lower energy cost per neutron. The concept includes neutrons produced from a cascade of reactions starting with the p + d reaction giving rise to subsequent fusion neutrons and neutrons from higher-order breakup reactions. In our application the incident proton energy is expected to be -100 MeV so that most of the neutrons produced in these reactions will be higher-energy neutrons that can undergo multiplication in surrounding beryllium or lead. The results reported here for lower proton energies indicate that the expected fusion and higher-order breakup reactions have been observed, and they provide the basis for a measurement at 100 MeV to confirm the larger proton-induced cascade benefits expected at higher proton energies.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Bowman, CD; Bowman, DC; Bilpuch, EG; Crowell, AS; Howell, CR; McCabe, K; Smith, GA; Tonchev, AP; Tornow, W; Vylet, V; Walter, RL
Published Date
- January 1, 2009
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 161 / 1
Start / End Page
- 119 - 124
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)
- 0029-5639
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.13182/NSE161-119
Citation Source
- Scopus