International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Research Applications and Utilization of Accelerators
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SM/EN-18
Applications for Gas-Plasma Target Neutron Generators J. Sved NSD-Fusion GmbH, Delmenhorst, Germany Corresponding Author: john.sved@nsd-fusion.com The NSD-Fusion GmbH commercial development of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement fusion devices as neutron generators started in 1996. Technical progress was positive but business and finance circumstances where the delay factors. Today equipment sales and further development projects are at last filling the order book. For commercial success the NSD neutron generator has to deliver approximately ten times longer operational lifetime or endurance and ten times greater output for the marketable price. There are additional characteristics which users deem to be advantageous. The complete set of equipment is remarkably compact. High density high voltage and high current per pulse power technology has been adopted for the pulsed neutron variants. This enables both pulsed neutron PGNAA applications but also boosts neutron yield by exploiting super linear scaling of Inertial Electrostatic Confinement fusion. Sealed tube operation was developed whereby a gas storage technology is integrated with the automated regulation of neutron output in a central sub-system. The lack of a solid target mitigates ageing effects of sputter erosion deposits causing short circuits and thermal cycle fatigue. The adoption of a linear electrode configuration enables easy adaptation of the neutron emission unit to a wide range of applications. A specific of 1 kW of input power per 20 mm of cage electrode length is the design rule. With 115 kV and 15 mA of DC power a steady and stable Deuterium-Deuterium yield of 2x107 n/s is achieved. By lengthening the electrode more input power can be accepted. A Deuterium-Tritium gas mixture gives a factor of approximately 80 yield gain. The variable neutron emission length parameter can be utilized for neutron illumination of large objects such as containers on scrap metal trucks for PGNAA assay of the alloy elements. The ContainerProbe-Net concept is being advocated to address the requirement for 100% risk screening of inter-modal containers. Radiography utilizing the neutron source topology within the plasma and image deconvolution is proposed. A range of conceptual applications are described with the intent to alert innovative applications developers to the potential of the NSD neutron generator family of products.
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