Absolute neutron emission estimate on MAST Upgrade based on activation foil measurements

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MACLEAN, C L, CECCONELLO, M, ALLAN, S, GROVE, C L, WORRALL, R, LENNON, Kimberley and UPGRADE TEAM, the MAST (2025). Absolute neutron emission estimate on MAST Upgrade based on activation foil measurements. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion, 67 (6). [Article]

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Abstract

Determination of the absolute neutron rate production in any fusion device and in particular for ITER and future power plants is essential for their operation and for the optimization of the fusion power. A common calibration approach is to use well characterized neutron sources placed inside the vacuum vessel combined with Monte Carlo simulations. This method is fraught with several difficulties both from an engineering and data modeling and interpretation point of view. This is particularly true for future fusion power plants. This work demonstrates an alternative approach to the absolute calibration of the neutron rate based on activation foil measurements combined with forward modeling of a well characterized plasma discharge and fusion device. This method has been applied to MAST Upgrade and the good agreement found between measured and modeled foil activity support this approach. The results presented suffer from some limitations but suggestions are given on how to resolve them.

More Information

Official URL:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-65...

Open Access URL:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-65...

Open Access Version:

Published version

Additional Information:

** From IOP Publishing via Jisc Publications Router ** History: received 20-09-2024; oa-requested 27-11-2024; rev-recd 13-04-2025; accepted 12-05-2025; epub 21-05-2025; open-access 21-05-2025; ppub 30-06-2025. ** Licence for this article: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ** Acknowledgements: This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium, funded by the European Union via the Euratom Research and Training Programme (Grant Agreement No. 101052200 - EUROfusion). Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for them. This work has been carried out with the support of the RCUK Energy Programme (Grant No. EP/T012250/1) and of the Swedish Research Council (VR) Grant No. 2021-05485. This work has been funded by the EPSRC Energy Programme (Grant Number EP/W524426/1). Some sections of this work were part-funded by the EPSRC Energy Programme (Grant Number EP/W006839/1), to obtain further information on the data and models underlying this paper please contact PublicationsManager@ukaea.uk.

Uncontrolled Keywords:

modelling, diagnostics, activation foil, MAST Upgrade, neutronics, MAST-U, fusion

Identifiers

Identification Number:

10.1088/1361-6587/add764

ORCID for Kimberley Lennon: