International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators

4-8 May 2009, Vienna
ADS/INT-03

ADS Programme and Associated Developments in India — Roadmap and Status of
Activities

P.K. Nema

NPD, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, Mumbai, India

Corresponding Author: pkn@barc.gov.in

Large-scale utilization of thorium as nuclear fuel has been a long-term goal in the Indian nuclearpower programme. The 3-stage programme for gradual switch over from uranium to plutoniumfueled fast-breeders and finally to Th fuel system has been in place for this purpose. With external neutron source driven ADS, the self-sustainable thorium fuel cycle and growth of nuclear power generation capacity seem distinctly feasible.

Accordingly, India has initiated a programme in 2003 to pursue a roadmap on physics studies & stage-wise technology development for ADS. Under this programme, activities related to reactor concepts & design, spallation target system and technology for high power proton accelerator have progressed.

Reactor design studies were made on some representative schemes of sub-critical reactors to introduce and sustain thorium fuel utilization, development of indigenous reactor calculations codes, application of high-energy particle-matter interaction codes to estimate neutronics in spallation target and its coupling with surrounding reactor core. A reactor physics experimental programme is also underway to couple 14 MeV neutron generator (D–T reaction) with a sub-critical natural uranium-water core. In another reactor studies, a research reactor is being designed with feasibility for future conversion into a spallation neutron source-driven sub-critical ADS reactor.

In the spallation target technology programme, thermal hydraulics analyses were made of liquid metal flows around beam window under various beam-induced heating conditions in target volume. A liquid metal LBE flow loop has been designed for experimental validation of CFD analyses through simulation of proton heating the beam window by using plasma torch and electron beam.

This loop would also have corrosion test set up for samples of various materials. Energy efficient and reliable high power proton accelerator for ADS presents challenges in accelerating low-energy space-charge dominated proton beam, and at high-energy in utilizing superconducting (SC) RF cavities with cryogenics. Design and construction of 20 MeV cw proton linac at BARC and development of techniques to fabricate & characterize high-β SC RF cavities from niobium are progressing.The above spectrum of ADS-related activities is covered in this paper along with some thoughts on future directions.