Understanding Neutron Radiography Post Result Extended Reading XI-A

Understanding Neutron Radiography
Extended Reading XI
2nd September 2016
Reading
Post Result
(passed)
Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang
Neutron Source
Photomultiplier tubes lining the walls of the Daya Bay neutrino detector. The tubes are designed to amplify and record the faint flashes
of light that signify an antineutrino interaction. This experiment aims to measure the final unknown mixing angle that describes how neutrinos oscillate
another chapter in Brookhaven National Laboratory's long history of neutrino research over the last several decades.
https://www.bnl.gov/newsroom/news.php?a=24055
Neutron Source
The Great Rationalizer on Neutron
The Magical Book of Neutron Radiography
Fion
Zhang
DNcn=Fion
Zhang, o=Technical,
ou=Academic,
email=fion_zhang@
qq.com, c=CN
2016.09.06
12:37:11 +08'00'
ASNT Certification Guide

NDT Level III / PdM Level III
NR - Neutron Radiographic Testing
Length: 4 hours Questions: 135
1. Principles/Theory
Nature of penetrating radiation
Interaction between penetrating radiation and matter
Neutron radiography imaging
Radiometry
2. Equipment/Materials
Sources of neutrons
Radiation detectors
Non-imaging devices
3. Techniques/Calibrations
Electron emission radiography
Blocking and filtering
Micro-radiography
Multifilm technique
Laminography (tomography)
Enlargement and projection
Control of diffraction effects
Stereoradiography
Panoramic exposures
Triangulation methods
Gaging
Autoradiography
Real time imaging
Flash Radiography
Image analysis techniques
In-motion radiography
Fluoroscopy
4. Interpretation/Evaluation
Image-object relationships
Material considerations
Codes, standards, and specifications
5. Procedures
Imaging considerations
Film processing
Viewing of radiographs
Judging radiographic quality
6. Safety and Health
Exposure hazards
Methods of controlling radiation exposure
Operation and emergency procedures
Reference Catalog Number
NDT Handbook, Third Edition: Volume 4,
Radiographic Testing 144
ASM Handbook Vol. 17, NDE and QC 105
Fion Zhang at Norway

2nd September 2016
SME- Subject Matter Expert

http://cn.bing.com/videos/search?q=Walter+Lewin&FORM=HDRSC3
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiEHVhv0SBMpP75JbzJShqw
Gamma- Radiography
TABLE 1. Characteristics of three isotope sources commonly used for
radiography.
Source
Energy
HVL
Pb
HVL
Fe
Specific
Activity
Dose rate*
Co60
5.3 year
1.17, 1.33 MeV
12.5mm
22.1mm
50 Cig-1
1.37011
Cs137
30 years
0.66 MeV
6.4mm
17.2mm
25 Cig-1
0.38184
Ir192
75 days
0.14 ~ 1.2 MeV

(Aver. 0.34 MeV)
4.8mm
350 Cig-1
0.59163
Th232
Dose rate* Rem/hr at one meter per curie
0.068376
http://greekhouseoffonts.com/
Read More
Application potential of cold neutron

radiography in plant science research
d
a
e
R
e
r
o
Summary
Though comprehensive knowledge of water status and water flow are
important prerequisites for plant in many aspects of modern plant science
truly non-destructive methods for the in-situ study of water transport are rare.
Advanced imaging methods such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) or
Cold Neutron Radiography (CNR) may be applied to fill this gap. In CNR
strong interaction of cold neutrons with hydrogen provides a high contrast
even for small amounts of water. The combination of CNR with the low
contrast tracer D2O (?) allows the direct visualisation of water flow and the
calculation of water flow rates in plants with a high resolution at the tissue
level. Here, we give a general introduction into this method, describe their
latest developments, report about studies applying neutron radiography in
plant science and provide most recent results of our experiments in this field.
Note:
Cold Neutron (0~0.03MeV)
Z number
Neutron Absorption Cross Section
Neutron Absorption Cross Section (at MeV?)
http://periodictable.com/Properties/A/NeutronCrossSection.bt.html
http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/106532/energy-dependent-cross-sections-for-neutrons
Introduction
Water in plants is one of the most important factors for life. As the major
solvent as well as an important substrate it guaranties the well functioning of
the metabolic mechanisms of the plants, such as photosynthesis the basic
process for live on earth.
https://www.bnl.gov/chemistry/AP/images/Home_01_HR.jpg
Water availability, water distribution and water flow also regulate various plant
physiological phenomena (VON WILLERT et al., 1995; LSCH, 2001). In
future years water may become a limiting factor in agriculture, horticulture or
silviculture production in many countries. Breeding of plants with
improved drought tolerance may help to partially overcome this challenge
(ARAUS et al., 2002). Conventional construction of plants with improved
water uptake and transport performance such as grafting of high yield shoots
on water effective roots may also be a solution (PROIETTI et al., 2008).
Hence, for both breeding and grafting comprehensive knowledge about plant
water relations and especially on water uptake and water flow phenomena is
essential. However, non-destructive methods for the in-situ study of water
transport are quite limited. Even modern heat balance method (VON
WILLERT et al., 1995; LSCH, 2001) cant be applied without at least
partially affecting the water transport pathways.
Hence, non-invasive and fully nondestructive methods such as Magnetic

Resonance Imaging (MRI; KUCHENBROD et al., 1996) or, less well-known,
Cold Neutron Radiography (CNR, MATSUSHIMA et al., 2005a, b, 2007)
seem to be appropriate methods to study water status and water transport in
intact plants. Neutron radiography is an effective imaging method, where the
strong interaction of thermal or cold neutrons with hydrogen provides a high
contrast even for small amounts of water. On the other hand, the neutron
beam has a large penetration depth in metals (Al, Fe, Cu, Pb etc.). Therefore,
neutron radiography has been mainly used for the visualizations of water
and/or organic components in mechanical devices (TRABOLD et al., 2006).
The full-scale entry of neutron radiography into biological field started in the
early 1990th. Because soil is relatively transparent to neutron beam, neutron
radiography became a good tool for non-destructive observation of plant roots
(NAKANISHI et al., 1991; 1992).
This imaging technique was applied to investigate the exchange of minerals

between soil and plant roots (SAITO et al., 1997; OSWALD et al., 2005;
MANNES et al., 2006a). The use of the CT technique allowed a
3 Dimensional investigation of the water distribution around soybean roots
(NAKANISHI et al., 2005; KIM et al., 2006). In postharvest technology,
successful application of neutron imaging for the observation of changes in
the internal structure of corn kernels during storage has been reported
(CLEVELAND et al., 2006). In Japanese cedar seedlings, YAMADA et al.
(2005) detected fungal induced tissue discoloration and tissue drying by
neutron imaging. In this experiment, differences in the size of water deficient
tissue parts resulting from damage by the impact of various fungi were
identified. Neutron imaging was also applied for internal inspection and
moisture mapping of tree trunks and timber (MANNES et al., 2006b). were
also described.
In order to study the characteristics of building materials, water absorption

process of timber was investigated (LEHMANN et al., 2005). New
developments of neutron radiography using low energy neutrons and/or
monochromatic neutron beams increase the potential of the method for plant
science. The new developments provide better spatial resolution and a higher
image contrast. In this report recent studies of the application of novel neutron
radiography in plant science are introduced. Our recent attempts in this field
were also described.
Neutron radiography
Neutron radiography visualizes the attenuation of neutrons through a
medium. The probability of the neutrons interaction with a nucleus
depends on the structure and the stability of the core. Hence, the
attenuation of neutrons in a medium is random. Interestingly, certain
light elements such as hydrogen and B, Be, Li, N, etc. absorb and/or
scatter neutrons rather well. On the other hand, neutrons penetrate
very heavy elements such as lead, titanium and others rather easily.
Elements having adjacent atomic numbers can have a widely differing
absorption of neutrons. Neutron attenuation efficiency can vary even
between different isotopes of the same element.
The probability of neutron scattering and/or absorption by a matter

is given by the so-called cross sections. When a material is irradiated
by a neutron beam, the number of transmitted neutrons depends on
the total cross section which is a sum of the scattering and the absorption
cross-sections for the given material. Equation 1 explains the
attenuation of neutron intensity, I, from the initial intensity I0 to I by
penetrating a material with the thickness x and the density
The beam detected by a two-dimensional imaging device results in an

image that can be utilized to analyze the macroscopic structure of the
samples interior because the mass attenuation coefficient, m, of a
respective material depends on its density and element composition.
This means that this image of the penetrating neutrons provides a
reflexion of the amount and the arrangement of certain elements in
the sample.
Hydrogen is one of the elements, which have a large mass attenuation

coefficient and, hence, produce clear images. The thus obtained good
contrast allows for high sensitivity to small amounts of hydrogen in
complex systems. Hydrogen also forms the major constituent of living
plants. It is incorporated in water, sugars, fibers and lipid molecules.
By far the most ubiquitous molecule in living plant material is water.
Hence, changes in the amount and the distribution of plant water are
usually much more pronounced and can occur much faster than
changes in other molecules. Of course, some other elements with large total
cross sections such as boron and lithium are also found in plants. However,
their concentrations are normally too small to be observed by neutron
radiography. Therefore, the effect of these elements is certainly negligible.
This all make neutron radiography a valuable tool to investigate the variation
of water content and distribution in plant material. Nevertheless, the are some
disadvantages of this method. This includes the relatively high cost and
potentially radiation safety problems. Radiation safety problems are, however,
rare and where they exist they are usually easily handled by shielding
(BASTRK et al., 2005a, b).
Neutron energy and imaging

According to their energy neutrons are roughly classified as fast (high
energy), (slow) thermal, cold and very cold (low energy) neutrons. This
difference in their energy influences the characteristics of neutron
transmission. Because the probability for interaction with the sample
is reciprocal to the neutron energy, the total cross section also depends
on the energy of the neutrons.
By using liquid deuterium or hydrogen in the neutron source the energy
of thermal neutrons can be largely reduced (moderation) . This reduction in
neutrons energy remarkably increases the total cross section and, hence,
decreases transmission. Thus, low energy neutron beams provide high
contrast neutron imaging. This means that the dynamic range in the
observation of changes of plant water is larger with the cold neutron imaging
than that of the conventional method. This property should be suitable to
investigate plants with thin stems, leaves and/or petals, for example small
seedlings, blooming flowers, small bean pods etc. Such plant samples have
spatially complex structures and the volume in the space would be relatively
small.
Magnetic resonance imaging, an alternative to CNR, has a high spatial

resolution (KUCHENBROD et al., 1996). It can provide various information
about the status and the distribution of water (KCKENBERGER, 2001;
GARNCZARSKA et al., 2007). MRI has also been applied to observe
microscopic plant samples. For example, MANZ et al. (2005) studied the
regulation of water uptake during germination of tobacco seeds by in vivo 1Huclear magnetic resonance with a spatial resolution of 30 m. Magnetic
resonance imaging has been successfully employd to study long distance
xylem flow and hydraulics in intact lants (e.g. JOHNSON et al., 1987;
KUCHENBROD et al., 1996; PEUKE et al., 2001; SCHEENEN et al., 2007).
However, MRI is not suitable for small leafy plants, because both its
spatial and time resolution are influenced by the ratio of the sample
volume to the overall detectable space in the coil of the NMR detector.
If this ratio is too small, i.e. the sample is small compared to the volume
within the detector coil, the spatial and time resolution would be lower
because of a low signal to noise relation (KCKENBERGER, 2001). This
limitation is much less pronounced in CNR imaging (MATSUSHIMA
et al., 2005a).
In case of CNR the resolution primarily depends on the sample thickness
and not on the total sample volume to detectable space ratio. If the total
thickness of the sample is smaller than the upper attenuation limit of the
neutron beam, i.e. the neutrons are not fully absorbed or scattered by the
sample material, the neutron radiography is able todetect water distribution
with very high sensitivity.
As mentioned above, in CNR, the image contrast is affected by the energy of

neutron radiation.
Fig. 1 shows contrast differences in ivy leaves CNR imagescreated by two
different low energy neutron beams. The wavelength of neutron radiations
used for the images in Fig. 1A and B were about 0.3 (3 ) and 6.0 nm (60 ),
respectively. It is obvious that the contrast of the image obtained with longer
wavelength radiation and hence lower energy is higher than at shorter
wavelength and higher energy.
In Fig. 1B the leaf veins are clearer visible than those of Fig. 1A because the
low energy of the neutron beam (6.0 nm) resulted in a higher attenuation
coefficient for H2O, which, in turn, contributed to the increased contrast of the
neutron image (KARDJILOV et al., 2003). In case of the image shown in Fig.
1B, water thickness could be estimated from the image at a resolution of 50
m in 95% of confidence interval (MATSUSHIMA et al., 2005a).
Fig. 1: Neutron images of ivy leaves

taken by different radiation
wavelength.
A: approximately 0.3 nm (CONRAD,
BER-II),
B: approx. 6.0 nm
(VCN port, PF2,
Institut Laue-Langevin, ILL, France)
(adapted from KAWABATA et al.,
2005; MATSUSHIMA et al., 2005c).
Cold neutron radiography imaging system

During recent years, several experimental setups for low energy neutron
imaging have been established consistently. Well known devices are:
CNRF (Cold Neutron beam for the Radiography Facility at JRR-3M,
Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst., Ibaraki, Japan),
ICON (Imaging with COld Neutrons at Swiss Spallation Neutron Source,
SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland),
CONRAD (COld Neutron RADiography at BER II, Hahn- eitner Institut,
Berlin, Germany), and
ANTARES (Advanced Neutron Tomography And Radiography
Experimental System at FRM II, Technische Universitt Mnchen,
Mnchen, Germany).
The wavelengths of the neutron radiation applied in these imaging facilities
reflects that of a cold neutron beam of approximately 0.3-0.4 nm (3-4 ).
Hence, low energy neutron radiography performed at the facilities mentioned
above will be referred to as cold neutron radiography (CNR) hereinafter.
CNFR of Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst., Ibaraki, Japan
CNFR of Japan Atomic Energy Res. Inst., Ibaraki, Japan
Swiss Spallation Neutron Source, SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen,

Switzerland
Swiss Spallation Neutron Source, SINQ, Paul Scherrer Institut, Villigen,

Switzerland
Swiss Spallation Neutron Source, SINQ, Paul

Scherrer Institut, Villigen, Switzerland
As an example of a low energy neutron devices, CONRAD, at the HahnMeitner Institut (HMI) will be introduced in more detail. The experimental
setup is placed at the end of a curved Ni- oated neutron guide at the
experimental reactor BER II. The peak wavelength of the beam spectrum is
about 0.31 nm (HILGER et al., 2006). There are two different experimental
positions available. The neutron beam at Position I has a high neutron flux
and a low spatial resolution. In contrast, Position II is adapted for high spatial
resolution by optimization of the pinhole geometry. Users can chose the
appropriate position in dependence of the specific purpose of their
investigations.
The beam size of Position II is 10cm10cm and the spatial resolution is

about 200 m. In the irradiation room there is plenty of working space for the
sample setup on the right hand of beam propagation direction. More details
about the experimental device are given by KARDJILOV et al. (2005) and
HILGER et al. (2006). Spatial resolution has been further improved by
reducing scintillator thickness and employed low energy neutron beam
(KHNE and LEHMANN, 2006; FREI and LEHMANN, 2006; KHNE et al.,
2006). Images appearing on the scintillator are deflected by a mirror into the
50 mm focus Nikon camera lens and is recorded by an Andor DW436N-BV
CCD camera with 20482048 pixels, each 13.513.5 m2 large.
This detector system can provide a spatial resolution of up to 25 m. Fig. 3
shows the root system of a tomato seedling obtained with the spatial
resolution about 70 m by the thin scintillator system. Fine roots of the
seedling are clearly visible. This high resolution imaging system can be a
powerful tool to investigate microscopic plant structures. However, to observe
plant cells, a spatial resolution of less than 5 m will be necessary. Images
at the cellular level would clearly broaden the application of neutron imaging,
thus, further technical developments are urgently required.
Fig. 2: Irradiation room of position II, CONRAD.
Fig. 3: Water distribution in the roots and the

lower stem of a tomato seedling.
The image was obtained with a spatial
resolution of approx. 70 m.
Applications in plant science

As mentioned above, application of neutron radiography in plant science has
been primarily focused on water mapping in wood (LEHMANN et al., 2005;
YAMADA et al., 2005; MANNES et al., 2006a, b), in corn (CLEVELAND et al.,
2006), around and in living root systems (NAKANISHI et al., 1991; 1992;
2005; OSWALD et al., 2005; KIM et al., 2006) but also in leaves and stems of
ornamentals (MATSUSHIMA et al., 2005a, b; 2007).
MATSUSHIMA et al. (2005b) investigated the effects of dehydration by
vacuum cooling on the water content and the water distribution in
chrysanthemum leaves by low energy neutron imaging at the CN-3 neutron
port of the Research Reactor Institute, Kyoto University. It could be shown
that during vacuum cooling overall water content declined by only
approximately 5% of the initial fresh mass.
However, differential water mapping before and after vacuum cooling

application indicated that critical dehydration had occurred only at wound cuts
of the leaf sample. Furthermore, the process dynamics of plant leaf water
losses was also studied in detail using lower energy neutron beam
(MATSUSHIMA et al., 2005a). However, only further improvement of cold
neutron radiographic facilities will open new perspectives for various
additional usage of this method in plant science research. In the following, we
present two novel applications using the advantages of CNR.
Study of water flow by D2O tracer

In case of neutron or x-ray radiography, any growth or dehydration induced
dynamic variation in structure and/or density of plant materials causes
changes of the contrast in transmission images. However, steady state flows
in the biological samples such as water transport in plants that do not affect
distribution or content of H2O can not be directly detected by radiographic
techniques. Therefore, contrast agents such as Iodine for x-ray radiography
need to be applied as tracers to actually visualize the flow of H2O with CNR.
In case of plant water transport deuterium oxide (D2O) is suitable for this
purpose. The physical and chemical properties of D2O are very similar to
those of H2O (WIKIPEDIA, 2008). Hence, heavy water has been yet used in
many investigations on its metabolic effects in fungi, animals and plants
(ALEXANDROV et al., 1965; PITTENDRIGH et al., 1973; SIEGEL and
GALUN, 1978; IGNATOV and LITVIN, 1998).
Note:
2 H
1
0.00052 (barns) neutron absorption
deuterium, in D2O, good collisional energy transfer with modest absorption
1
1H
0.332 (barns) neutron absorption

hydrogen, in H2O, optimum collisional energy transfer, medium absorption
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~chem2/NuclearEnergySlides%204-28-09.pdf
Note2:
Target type dependence
The neutron cross section is defined for a given type of target particle. For
example, the capture cross section of hydrogen-2 (referred to as deuterium)
is much smaller than that of common hydrogen-1.[1] This is the reason why
some reactors use heavy water (in which most of the hydrogen is deuterium)
instead of ordinary light water as moderator: fewer neutrons are lost by
capture inside the medium, hence enabling the use of natural uranium
instead of enriched uranium. This is the principle of a CANDU reactor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_cross_section
In plants it has also been applied at low concentrations as a tracer to study

various water exchange and water transport processes (ILVONEN et al.,
2001; SEKIYA and YANO, 2004; ICHMASA et al., 2005).
Concerning CNR, the mass attenuation coefficient of D2O is smaller than that
of normal water, which allows neutron to better penetrate D2O than normal
water resulting in a large variation of image contrast. Hence, we attempted to
observe steady state water flow with CNR using D2O as a tracer. To our best
knowledge, no use of a contrast agent for plant research using neutron
radiography has been documented before.
Hydrogen & Deuterium Neutron Cross Section (Total)
http://www.technology.matthey.com/article/60/2/132-144/
Ionized Deuterium
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deuterium
For the experiments conducted at CONRAD at HMI tomato seedlings

(Solanum lycopersicum L. cv. Harzfeuer) were grown from seeds on
sand in a climate cabinet (VB 1014, Vtsch Industrietechnik GmbH,
Balingen, Germany). Climatic conditions were set to Tday/night = 22/
15C and RHday/night = 40/70%.
Plants received photosynthetic active photon fluence rates of approximately
220 mol m-2 s-1 at a 14 h day period and were daily watered with tap water.
After they had developed 2 or 3 true leaves plants were used for the
experiments. Each seedling was transplanted into a quartz glass tube filled
with a soda glass beads medium (Fig. 4 left). During the experiment the
tomato seedlings were irradiated with a halogen lamp (Osram, Hamburg,
Germany).
Fig. 4: Experimental setting for the application of D2O tracer during CNR
measurements. Left: Sample in a glass tube filled with soda glass beads
medium. During the experiment the tomato seedling is irradiated with a halogen
lamp with a Perspex water flow heat shield. Right: D2O injection system.
The plants were protected by a Perspex water flow heat shield. Fig. 4 (right)
shows the experimental set up of the investigation on the D2O-tracer
application. With a custom-made PC-controlled injection system D2O and
H2O could be automatically supplied to the samples in the quartz glass tube
from bottles as requested. During the experiments, CNR images were taken
every 15 seconds with an exposure time of 10 seconds and read out time of
the detector of 5 seconds. Water flow from root system to stem was clearly
visualised by CNR through the positive contrast created by the D2O tracer
(Fig. 5). This clearly indicates that heavy water is a very suitable tool to
comprehensively and non-destructively investigate the temporal and spatial
dynamics of water movement at the plant organ level.
Fig. 5: An example of water flow into a tomato seedling stem indicated by the
level of the D2O tracer at different times after exchange of H2O for heavy
water. The dark area corresponds to the amount of heavy water in the stem.
Furthermore, the observation of the D2O level in the stem at different times
after the exchange process enables the calculation of the velocity of water
uptake and water flow in the seedling. In this measurements, flow rates of 2.6
cm h-1 could be estimated. These flow rates, corresponding to 0.01 mm s-1,
were much lower than those found (0.2 to 0.4 mm s-1) for adult ricinus plants
by MRI (PEUKE et al., 2001). At the respective developmental stage of the
tomato seedling, xylem water flow may be slower than in mature plants due to
the still developing vascular bundle system. Furthermore, the low VPD of less
than 7 kPa MPa-1 prevailing during the entire measurement may have also
reduced transpiration of leaves. Anyway, such a low flow velocity in small
stems is difficult to measure with existing techniques such as heat balance
systems (VON WILLERT et al., 1995).
Because the chemical structure and the physical properties of D2O is similar
to H2O this tracer easily passes the casparian strip that selectively restricted
the intake of chemical compounds. This is a big advantage of the D2O tracer
method. Boron, for example, can also be a valuable contrast agent for
neutron radiography due to its high attenuation of neutron. Further more,
boron is an essential nutrient to higher plants (BROWN et al., 2001). However,
even at high external boron supply, plants do not take up enough boron to
create a contrast in radiographic images. It is expected that boron, like other
chemical compounds used as CNR tracers, would be partially excluded at the
different transmembrane transport processes occurring during primary uptake
by epidermal, cortical or endodermal cells and at the casparian strip, or during
xylem loading in the root system (BASSIL et al., 2004). Therefore, tracers
such as boron must be either injected by syringe, drip-infused or taken up
after removal of the root system. Furthermore, the higher concentrations
boron is highly toxic and it is known to concentrate in particular tissues of
plant; and it is obvious that boron solution doesnt behave as normal water.
Hence, this obviously indicates that D2O is the preferential tracer for
nondestructive CNR water
flow studies in plants.
Furthermore, combining the D2O tracer technique with the neutron computed
tomography (NCT) imaging system it is possible to construct 3-dimensional
maps of the distribution of D2O or H2O, respectively. Fig. 6A shows the D2O
distribution in a single vertical tomographic slice of the upper stem (peduncle)
and flower bud of a rose. Using several horizontal NCT slices (Fig. 6A) taken
at different but close locations it is possible to construct a D2O replacement
map. With this approach the intensity of the water movement within a
vascular bundle and between the vascular bundle and the parenchyma cells
could be traced (Fig. 6B).
According to the given scale, the grey scale in Fig. 6B reflect the amount of D2O
replaced in the different tissues. In this flow activity image the highly efficient
vascular bundles are highlighted. The comparison of the slice of the D2O map
and a light microscope image of the peduncle cross section of a rose of the
same cultivar (Fig. 6C) further indicates that the replacement of D2O from the
vascular bundles to the pith was more intensive than to the other tissues. For
investigations of mechanisms and dynamics of short and long-distance water
flow in plants it is very desirable to observe 3 Dimensional water flow
characteristics at a high spatial resolution. For this purpose, a rapidly scanning
neutron CT with improved resolution is necessary, hence further development
of this technique is required.
Fig. 6: D2O map on a slice image in a neutron CT of rose peduncle.

A: Vertical sliced NCT image. The lines indicates the NCT slice surface of
those image used to construct the D2O replacement map given in B.
B: D2O replacement map.
C: Optical microscopic image of a rose peduncle (Rosa hybrid cv. Akito).
Combination with other imaging analysis

The obvious drawbacks of MRI, compared to neutron radiography, are the
lack of space and the high magnetic field around the sample which prevents
the use of additional electronic devices. In case of CNR such devices can be
protected from neutron and/or gamma ray by shielding, if necessary at all.
This advantage of CNR was used in order to combine neutron imaging with
an other method that monitors the photosynthetic activity of plants. Pulse
modulation chlorophyll fluorescence analysis imaging (CF imaging) is a tool
that provides deep insight into photosynthetic efficiency and integrity of plants
(NEDBAL et al., 2000; HERPPICH, 2002). Especially the parameter Fv/ Fm,
an indicator of the potential photosynthetic efficiency, is highly related to plant
stress responses (VON WILLERT et al., 1995). By the combination of neutron
radiography and CF imaging, it is possible to parallely study the effects of
environmental stresses on both water status and photosynthetic activity of the
plant sample.
Chlorophyll Fluorescence Analysis Imaging (CF Imaging)
http://qubitphenomics.com/chlorophyll-fluorescence-imaging/
With these techniques, the effects of toxic auto-exhaust, simulate by 2 ppm

SO2 in air, on the physiological efficiency of street trees was evaluated.
Hibiscus, which is a popular street tree in Okinawa, Japan, was used for
experiments. Young rooted cuttings were enclosed in atemperature and
humidity controlled aluminium cuvette fitted with a quartz glass window to be
able to take the CF images. With their roots the plants were placed in glass
tubes filled with glass beads. These tubes were connected to an automatic,
PC-operated exchange system for H2O and D2O which could alternately
supply each liquid. Before the start of the experiments, i.e. before the
exposure of the plant to the simulated auto-exhaust gas an initial CF image
was taken. Then, the toxic SO2-in-air gas mixture was supplied for one hour
while CF images were taken every 20 min. Afterwards, the cuvette was again
flushed with normal air and plants were maintained under this condition for
another hour with CF images taken regularly. During the entire
experimentCNR images were recorded every 15 seconds with an irradiation
time of 10 seconds. H2O and the liquid tracer D2O were alternately
exchanged every 30 min.
The CF imaging system was installed in front of the neutron radiography

facility CONRAD (Fig. 7). It was placed vertically to the neutron beam line to
avoid direct irradiation. The sample was located in the neutron beam in
orderto take neutron images simultaneously. Therefore, the sample cuvette
was rotated by an automatic rotation table to face it to the fluorescence
imaging camera. Fig. 8 shows the variation of the maximum photochemical
efficiency, Fv/Fm, of hibiscus leaves as analysed from the CF images taken
during the course of the experiment. In this figure, Fv/Fm, which is a sensitive
indicator of both the efficiency and integrity of plant photosynthesis, was
presented in a false colour scale ranging from a minimum at 0.3 (dark) to a
maximum at 0.8 (light). After the supply of the simulated auto-exhaust gas the
average maximum photochemical efficiency of the exposed leaves, within few
minutes, dropped by more than 30% from the initial mean of 0.64 to less than
0.40.
Fig. 7: CF imaging system installed in front of the CNR facility, CONRAD.
Fig. 8: CF images of hibiscus samples during the course of the experiment. A:

Before supply of the SO2 gas. B: 65 minutes after supplying 2 ppm of SO2. C:
120 minutes after supply of normal air. Note that the low activity of the upper
small leaf on the right hand side was due to a partial shading of the saturation
light by the cuvette ventilator (c.f. Fig. 9).
Reduction of photochemical competence seems to be equal all over the

entire leaf (Fig. 8), i.e. no clear-cut gradient developed during stress. On the
other hand, these effects were fully reversible and Fv/Fm slowly recovered to
its initial level after approximately 2 h in normal air (data not shown).
Recovery seemed to be most rapid close to the major veins, probably also
indicating a dilution effect of the cell sap, acidified by dissolved SO2
(SCHMIDT et al., 1990). Our results clearly indicate that 2 ppm of SO2 rapidly
and seriously affect primary metabolism of hibiscus plants thus substantiating
earlier findings that fumigation with SO2 reversibly inhibited Calvin cycle
activity and may even cause damage at the photosystem II level (SHIMAZAKI
et al., 1984; SCHMIDT et al., 1990). Exposure to SO2 also rapidly affected
plant water uptake and water status in the hibiscus stem as can be seen from
the neutron images obtained simultaneously (Fig. 9) during the different
treatments. The time interval between the four images was about 30 minutes.
The D2O tracer successfully both quantitatively and qualitatively indicated

water flow and distribution in the stem of the plant sample. When the
atmosphere in the cuvette was again changed from the simulated auto
exhaust gas to normal air, the amount of tracer and, hence, the rate of water
uptake increased. Therefore, it can be concluded that hibiscus trees may
sensitively reduce stomatal conductance and transpiration in response to SO2
stress as also found in peanut and tomato (KONDO and SUGAHARA, 1978).
In contrast, stomata of radish, perilla, spinach (KONDO and SUGAHARA,
1978) or poplar (VAN HOVE et al., 1991) have been shown to respond much
less extensive to this toxic gas.
Hence, the presented results show that simultaneous CNR and CF imaging
successfully visualizes the effects of air polluting gases like SO2 on
photosynthetic activity and water uptake, water movement and water
distribution in plants at least in small samples. The combination of these two
methods can greatly contribute to increase our understanding of the complex
and interactive effects of toxic auto exhaust on the different aspects and
levels of the metabolism of plants. Consequently, this is a very helpful
approach to efficiently screen for street tree species and varieties with a high
tolerance against auto exhaust, having the potential to increase CO2
absorption capacity in cities (YANG et al., 2005; NORWAK et al., 2006).
Fig. 9: Water uptake into the hibiscus stem during the

different treatments as indicated by the D2O tracer. The
images were normalized to the initial state for each
treatment step.
A: 30 minutes after supply of SO2.
B: 60 minutes after supply SO2 gas.
C: 30 minutes after supply of air.
D: 60 minutes after supplying air. The dark area
corresponds to the amount of water in the stem.
Conclusions
CNR is suitable to investigate water distribution in small and/or thin plant
materials, which determines a broad field of applications of thismethod in
various field of applied plant science. CNR combined with D2O as a tracer
directly visualizes water uptake, water flow and water distribution in seedlings
and small plants. Following a further increase in spatial and temporal
resolution of cold neutron radiography, water flow in microscopic pathways of
plant can be monitored. CNR can be easily and effectively combined with
other advanced nondestructive and non-invasive imaging techniques such as
CF, thermographic or hyperspectral imaging. Using the combination of CNR
and CF imaging, we successfully investigate the complex effects of simulated
auto-exhaust gas on the physiological performance of Hibiscus cuttings. The
result clearly demonstrated the integrated impact of SO2 on both the
photosynthetic activity and on transpiration. Non-destructive imaging methods
for plants are important tools to investigate plants. However, there is no
imaging method suitable for all purpose. Cold neutron radiography is very
effective to examine thin and spared plant materials. On the other hand, MRI
or X-ray imaging can be a powerful tool for study thick compact plant
materials.
Materials for Nuclear Power Generation
http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/nuclear_materials/index.php
Contents
Main pages
1. Aims
2. Before you start
3. Introduction to Nuclear Processes
4. Introduction to Nuclear Power Generation
5. Cross-Sections
6. Mechanisms of Radiation Damage 1
7. Mechanisms of Radiation Damage 2
8. Effects of Radiation Damage
9. Fuel and Cladding
10.Moderators
11.Summary
12.Questions
13.Going further
Additional pages
Approximated Equation
http://www.doitpoms.ac.uk/tlplib/nuclear_materials/printall.php
1. Aims
On completion of this tutorial you should be able to:
understand the basic physics behind nuclear fission;
describe the common features of nuclear reactors;
understand the various neutron cross-sections;
explain the mechanisms of radiation damage, and its consequences,
particularly for structural steels;
understand the material problems associated with extreme conditions, in
particular large radiation fluxes;
explain the materials selection for the components at the heart of a nuclear
reactor:
moderators;
control rods;
cladding.
Before You Start

Readers should be familiar with the concept of a crystal lattice, dislocations,
and diffusion. A familiarity with the basics of mechanical behaviour and
corrosion of materials would also be useful.
Readers should be familiar with standard nuclear terminology: the definitions
of isotope and nuclide, the composition of nuclei, the definitions of atomic
number and mass number.
A note on units: throughout this TLP the unit used for energy is the electron
volt , the energy associated with one electronic charge of
(1.619 10-19 Coulomb) subjected to a potential difference of 1 V, i.e. 1 eV
1.619 10-19 J
Introduction to Nuclear Processes

Each nucleus, consisting of protons and neutrons (collectively known as
nucleons), has an associated binding energy. A graph of binding energy per
nucleon is shown in the graph below.
The total binding energy of a nucleus is the energy released when a nucleus
is assembled from individual nucleons; the greater the energy release, the
lower the potential energy of the nucleus, so higher binding energy in the
graph represents greater stability. When one nucleus is converted to another
or others of higher binding energy, whether that be through a natural
radioactive process or through an artificially induced process, the difference
in the total binding energies of the nuclei is released as (1) kinetic energy of
the particles produced and (2) gamma rays.
This (these?) energy can be harnessed through traditional methods, e.g. by
heating water to generate steam to drive a turbine, and so electricity can be
produced.
A graph of the binding energy per nucleon, in MeV, for common

nuclides.
A graph of the binding energy per nucleon, in MeV, for common

nuclides.
higher binding energy in the

graph represents greater
stability
Origins of Binding Energy

The measured binding energies of the nuclides can be fitted reasonably well
by Weizsckers formula (see below). The formula is derived by treating the
nucleus as analogous to a liquid drop, with surface energy and volume
energy terms leading to the two dominant contributions: a term proportional
to A, the atomic mass and to the volume of the nucleus, and a term
proportional to -A2/3 due to the surface energy. These two terms compete,
much in the same way they do in other processes (e.g. nucleation), facilitating
a qualitative understanding of why nuclei split up or join together under
certain conditions.
Keywords:
A
-A2/3
Fusion
Energy is given off when a nucleus becomes more stable, i.e. approaches the
maximum on the graph above. Moving from lighter nuclei towards this
maximum requires two nuclei to combine and form a heavier one (fusion),
whereas moving from heavier nuclei towards this maximum requires the
nucleus to split apart (fission). The energy release per mass of nuclide is
much higher for fusion than for fission. Fusion has many other attractive
attributes as a basis for power generation, but since nuclei are positively
charged, sufficient energy most be put into the system to overcome the
repulsion between nuclei so that a fusion process can occur. This Coulomb
barrier can also be expressed as an ignition temperature. The technical
challenges are many, and nothing close to a commercially viable reactor
currently exists. Fusion for power generation is still a prominent research
topic, and experimental reactors are in the process of being built, such as
ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which is planned
to be completed by 2018.
Since nuclear fusion is not yet a practical power source, this TLP will instead
focus on nuclear fission as means to generate heat and electricity.
Fusion
Energy is given off when a nucleus becomes more stable, i.e. approaches the
maximum on the graph above. Moving from lighter nuclei towards this
maximum requires two nuclei to combine and form a heavier one (fusion),
whereas moving from heavier nuclei towards this maximum requires the
nucleus to split apart (fission). The energy release per mass of nuclide is
much higher for fusion than for fission. Fusion has many other attractive
attributes as a basis for power generation, but since nuclei are positively
charged, sufficient energy most be put into the system to overcome the
repulsion between nuclei so that a fusion process can occur. This Coulomb
barrier can also be expressed as an ignition temperature. The technical
challenges are many, and nothing close to a commercially viable reactor
currently exists. Fusion for power generation is still a prominent research
topic, and experimental reactors are in the process of being built, such as
ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), which is planned
to be completed by 2018.
Since nuclear fusion is not yet a practical power source, this TLP will instead
focus on nuclear fission as means to generate heat and electricity.
split apart
combine and
form a heavier
one
Fission
Nuclear fission, as previously mentioned, involves splitting a heavier nucleus
into two lighter nuclei. Fission can be induced if a nucleus absorbs a neutron
of sufficient energy. If a nucleus undergoes fission regardless of the incident
neutron energy, the nucleus is referred to as fissile; otherwise, if there is a
threshold energy then the nucleus is referred to as fissionable.
Keywords:
If a nucleus undergoes fission regardless of the incident neutron energy,
the nucleus is referred to as fissile;
if there is a threshold energy then the nucleus is referred to as fissionable.
Examples of fissile nuclides include 233U, 235U and 239Pu. The nuclide
most commonly used in nuclear reactors is 235U.
A neutron will not necessarily induce fission if it passes through the nucleus.
For example, fast neutrons are less likely to induce fission in 235U than
thermal neutrons (i.e. neutrons with kinetic energy of the order of kT) (?) .
Qualitatively, this makes sense since the faster a neutron is travelling the less
time it spends inside the nucleus and so the less opportunity it has to induce
fission within the nucleus. The actual reasons for this are complicated, and
this topic is explored further on the Cross Sections page.
Fissionable nuclides, such as 238U and 239Pu, are also used in so-called
fast reactors, where the neutrons are travelling fast enough (commonly
around 10% the speed of light, or 1 MeV) to overcome the activation energy
required to make fissionable nuclides decay.
Note:
239Pu is both fissile & fissionable.
Video illustrating nuclear fission
As can be seen in the movie, the parent nucleus decays into two fission
fragments of unequal mass with a combined kinetic energy of about 169 MeV
and several neutrons with a kinetic energy of about 2 MeV each (for 235U,
the average number of neutrons produced is 2.4, but can be as high as 5).
These neutrons are highly energetic, with 7~8 orders of magnitude more
energy than thermalized neutrons. A gamma ray of about 7 MeV is also
released. The neutrons could induce further fission events in other nuclei and
thus cause a chain reaction, but in practice they are too fast and must first be
slowed down inside the reactor.
Graph showing the distribution of fission fragment mass numbers for three
nuclides, U-233, U-235 and Pu-239.
The fragments formed tend to be of unequal masses, with each fragment
showing a Gaussian distribution about a particular lower or higher mass.
[Graph is under a CC[BY][NC][SA] licence and was created from source data
at http://www-nds.iaea.org/sgnucdat/c1.htm]
The nuclides produced by fission are usually of unequal mass, as shown in
the graph below. The x-axis of the graph is by atomic mass, not atomic
number. Many fission fragments are highly unstable, and decay by giving off
beta radiation: this involves a neutron changing into a proton within the
nucleus, leaving the overall number of nucleons (and hence the mass of the
nucleus) the same.
Unequal Fragments of
Fissions
Introduction to Nuclear Power Generation

There are two main types of nuclear reactor, characterized by the speed of
the neutrons which induce fission:
Thermal reactors. These are the predominant kind, using slower neutrons
to induce fission, the basic fissile nuclide being U-235.
Fast breeder reactors. In these less-common reactors, the fast neutrons
are used directly to create (breed) fissile nuclides from fissionable nuclides;
most commonly Pu-239 is bred from U-238. Pu-239 is also used in
nuclear weapons.
Fast Breeder Reactor- Introduction & History

The Integral Fast Reactor (IFR), also known as Advanced Liquid-Metal
Reactor, is a fast neutron reactor with a very efficient and clean nuclear fuel
cycle. It was once a very active research project of the U.S. Department of
Energy, and even a prototype (called Experimental Breeder Reactor-II) was
build in Argonne National Laboratory. However, the project was hampered in
1994 after a series of controversies involving safety issues and nuclear nonproliferation policies. [1] More recently, in 2002, the Integral Fast Reactor was
elected the best nuclear reactor design in a Department of Energy report,
even though there are no IFR in commercial use today. [2] Here, we analyze
how a fast reactor works, focusing on the qualitative comparison with the
more common thermal reactors, and assess the safety issues which are at
the core of their unsuccessful spreading.
http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2013/ph241/waisberg1/
The Integral Fast Reactor
What Are Fast Neutrons?

They are free neutrons with a kinetic energy on the order of 1 MeV, which
corresponds to a speed of around 13,815 km/s, according to the expression
for the relativistic kinetic energy:
EKE = ( - 1) m0c2,
Where:
is the Lorentz factor and
m0 the rest mass.
These neutrons have intermediary speed between thermal neutrons (which
are in thermal equilibrium with the background) and higher-energy neutrons in
particle accelerators and cosmic rays. Fast neutrons can be produced either
by nuclear fusion or fission (although these processes produce neutrons
following a Maxwell distribution with mode energy usually below 1 MeV, so
that most of the neutrons produced do not qualify as "fast".
EBR-II
EBR-II
EBR-II
EBR-II
EBR-I
EBR-I
Overview of Functionality
Almost all thermal reactors currently in use are thermal reactors, which
means that they make use of a moderator (regular water in light-water
reactors, heavy water in heavy-water reactors, graphite in gas-cooled
reactors etc) to slow down fast neutrons into thermal neutrons.
This is necessary because the cross section of fissible nuclei (e.g. U-235, Pu239, Pu-241) is inversely proportional to the bombarding neutron energy
(roughly, the fissible atom vibrates proportionally to its absolute temperature,
and thermal neutrons are ideal for their fission since they are at the same
temperature as the surrounding material).
On the other hand, the cross section for fertile nuclei (a fertile isotope is one
that is not fissionable by thermal neutrons, but can be converted to fissile
material if the neutrons have high enough kinetic energy; e.g. U-238 to Pu239) is directly proportional to the neutron energy.
Unfortunately for thermal reactors, natural uranium contains approximately

99.28% of fertile U-238 isotope and only 0.71% of fissile U-235. As a result,
making sure that neutrons are thermalized maximizes the probability that a
given neutron will be captured by fissile material, allowing thermal reactors to
use low-enriched (or even natural, in the case of heavy-water reactors)
uranium. [3]
Fast reactors dispense the use of a moderator and make use of fast neutrons
to sustain the nuclear fission chain reaction. The irony is that U-238 will, at
low energies, absorb more neutrons than it consumes (due to the
phenomenon of resonance absorption at neutron energies from 1 eV-10 keV).
Therefore, U-238 cannot be made "critical", and fast neutron reactors need
higher ratio of fissile-to-fertile material (i.e. higher enrichment) to ignite the
nuclear reaction. Despite this drawback, once the chain reaction achieves
criticality, fast fission reactions have a larger neutron output, and fast
neutrons are more likely than thermal neutrons to cause fission once they are
absorbed. This makes fast reactors capable of achieving a so- called
"breeding" condition, in which they generate more fissible material than they
consume. [3,4]
Breeding - the Key to Efficiency and Cleanness

Basically, fast reactors can achieve "breeding" condition by transmuting fertile
U-238 into fissible Pu-239 with fast neutrons. This is more sufficient to replace
the consumed U-235 i.e. fast reactors can produce more fissible material than
they consume. Once the reaction has achieved critically (which, again,
requires relatively high enriched starting fuel), the breeder reactor can be
continuously re-fueled with natural uranium. This makes fast reactors
extremely fuel-efficient: they are capable of extracting nearly all the energy in
the fuel (in contrast, thermal reactors are typically able to extract less than
10% of the energy in the enriched uranium). [4,5]
More than that, fast reactors are able to fissile the actinides resulting from Pu239 fission (which are all fissible with fast neutrons) into non-radiative or
radiative elements with short half-live. These actinides are the core
component of unrecyclable nuclear waste in thermal reactors.
In thermal reactors, even though around 1/3 of the output energy actually
comes from Pu-239 (originated from fertile U-238) consumption, this is not
sufficient to stop the build-up of reactor-grade plutonium (even mass number
plutonium isotopes which are not fissible) and of high concentrations of nasty
actinides in the reactor. [6]
Therefore, fast reactors are much cleaner than conventional nuclear reactors
in terms of not generating hazardous nuclear waste. Specifically to the IFR,
pyroelectric (voltage generation with heat) separation is used to remove the
transuranic (elements with higher atomic number Z than uranium) and
concentrate them; they are then used to re-fuel the reactor.
Safety - Achilles' Heel?

Controversies that led to the hampering of the IFR project were largely
centered on safety considerations. [1] One worry about fast neutron reactors
is the lack of moderators, which in thermal reactors serves as negative
feedback in case the reaction rate raises too much (basically, increasing
reaction leads to increasing temperatures, which leads to moderator boiling,
which leads to less thermalized neutrons, which leads to smaller reaction
rate). Therefore, in fast reactors it is necessary to find a substitute capable of
providing negative feedback. [7] This can actually be achieved by reactor
design, since the fuel and cladding expansion at higher temperatures, which
allows more neutrons to escape the core, can stop the chain reaction and
provide negative feedback.
Another concern about the safety of fast reactors comes from the coolant,
which carries the thermal energy generated by fission to the water to be
boiled to move the steam turbines. Thermal reactors can use the moderator
(usually water) as a coolant, but fast reactors must use coolants other than
water. Typically, fast reactors use liquid metals as coolants (namely, sodium
and lead). For one thing, using a liquid metal coolant has the advantage of
being able to maintain the core of the reactor at lower pressures (in fact, at
ambient pressures), since they have boiling points much higher than water
(883 C for Na, 1749 C for Pb). [3] In water reactors, the pressure has to be
maintained extremely high to keep water liquid even at high temperatures.
However, using liquid metal coolants has important drawbacks. Integral fast
reactor usually uses liquid sodium as coolant, which is highly reactive: it
ignites when in contact with air and explodes when in contact with water. This
problem has already caused reactor accidents in the past (e.g. Monju Nuclear
Power Plant in Japan was forced to shutdown in 1995 after sodium leakage)
and has contributed to the hampering of fast reactors. [1] It is possible to
overcome this problem and ensure safety by engineered safety mechanisms
(e.g. a coolant loop between reactor and steam turbines). Using lead as the
coolant is still not a very practical alternative, since lead's very high melting
point and vapor pressure makes it very difficult to refuel and service a nuclear
reactor. [7]
IFR
Conclusion
The Integral Fast Reactor is an example of a great reactor design that was
abandoned in the past due to safety considerations. Today, however, cost
rather than safety may be the current most significant factor for the drawback
of the IFR. The costs of pyroelectric separation and secondary coolant loops
as compared to uranium enrichment makes fast reactors more expensive
than conventional thermal reactors. [5] Just the same, as natural uranium
reserves are depleted and nuclear waste becomes a crucial environmental
concern , IFR's superior efficiency and cleanness could cause them to
resurge and fulfill their promise.
Idel Waisberg. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display
this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial
purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to
the author.
Why Were Breeder Reactors Developed?

The main fuel that is used in almost all nuclear reactors is uranium. It has a
total of 6 isotopes from uranium-233 (U-233) to uranium-238 (U-238). All
these isotopes are unstable, meaning, they will undergo radioactive decay
over time and change their form. Typically, their decay-rate ranges from 70
years to 4.5 billion years. Because of such long decay times, uranium is
considered to be mildly radioactive.
Of the 6 isotopes of uranium, two are of importance in nuclear energy
generation - U-235 and U-238. U-235 has been traditionally used in nuclear
reactors, because unlike U-238, it is fissile in nature, and is therefore capable
of sustaining a fission chain reaction. For years it has powered many nuclear
reactors across the globe. However, of the total naturally occurring deposits
of uranium in the world, U-235 constitutes only about 0.72%, and because of
its increased usage in recent years, it has begun depleting fast.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/working-principle-of-a-breeder-reactor.html
On the other hand, U-238 constitutes almost 99.28% of the total uranium
deposits. But the problem in using it is that it is non-fissile. Nuclear scientists
realized that, if somehow U-238 could be used, it would be able to power
reactors for hundreds of years. So they started looking for the means of
making its use possible, until finally they found an answer in the form of
breeder reactors. What follows here is the principle and working of breeder
reactors.
How Does a Breeder Reactor Work

Nuclear scientists, upon experimentation, discovered that though U-238 isn't
fissile, it is fertile. In atomic science, a fertile material is one which, though
isn't fissionable by thermal neutrons, can be converted into one by being
bombarded by neutrons (at a threshold energy?) , which subsequently leads
to the transformation of its nucleus. This fact forms the basis of the working of
a breeder reactor.
When a neutron strikes a U-238 atom, it gets captured by its nucleus. This
additional neutron, increases the atomic mass by a factor of one, and thus, U238 changes to the isotope U-239. The half-life period of U-239, that is the
time taken by half the radioactive atoms in a sample to undergo decay, is
about 23 minutes, after which it decays and changes form to neptunium-239,
while releasing energy in the order of 1.29MeV. Nu-239, after another 2 - 3
days, further undergoes beta decay, finally forming into plutonium-239. The
following diagram represents this process.
Uranium to Plutonium Conversion Process
In breeder reactors, the core is made up of plutonium Pu-239. It is encased

by a layer of non fissionable uranium-238. Plutonium being fissile, undergoes
spontaneous fission and releases neutrons. These neutrons are projected
towards the surrounding layer of U-238. The uranium-238 atoms in the layer,
capture these neutrons and undergo two beta decays, which change the
structure of their nuclei, converting them to fissile plutonium-239. The newly
formed Pu-239 atoms, again ejects more neutrons via fission. This process
continues on until all the U-238 is converted to Pu-239. Once that is done, the
reactor is refueled, and it can carry on working by producing more nuclear
reactions. It is interesting to note that though originally only an x amount of
fissile Pu-239 was added to the reactor, in the end, via the phenomenon of
nuclei transformation, the reactor was able to 'breed' Pu-235 (Pu-239?) in
multiples of that amount. The following is a graphical representation of this
process.
This process of Pu-239 generation produces a tremendous amount of heat.
This heat is absorbed by different coolants running through the reactors, and
is transported to heat exchangers. It is this heat which is collected by the heat
exchangers, that is used to convert water to steam and drive the large
turbines of electricity generators.
Types of Breeder Reactors

A breeder reactor is simply one which can use existent fissile material to
convert non-fissionable matter into fissionable matter. As such, many different
types of breeder reactors have surfaced over the years. However, the
following are two of the most significant ones from among them.
Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactor (LMFBR)
It is considered to be one of the most promising types of breeder reactors. In
it, U-238 is converted to PU-239 through bombardment of fast neutrons, as
described in the section above. The newly formed PU-239 atoms again eject
neutrons, converting more U-238 atoms to P-239. This leads to a selfsustaining chain reaction. The heat that is released continuously during this
process is absorbed by a liquid metal (sodium) coolant and transported
further to be used in electricity generation.
Thermal Breeder Reactor

A thermal breeder reactors use thorium instead of uranium as its main fuel. In
it, thorium is converted to uranium-233, which is fissionable. For this
conversion to take place, thorium atoms have to be bombarded with neutrons
that have been slowed down or thermalized using neutron moderators. Hence,
the reactor is named thermal breeder reactor.
The U-233 that is produced undergoes spontaneous fission, which starts a
chain reaction producing a lot of energy in the form of heat. This energy is
collected by water that gets turned into steam, which is used for the
generation of electricity.
It is estimated that the thorium deposit is three times more abundant than
uranium deposit. Hence, it may one day serve as an alternative to uranium.
Drawbacks of Breeder Reactors

1) It is estimated that the cost of construction of a breeder reactor is twice that
of conventional nuclear reactors. This was one of the main reasons cited for
the cancellation of the Clinch river breeder reactor project.
2) Liquid sodium, which is used as a coolant in LMFBR, is very volatile when
exposed to air or water. It reacts violently with both of these and produces
hydrogen gas which is highly flammable. This can lead to a large-scale
catastrophe in case of accidents.
3) Plutonium, which is generated in breeder reactors, is highly toxic and
known to cause lung cancer in human beings. Also, its half life period is very
long (24,100 years). Thus, its disposal is a serious problem.
4) Plutonium can also be easily used to make nuclear bombs. Hence, it poses
a threat if it were to fall in the wrong hands.
Pu-239 Bomb
The magnesium cases for the worlds first three plutonium cores. Left: Herb
Lehr at Trinity base camp with the Gadget core. Center: Luis Alvarez at Tinian
with the Fat Man core. Right: The third cores case at Los Alamos, 1946.
http://blog.nuclearsecrecy.com/tag/plutonium/
he magnesium box used for transporting the plutonium core to the Trinity site.
Via Los Alamos.
A mockup of the third cores experimental setup, August 21, 1945.
Little Boy from Hansens 1988 U.S. Nuclear Weapons.
Little Boy from Hansens 1988 U.S. Nuclear Weapons.
Introduction to Nuclear Power Generation

There are two main types of nuclear reactor, characterized by the speed of
the neutrons which induce fission:
Thermal reactors. These are the predominant kind, using slower neutrons to
induce fission, the basic fissile nuclide being U-235.
Fast breeder reactors. In these less-common reactors, the fast neutrons are
used directly to create (breed) fissile nuclides from fissionable nuclides;
most commonly Pu-239 is bred from U-238. Pu-239 is also used in
nuclear weapons.
There are many varieties of nuclear reactor, but all have the following
common elements:
Fuel: The material that undergoes fission. This neednt have the fissionable
nuclides in the form of the element. The fuel is often in the form of a ceramic.
Cladding: This encases the nuclear fuel, isolating it mechanically and
chemically from its immediate environment.
Moderator: Necessary in thermal reactors to slow down the neutrons
produced by the fission process. Commonly, the moderator is in the form of a
rod, but can be in liquid form or even be mixed with the fuel itself.
Control: This can be used to absorb excess neutrons, or even shut down the
reactor in an emergency. Most often, the control material is in the form of a
rod.
Core: The heart of the reactor, containing the fuel. The fuel is encased in
cladding, and core must also accommodate the coolant and allow for more
moderating rods or control rods to be added.
Coolant: The coolant removes heat from the reactor core into a heat
exchanger. Note that the coolant itself is not cool, just that it removes heat
from the core.
Reactor vessel: This contains the reactor core and the coolant. It often also
acts as a reflector, reducing the loss of neutrons to the outside environment.
Generator/turbine: The heat generated by the reactor core generates steam,
used to drive a turbine, which can generate electricity.
Nuclear Reactor Simulation
The types of reactor are loosely grouped into generations describing the time
period in which they were first used. Advances in technology have led to new
designs. The current generation of reactors can be defined by the materials
used for each of these components.
They include:
Pressurized Water Reactors (PWR), the most common reactor type,
Boiling Water Reactors (BWR),
CANDU or Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR).
These all include water as a coolant in some form. There are also:
Gas Cooled Reactors (GCR) and
Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors (AGR), which use CO2 as coolant.
Finally, there are also:
Liquid Metal Fast Breeder Reactors (LMFBR), which are cooled by a liquid
metal (sodium or lead). There are also many other forms of reactors used for
research purposes.
The next generation, commonly referred to as Generation IV, in some cases

are just incremental improvements on these designs, but in other cases are
radically different designs aimed at increasing efficiencies and reducing risk.
The latter may demand materials which can sustain exposure to much more
extreme environments.
What is a Cross-Section?
A cross-section quantifies the probability that a particle passing through a
material will interact with the material. For example, a neutron absorption
cross-section would quantify the probability that a neutron is absorbed as it
travels through a material. The following equation is a definition of the nuclear
cross section
= C/NxI
For neutrons passing through a plate of thickness x (m), C is the number of
events occurring per unit area (m2), N is the number of nuclei per unit
volume, or nuclear number density (m3), and I is the number of neutrons
passing through a unit area (m2). As the behaviour depends on neutron
energy, the cross-section must be specified for neutrons of a given energy
(i.e.monoenergetic).
The Nx term is often grouped together, since when multiplied by it is
equal to C/I, a dimensionless quantity that is the probability of a neutron
interacting, i.e. the ratio of the number of events occurring per unit area to the
number of neutrons travelling through that same area.
Microscopic Cross Section of Neutron

Probability of interaction of neutron with 1 nuclei in unit volume?
= C/NxI
I
N
C
Types of Cross-Section
Several different cross-sections will be mentioned in this TLP. Standard
notation is used below, where
(a,b) means an atomic interaction in which a is absorbed and b is emitted.
Elastic scattering (n,n): the cross-section of a neutron undergoing elastic
scattering by a nucleus The total kinetic energy of the neutron and the
nucleus is the conserved. Any energy that the neutron loses is due to the
nucleus recoiling after the neutron is scattered.
Inelastic scattering (n,n'): a neutron is briefly absorbed by a nucleus, leaving it
in an excited state. The nucleus can later return to its ground state, losing its
excess energy as a gamma ray.
Radiative capture (n,): a neutron is absorbed by a nucleus, which gives out
a gamma ray as a result.
Fission (n,f): neutron causes a nucleus to split into fragments and more
neutrons.
Alpha decay (n,): neutron causes a nucleus to lose two protons and two
neutrons in the form of a helium nucleus. This interaction is important when
considering the transmutation of elements, and how radioactivity is induced in
a material.
Virtually any possible interaction has its own specific cross section; the ones
above are just some of the most common. Other important interactions
include (n,p) and (n,2n).
(n,n)
(n,n)
(n,)
(n,f)
(n,)
(n,p)
(n,2n)
Neutron Cross Section Area

In nuclear and particle physics, the concept of a neutron cross section is used
to express the likelihood of interaction between an incident neutron and a
target nucleus. In conjunction with the neutron flux, it enables the calculation
of the reaction rate, for example to derive the thermal power of a nuclear
power plant. The standard unit for measuring the cross section is the barn,
which is equal to 1028 m2 or 1024 cm2. The larger neutron cross section, the
more likely a neutron will react with the nucleus.
An isotope (or nuclide) can be classified according to its neutron cross

section and how it reacts to an incident neutron.
Radionuclides that tend to absorb a neutron and either decay or keep the
neutron in its nucleus are neutron absorbers and will have a capture cross
section for that reaction.
Isotopes that fission, are fissile fuels and have a corresponding fission
cross section.
The remaining isotopes will simply scatter the neutron, and have a scatter
cross section.
Some isotopes, like uranium-238, have nonzero cross sections of all three.
Isotopes with a large scatter cross section and have a low mass are good
neutron moderators (see chart below). Nuclides which have a large
absorption cross section are neutron poisons if they are neither fissile nor
undergo decay. A poison that is purposely inserted into a nuclear reactor for
controlling its reactivity in the long term and improve its shutdown margin is
called a burnable poison.
Cross-Section and Neutron

Energy
Graph showing neutron cross-section against neutron energy. [Adapted from

graph by Napy1Kenobi CC[BY][SA], source data unknown]
As the log-log graph above shows, cross-sections vary with neutron energy.
Since most neutrons are in the thermal range (about 0.025 eV, or about 4
1021 J), cross-sections are often quoted for this neutron energy.
Even though cross-sections do vary with energy, nuclides still have
characteristically "high" or "low" cross sections. For example, as the graph
shows, 235U (n,) has a higher cross section than 233U (n,) over almost all
energy ranges.
The peaks in the graph are due to resonance effects. The reasons for these
are beyond the scope of this TLP.
The Macroscopic Cross-Section

So far we have examined the microscopic cross-section. When talking about
actual materials, the macroscopic cross-section is more commonly used.
Each element present in a material has its own macroscopic cross-section
(m1) defined by the following equation, where N is the nuclear number
density as used earlier (m3).
i=Nii
And for the material as a whole, its macroscopic cross-section is therefore:
=N11+N22++Nii+
The macroscopic cross-section is the probability that a neutron will undergo a
reaction per unit path length travelled in the material.
The probability that a neutron travels a distance x without interacting therefore

is:
exp(x)
And the neutron mean free path, i.e. the average distance a neutron travels
before interacting, can be found by integrating over this quantity as follows:
Interactive Graph of Macroscopic Cross Section ()

Try out the graph below to see what effect mass (weight?) , density and
microscopic cross-section have on the macroscopic cross-section. The
nuclear number density is calculated by simply working out the number of
nuclei present in the material given the molar mass and its density. This
method makes the approximation that all the mass is present as nuclei, which
is true to a reasonable degree of accuracy (electrons also have mass, but are
only about 1/2000 the mass of a single nucleon and so do not contribute
significantly).
N = /A
N= Nuclei density, = Avogadro's number, = density, A=atomic weight
= (/A)
where is the linear attenuation coefficient (cm-1 ) (Macroscopic cross section) ; p is the material density
(gm/cm3); is Avogadro's
number (6.023 X 1023 atoms/gram-molecular weight) ; is the total cross section in barns (cm2 ) ; and A is the
gram atomic weight of material.
The graph is editable:

double-click on a cell to
edit the numbers given.
The arrows along the xaxis show the mean
free path of the neutron
through the material.
Cross-Section and Neutron Energy
Mechanisms of Radiation Damage 1

Most of the radiation damage in a reactor is from the neutron flux being
produced in the core. Other forms of radiation, such as gamma radiation, are
very weakly interacting and dont produce much effect. The principles in this
section can in theory apply to any material, but the key materials are steels
(e.g. a cold-worked 316 stainless steel).
NEUTRON CROSS SECTIONS

Cross Sections
The microscopic cross section () is a property of a given nuclide; is the probability per nucleus that a
neutron in the beam will interact with the nucleus; this probability is expressed in terms of an equivalent
area that the neutron "sees." The macroscopic cross section () takes into account the number of those
nuclides present
[cm 1 ]
=N
(1)
The mean free path is mfp = = 1/. The microscopic cross section is measured in units of barns (b): 1 barn
equals 1024 cm2 = 1028 m2.
Cross Section Hierarchy
Total
Absorption
Capture
Scattering
Fission
t = s + a = s + ( c + f )
where c
(2)
t = s + a = s + ( c + f )
For mixtures of isotopes and elements, the 's add. For example
aH 2O = aH + Oa = N H aH + N O aO
(3)
= 2 N H 2O aH + N H 2O aO = N H 2O (2 aH + aO )
1/v Law
For very low neutron energies, many absorption cross sections are 1/v due to the fact the nuclear force
between the target nucleus and the neutron has a longer time to interact
1
v
1
E
(4)
Energy dependence of cross sections

s is independent of thermal energy (and temperature)
a (f and c) is energy dependent
a (E)
v
E0
T
= 0 =
= 0
a0
v( E )
E
T
EEE460-Handout
(5)
K.E. Holbert
Transmutation (n, ) Production of Helium

As seen in the previous section, there are several ways in which neutrons can
interact with nuclei, including absorption of the neutron by the nucleus,
making the nucleus unstable so that it decays, releasing an alpha particle in
the process. Alpha particles consist of two protons and two neutrons, i.e. a
4He (42He2+) nucleus. Since they are 2+ positively charged, they are very
highly ionizing, and will they quickly pick up electrons from the surrounding
lattice and become elemental helium.
In stainless steels, the (n, ) interaction does not occur often with iron itself,
but is mostly as a result of the nickel content of the alloy, as the graph of its
cross section below shows.
The presence of helium in the metal causes embrittlement and can act as a
nucleation point for voids, which can lead to swelling (cracking) .
Additionally, the neutron flux can induce further radiation. This occurs when a
neutron transmutes an element into a radioactive one. This is undesirable,
because it creates more low-level radioactive waste to contain when the
reactor is eventually decommissioned.
Activation cross sections for (n, p) reactions on nickel
Frenkel Defects
There are many proposed mechanisms of radiation damage, but on a
fundamental level a single neutron scattering event can be considered.
If a neutron of sufficient energy scatters off a nucleus, the nucleus itself is
displaced. The atom associated with the nucleus finds itself embedded into
the structure elsewhere in a high-energy, interstitial site. It is termed a selfinterstitial as the matrix and interstitial atoms are in principle the same. The
site the atom previously occupied is now empty: it is a vacancy. In this way,
self interstitial-vacancy pairs are formed, and these are called Frenkel defects.
Threshold Energy
At lower energies, the neutron collision causes the nucleus to vibrate, but the
nucleus is not displaced. The excess energy is dissipated through the lattice
as heat. The threshold energy to form a Frenkel defect depends on the nuclei
present and the structure of the material (e.g. the phase of iron). It is typically
in the range 10~50 eV (2~8 1018 J). Note that when the neutron scatters
off a nucleus, not all of its energy is transferred. This means that the minimum
kinetic energy of the neutron is be larger than this threshold value, typically by
a factor of 2~3.
This threshold energy is commonly given the symbol Ed. It is the energy
required to overcome the potential barrier to move from one lattice site to
another, and is approximately twice Es, the energy of sublimation, since twice
as many bonds are broken to move an atom within a lattice as removing it
from its surface, plus a contribution of 4~5 Ec, where Ec is the energy loss by
electron stopping (required to allow the lattice to relax after the atom has
been displaced).
Displacement Spikes
Neutron scattering events are not isolated. On average, each displaced atom
might then go on to displace further atoms, and likewise the neutron that
caused the first displacement might go on to displace further atoms. This
means that there is a local cascade of displacements, known as
a displacement spike, within which there is a large amount of disorder in the
structure. This is illustrated with a simulation, below:
The Kinchin and Pease Model

A neutron scattering from an atom imparts an energy Ep to it. This primary
knock-on atom (PKA) with energy Ep then displaces other atoms, ultimately
giving a displacement cascade if Ep is high enough. The number of atoms
displaced by the PKA is difficult to calculate, but a simple model (attributed to
Kinchin and Pease) can capture much of the basic physics. The assumptions
are:
the cascade is a sequence of two-body elastic hard-sphere collisions;
a minimum energy transfer Ed is required for displacement;
the maximum neutron energy available for transfer is the cut-off energy Ec,
set by loss to the electrons (electron stopping);
the atoms are randomly distributed, so that channelling and other effects of
crystal structure are ignored.
The average number of atoms displaced by a PKA of energy Ep is:

0
1
Ep/2Ed
Ec/2Ed
for Ep< Ed
for Ed < Ep< 2Ed
for 2Ed < Ep<Ec
for Ep Ec
Formation of Dislocation Loops

Both the interstitial atoms and vacancies can diffuse through the lattice, but
the interstitial atoms are more mobile. Both interstitials and vacancies are
eventually removed from the lattice (when they reach sinks such as
dislocations or grain boundaries). However, they are also always being
generated by the neutron radiation. Thus steady-state populations of
interstitials and vacancies are formed.
There is a tendency for interstitial atoms and vacancies respectively to
aggregate together into discs. This is again illustrated through an animation,
below:
Formation of Dislocation Loops
When there is a sufficient supersaturation of vacancies, the disc of vacancies

grows and the gap between the planes on either side collapses to form a
continuous lattice with a dislocation loop. Since the Burgers vector is normal
to the plane loop, it is an edge dislocation and grows/shrinks by climb and
moves by glide along a prism; it is termed a prismatic loop.
Dislocation Loop
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_6/illustr/i6_3_6.html
Dislocation Loop
Dislocation Loop
Dislocation Loop
Dislocation Loop
Dislocation Loop
Dislocation Loop
http://www.globalsino.com/EM/page3454.html
Dislocation Loop
Defect-clusters
(dislocation loops)
behavior by
electron
microscope
irradiation.
http://nsec.jaea.go.jp/fme/en/group5/group6_i2-2.htm
Type of Dislocations
a) Interstitial impurity atom, b) Edge dislocation, c) Self interstitial atom, d)
Vacancy, e) Precipitate of impurity atoms, f) Vacancy type dislocation loop, g)
Interstitial type dislocation loop, h) Substitutional impurity atom
http://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/overview_main.html
Dislocation Loop Insert007
Nucleation and Growth of Voids

Vacancy dislocation loops should reduce the volume of the material whilst
interstitial dislocation loops should increase it, as seen in the animation above.
And, in general, we expect compensating vacancy and interstitial effects to
leave the material with approximately the same volume. However, irradiated
materials are in fact observed to swell.
To explain this, we consider what happens when vacancy loops join together.
In practice, when the loops join they form three dimensional cavities a few nm
in diameter. These voids contribute no net change in volume to the material,
and so this just leaves the interstitial loops, which do lead to swelling in the
material.
In the absence of any driving force, it would seem unlikely that enough voids
would form for any appreciable effect to be observed on the material. This is
where the transmutation of nickel becomes important, since the helium atoms
produced are very small and are thus extremely mobile as interstitial atoms in
the lattice. They quickly form bubbles, and these helium bubbles can act as
nucleation points for void formation.
Effects of Radiation Damage

The previously discussed changes in microstructure due to radiation damage
affect the macroscopic, mechanical properties of the material. These effects
happen for a variety of reasons, but are generally less noticeable at higher
temperatures as the damage caused by radiation is constantly being
annealed out: at higher temperatures vacancy and interstitial mobility are
increased so they are removed from the lattice faster.
The following table gives an overview of the effects observed.
A stress-strain curve for a stainless steel irradiated or not.
Fuel and Cladding

Choice of Fuel
There are several important factors when choosing a nuclear fuel:
The fuel itself must be easily fissionable, preferably fissile.
The fuel must release sufficient quantities of neutrons per neutron
captured to be able to sustain a fission chain reaction. Too many neutrons
produced and a runaway, supercritical, reaction would occur which would
be disastrous in the case of a nuclear reactor. The ratio of neutrons
produced to neutrons absorbed can, however, be adjusted through use of
control rods and moderators.
The fuel must have a sufficiently long half-life. Fissile materials, by their
very nature due to their instability, are radioactive. Radioactive materials
decay exponentially, and this decay is quantified by their half-life, the time
it takes for half of the radioactive nuclei present to decay into a more
stable form. Nuclear fuels must therefore have a sufficiently long half-life,
otherwise the nuclei would decay into a useless form before fission could
be induced in a controlled manner.
Economic factors are also important. The fuels must be abundant and
readily available. Uranium is the only naturally abundant fissile material
and exists in an ore, called uraninite (also known as pitchblende), which is
primarily uranium (IV) oxide, mined primarily in Canada, Australia and
Kazakhstan. It has an isotopic composition of 99.3% of the fissionable but
not fissile 238U and just 0.7% of the fissile 235U. This means that it must
first be enriched, a difficult and expensive process which raises the
proportion of 235U to 238U.
No plutonium occurs naturally, except in trace amounts as a result of the
natural decay of uranium. It is instead made as a by-product in nuclear
reactors, and must first be extracted from use nuclear fuels before it can
be used.
Political concerns are important; heavily enriched uranium and plutonium

can be used for atomic weaponry and so are not favoured. This is why
there is current interested in the thorium cycle, which produces 233U.
Though this can in theory be used in atomic weaponry, it is always
contaminated with 232 U, which is highly dangerous because of the
amount of gamma radiation it emits and making it very difficult to handle.
Before the 233U could be used as a weapon, the 232U would have to be
removed, which is again very difficult. This inherent proliferation resistance,
and thoriums natural abundance (3~4 x as abundant as uranium), has
increased interest in it in recent years
The common fission fragments formed are also important, both in the
short-term due to the effects they have on structural materials in the
reactor and also in the long-term since some fragments have very long
half-lives and so will present problems as nuclear waste since it will need
to be stored for much longer periods of time. It should be noted, however,
that the longer the half-life of the fission product the less dangerous it is to
people. This is a somewhat counter-intuitive point that is often missed,
since a longer half-life means that less of the material decays and hence
gives off dangerous radiation in a given period.
Form of Fuel
Metallic uranium is not favoured as a fuel since it is dimensionally unstable
under irradiation, flammable, can readily corrode in oxygen-containing
atmospheres, and can produce uranium dust which has a low-temperature
flash-point and which can cause serious health problems if inhaled. There is
some interest in using metallic U alloys as fuel when a particularly high
density of fissile or fissionable nuclides is required.
As an alternative, ceramic forms can be used, including UO2, U3O8, UC, U2C3,
UN, U3Si and USi. The most common of these is uranium dioxide, which has
the calcium fluorite structure shown in the image below.
Uranium Fuel Cell
http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/resources/uranium/power.html
Uranium Fuel Cell
http://lobby.la.psu.edu/066_Nuclear_Repository/Agency_Activities/DOE/DOE_Spent_Nuclear_Fuel.htm
Uranium Fuel Cell
http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/conversion-enrichment-and-fabrication/fuel-fabrication.aspx
Uranium Fuel Cell

Fuel bundles employed in Canadian reactors are made of a metal extremely
resistant to corrosion and heat called Zircaloy in which uranium ceramic
pellets are inserted.
http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/cnsconline/fuel/eng/index.cfm
Choice of Cladding
The nuclear fuel cannot be allowed to make direct contact with the coolant
inside the reactor vessel, due to the potential for radioactivity to be released
into the environment. Instead, cladding has to be used to surround the fuel.
Key design criteria are that the cladding should:
be transparent to neutrons, so that it doesnt absorb neutrons that could be
used to induce further fission.
have a high thermal conductivity, and not have a high thermal expansion
coefficient.
Key problems include:
hydrogen embrittlement due to (n, p) reactions inside cladding.
swelling due to release of fission product gases.
Common choices for cladding material are stainless steel (in FBRs) Zircaloy
(in PWRs) and, in the past, Magnox.
Magnox is an alloymainly of magnesium with small amounts of aluminium

and other metalsused in cladding unenriched uranium metal fuel with a
non-oxidising covering to contain fission products in nuclear reactors.
Magnox is short for Magnesium non-oxidising. This material has the
advantage of a low neutron capture cross section, but has two major
disadvantages:
It limits the maximum temperature (to about 360 Celsius), and hence the
thermal efficiency, of the plant.
It reacts with water, preventing long-term storage of spent fuel under water
in spent fuel pools.
The magnox alloy Al80 has a composition of 0.8% aluminium and 0.004%
beryllium.
CaFl2
Moderators
A moderator is designed to slow down fast neutrons such that they are more
easily absorbed by fissile nuclei. There are two main factors in choosing a
moderator:
1. The moderator must not absorb neutrons itself. This means it should have
a relatively low neutron absorption cross-section.
2. The moderator should efficiently slow down the neutrons. Modelling
neutron-nuclei collisions as a classical elastic collision, in much the same
way as gas molecules are modelled, gives the result that the closer the
nucleus mass is to that of the neutron, the more energy will be transferred
in the collision. This means that lighter elements are favoured.
The following equation shows the fractional energy lost per collision, , on
average for a neutron colliding with a nuclide of mass A. E0 is the initial
energy of the neutron, and Es is the energy after scattering has occurred.
It is beyond the scope of this TLP to derive this equation, but the basic
physics is straightforward. In elastic collisions kinetic energy and momentum
are conserved and the energy lost by the neutron can be calculated for any
given angle of contact. In three dimensions it is necessary to integrate over all
possible angles to obtain an average.
The equation is well approximated by:
This is good enough for most purposes. Since this is a classical derivation
applied to a quantum situation, there is probably more error due to the original
assumptions than this mathematical approximation.
Try out the interactive Flash movie below to see this effect in action. The
movie obeys the same physics used to derive the above equations, except in
a two-dimensional rather than three-dimensional case. The simulation is
meant to show energy lost per collision, and does not give an accurate
impression of how often these collisions occur: interatomic distances have
been greatly reduced for illustrative purposes. In practice it is the scattering
cross-section which determines the rate of neutron collisions.
Insert010-Choice of Moderator
Finally, the above analysis can be modified with respect to the neutron crosssections, by considering the ratio (s / a). This weights with the absorption
and scattering cross-sections. The higher this ratio, the more appropriate the
material is as a moderator.
Graphite
Historically, graphite has been a very popular neutron moderator, and is used
in the majority of British reactors. However, the graphite used has to be highly
pure to be effective. Graphite can be manufactured artificially using boron
electrodes, and even a small amount of contamination from these electrodes
can make the graphite unsuitable as a moderator since boron is a highly
effective neutron absorber, and so it poisons the graphite by increasing the
overall absorption cross section, a. It also has unique problems: it stores
energy in metastable local defects when it is irradiated, particularly at lower
temperatures. This so-called Wigner energy can be released suddenly when
the graphite spontaneously returns to its stable phase, and this sudden rise in
temperature is not desirable since it can cause further structural damage
within the reactor. This means that graphite has to be annealed to remove the
excess energy in its lattice in a controlled manner. The following Flash movie
shows three-dimensional models of the graphite lattice and demonstrates the
origins of this metastable phase within the graphite lattice.
Insert011
Other common choices:

Light Water
Hydrogen is a good candidate for a neutron moderator because its mass is
almost identical to that of the incident neutron, and so a single collision will
reduce the speed of the neutron substantially. However, hydrogen also has a
relatively high neutron absorption cross-section due to its tendency to form
deuterium, and so light water is only suitable for enriched fuels which allow
for a higher proportion of fast neutrons.
Heavy Water
Heavy water has similar benefits to light water, but because its water
molecules already have deuterium atoms it has a low absorption cross
section. Additionally, because of the high energy of the fast neutrons, an
additional neutron might be knocked out of the deuterium atom when a
collision occurs, thus increasing the number of neutrons present. The main
disadvantage of heavy water as a moderator is its high price.
Beryllium
Beryllium-9 is favoured, because in addition to being a light element, on
collision with a fast neutron, it can react as follows:
9Be + n 8Be + 2n
The main problems with beryllium are its brittleness as a metallic phase and
its toxicity, which make it less favoured as a moderator than the other
materials mentioned here.
Lithium Fluoride
Lithium fluoride is commonly used in molten salt reactors. It is mixed with the
molten metal and the fuel, and so its structural properties as a solid are not
important.
Summary
In this TLP, the process of nuclear fission has been described, thus
explaining the common choices for nuclear fuel used commercially. Materials
selection for the major components of a nuclear reactor have also been
explored, including:
Moderators, and how they work best when they consist of light nuclides
with relatively low absorption cross-sections.
Control rods, which require high absorption cross-sections, and how the
same nuclides found in control rods, e.g. boron, can act
as poisons significantly reducing the efficiency of a reactor if found
elsewhere, such as in moderators.
Cladding, which experiences much stronger radiation fluxes and extremes
of temperature than any other structural material in the reactor, and so
must be able to withstand these conditions.
Concepts such as neutron cross-section and neutron flux have been

explained, and this allowed mechanisms of radiation damage inside structural
steels, and the consequences of this, to be discussed.
Radiation materials science is a mature field, but there any many challenges
for materials to permit more efficient operation, improve safety and reliability
and reduce costs. As this TLP has shown, the basic mechanisms of damage
caused by low levels of radiation are now well understood, but the much
higher levels of radiation such as those that will be experienced in the new
experimental fusion reactor, ITER, have yet to be satisfactorily contained.
This TLP has given only an introduction to some of the important
phenomena. To learn more, consult the Going Further section.
Quick questions
You should be able to answer these questions without too much difficulty after
studying this TLP. If not, then you should go through it again!
Q1. Check which elements are fissionable but not fissile:
A
U-233
B
U-235
C
U-238
D
Pu-239
E
Th-232
Q2. Which of the following are NOT suitable moderating materials?
A
Deuterium (A=2)
B
Helium (A=4)
C
Beryllium-9 (A=9)
D
Boron (A=11)
E
Graphite (A=12)fIron (A=56)
Q3. Which of the following would NOT be classified as Absorption" cross

sections?
A
(n, n)
B
(n, n')
C
(n, )
D
(n, f)
E
(n, )
F
(n, p)
Q4. Which of the following discourages void formation?
A
More interstitial atoms.
B
Fewer interstitial atoms.
C
More vacancies.
D
Fewer vacancies.
E
More transmutation.
F
Less transmutation.
Standard answer for Q4 is E
Q5. Which of the following material properties have lower values after
irradiation?
A
Yield strength
B
Thermal conductivity
C
Electrical conductivity
D
Tensile strength
E
DuctilityfDensitygCreep rate
Deeper questions
The following questions require some thought and reaching the answer may
require you to think beyond the contents of this TLP.
Zirconium minerals are often found with small amounts of hafnium present
due to their chemically similar nature. Zirconium is also used as a primary
component of Zircaloy, a cladding material designed to be almost transparent
to neutrons.
By comparing how the mean free path of a thermal neutron in pure zirconium
differs from that of zirconium with 0.01% hafnium impurities, comment on the
consequences of hafnium impurities in Zircaloy.
Data:
Zr: A = 91.22, = 6.52 g cm1, c = 0.18 barns;
Hf: A = 178.49, = 13.31 g cm1, c = 105 barns
Neutron scattering
IOP Institute of Physics
Neutron scattering is routinely used in modern science to understand material

properties on the atomic scale. Originally developed as a tool for physics, the
method has led to advances in many areas of science, from clean energy and
the environment, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, through to
nanotechnology,materials engineering, fundamental physics and IT.
What is neutron scattering?

The goal of modern materials science is to understand the factors that
determine the properties of matter on the atomic scale, and then to use this
knowledge to optimise those properties or to develop new materials and
functionality. This process regularly involves the discovery of fascinating new
physics, which itself may lead to previously unthought-of capabilities. Almost
all of the major changes in our society, from the dramatic growth of computing
and the internet to the steady increase in average life span, have their origin
in our understanding and exploitation of the physics and chemistry of
materials. To investigate atomic-scale structure and dynamics, scientists use
a variety of tools and techniques, often based on the scattering of beams of
particles. An ideal probe might be one that has a wavelength similar to the
spacing between atoms, in order to study structure with atomic resolution,
and an energy similar to that of atoms in materials in order to study their
dynamics.
It would have no charge, to avoid strong scattering by charges on the

electrons or the nucleus and allow deep penetration into materials. It would
be scattered to a similar extent by both light and heavy atoms and have a
suitable magnetic moment so that we can also easily study magnetism. The
scattering cross-section would be precisely measurable on an absolute scale,
to facilitate comparison with theory and computer modelling. This particle
exists it is the neutron. Unfortunately, it is difficult to produce high-intensity
beams of neutrons which are normally only found strongly bound to protons
in the nuclei of atoms.
This can be done by fission in a nuclear reactor, where the release of
neutrons is the fundamental process that produces heat. A research reactor,
such as that at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, is
optimised to produce bright beams of neutrons. Another way to produce
intense neutron beams is using an accelerator-based source, such as the
ISIS facility near Oxford in the UK, where a highenergy beam of protons
releases neutrons from tungsten nuclei in a process known as spallation.
Both research reactors and spallation sources are large and expensive
facilities, so there are relatively few in the world. The UK is fortunate in having
access to the worlds best in each class ILL and ISIS.
Institut Laue-Langevin
The science
Neutron scattering provides information that is highly complementary to that
from other microscopic scattering techniques, such as those using photons
(from visible light to synchrotron X-rays) or electrons (microscopy and
diffraction), as well as to standard laboratory measurements. In modern
materials science, it is normally the case that a variety of techniques are
required to tackle any particular problem. The ILL neutron beams are
continuous, whereas those at ISIS are produced in short bright pulses 50
times a second, allowing different optimisation. Each facility operates some
30 separate experimental stations (instruments), which are individually
tailored for a particular type of measurement and range of scientific
applications.
Many neutron scientists use instruments at both ILL and ISIS and there is a
large amount of knowledge sharing between the facilities, with advances in
techniques and instrumentation benefiting both laboratories. This knowledge
sharing extends across the international community, with smaller neutron
sources providing input to the building of instruments and various national
governments providing funding and expertise to particular projects.
The network of European sources is complemented by international facilities
at the Japanese Proton Accelerator Research Complex, and Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, US. Neutron scattering in the UK started at the Dido and
Pluto reactors at the Harwell Laboratory in the 1960s. The ILL, jointly owned
by France, Germany and the UK, has 10 additional scientific member
countries and began operation in the early 1970s. It has had several
modernisation programmes, developing new neutron infrastructure and
introducing new instrument concepts. The ILLs Millennium Programme
continues to refresh its neutron guide infrastructure and instrument suite,
increasing its effective performance overall by a factor of 20 since the year
2000.
Japanese Proton Accelerator Research Complex
ISIS is located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and is owned by the

Science and Technology Facilities Council. It began operations in 1984 and
has attracted scientific partnerships from across the globe. In 2009 it
expanded its scientific capability and capacity for experiments by adding a
second target station with additional instruments designed to study soft matter,
advanced materials and bioscience. The second phase of this project aims to
further increase the range of capabilities in soft matter, life sciences, neutron
imaging and microchip irradiation testing. Every year more than 1000
experiments are completed at ILL and ISIS, covering a wide range of
research ranging from clean energy and the environment, pharmaceuticals
and healthcare, through to nanotechnology, materials engineering,
fundamental physics and IT. These facilities serve an international research
community of more than 4000 scientists and each produces more than 500
research publications annually.
A future European Spallation Source, to start operation in the 2020s, is
currently being planned by several European countries. The site for
construction has been chosen as Lund in Sweden.
Applications
Neutron scattering is used in many different scientific fields. Neutrons can be
used to study the dynamics of chemical reactions at interfaces for chemical
and biochemical engineering, in food science, drug synthesis and healthcare.
Neutrons can probe deep into solid objects such as turbineblades, gas
pipelines and welds to give microscopic insight into the strains and stresses
that affect the operational lifetimes of crucial engineering components.
Neutron studies of nanoparticles, low-dimensional systems and magnetism
are used for the development of next-generation computer and IT technology,
data storage, sensors and superconducting materials. Neutron scattering is a
delicate and non-destructive measurement technique, making it ideal for use
in heritage science.
Understanding magnetism
The neutron is capable of seeing both the nuclei of atoms and at the same
time the magnetic interactions of their electrons. Neutron scattering has made
seminal contributions to our understanding of magnetism from the early
demonstration of anti-ferromagnetism in simple systems through to the
complex magnetic structures found in hard magnets or the synthetic
multilayer structures used for data-storage applications.
Investigating polymers
Neutrons have been used to investigate polymers since the early 1970s.
Originally, neutron research unveiled the structure and formation of
polymersto understand how they assembled and bonded. Now neutron
science is studying the dynamics of thin polymer films, further increasing their
range of applications into areas such as anti-reflective coatings and timerelease medications. The significant difference in the neutron scattering
cross- section between hydrogen and deuterium allows selective labelling of
chemically specific parts of complex molecular systems, giving a unique
insight; this powerful technique is used for almost all soft-matter studies.
Revealing invisible worlds

Neutron diffraction has been used to reveal the molecular structure of both
crystalline and disordered materials since the early days of the discipline.
Powerful computational modelling applied to neutron data allows accurate
structures of pharmaceutical compounds to be derived, material structures in
fuel-cell and battery electrodes to be optimised, and the orientation and
packing of molecules in liquids and glasses to be understood. When materials
bend, break or disintegrate it is their atomic structure that changes. Neutrons
are used in a wide range of engineering applications to test the strength and
suitability of materials under certain conditions, from studying the
performance under strain of materials in aeroplane wings or train wheels to
safely extending the operating life of nuclear power stations.
Biophysics: neutrons and the body

A real understanding of the essential processes of life requires knowledge of
how proteins and other macromolecules perform their roles. Techniques first
used to investigate physics-based problems at ILL and ISIS have now been
harnessed to identify water organisation in proteins and other biological
systems. This is giving new insight into the way drugs and medicines move
through the body and how they can be controlled and delivered to the specific
area of concern. Neutron science continues to break new ground in
investigating how drug-delivering polymers can move through membranes,
how antibodies are structured and how active parts of medicines interact with
lipids and proteins.
Unlocking the potential of hydrogen

Hydrogen has the largest scattering interaction with neutrons of all the
elements in the periodic table. Early experiments showing how hydrogen
diffuses in simple metals have been built on to provide data supporting the
development of materials for fuel cells and hydrogen storage. Hydrogen has
been identified as a fuel with great potential for providing clean energy for
transport, but its use is constrained by our inability to store it in a dense
enough form suitable for vehicles. Neutron studies, currently being
undertaken, will facilitate the understanding and development of materials
that can store hydrogen safely and efficiently.
Unveiling our heritage

The delicate, sensitive and deeply penetrating nature of neutron beams
enables heritage scientists to determine unique information from historic
objects, museum artefacts or geological fossils with no risk to their value or
integrity. Adapting techniques from crystallography and engineering, analysis
of crystal structures in ceramic or pottery fragments can determine the period
and region of manufacture and reveal ancient trade routes, while texture
analysis of metal objects can identify manufacturing techniques and forgeries.
Impacts
Around half of all experiments at both ILL and ISIS have direct connections
with industry, often through partnerships with university groups. Neutron
scattering can be used to address theglobal challenges facing society, and to
make developments that have immediate or long-term economic impact.
Such applied research is built on a foundation of fundamental investigations
and techniques developed over the last 30 years, so it is crucial to continue
such basic work to underpin the theories and technologies of tomorrow.
Neutron experiments have provided definitive data to the chemical industry,

which has enabled process optimisation and the saving of millions of pounds
in energy costs and improvedthe environment by reducing waste effluent.
Materials testing data have given aerospace companies confidence in new
alloy compositions and manufacturing techniques. Health-based research has
obtained key datasets required in preparation for clinical trials or to
understand why certain drug treatments can be more successful than others.
Neutron facilities have unique requirements for advanced components and
equipment that can challenge suppliers to innovate and develop new
technologies. Partnerships with large research centres can support small
businesses by giving them the security and confidence to embrace new areas
of activity. UK businesses have benefited from work with neutron-scattering
centres through technology development and knowledge transfer, which has
led to substantial overseas exports.
Future developments
Neutron-scattering developments have not, historically, been driven
byadvances in source capability. Indeed, reactor-source brightness has
increased by less than an order of magnitude since the 1950s. But
instrumentation large position-sensitive detectors, focusing optics,
innovative exploitation of neutron polarisation has produced enormous
improvements in capability. The more recent development of acceleratorriven pulsed neutron sources has further stimulated advances in instrument
design, which have now been implemented at continuous sources. This has
fuelled an expansion of the field, originally focused on condensed matter
physics, into materials science, soft matter and biomolecular systems,
engineering, earth sciences, archaeology and the arts.
The simplicity of the neutron interaction, and the fact that it can be measured
on an absolute scale with high accuracy, gives an easy and direct link
totheory and computer modelling. In future it will be the norm for neutron
experiments to be coupled with advanced computation. The high scattering
cross-section for light atoms means that neutrons are well suited to study
many of the important topics in modern energy research such as hydrogen
storage, fuel cells and lithium-ion batteries. The performance of all of these
materials and devices intrinsically depends on the motion of atoms (dynamics)
and the structural changes this causes; neutrons are able to measure both
aspects. They are also important in studying the tailored self-assembly
processes that will be needed to improve the efficiency of organic
photovoltaics. It is therefore clear that the use of neutron scattering in energy
research, already significant, will continue to grow, with an increasing
proportion of in situ measurements in real operating devices.
Fundamental studies of magnetism will remain a core topic of neutron

scattering. For example, our understanding of correlated electrons, with its
links to important practical applications such as magnetoresistance and
superconductivity, is still in its infancy. The optimisation of devices
increasingly makes use of thin films and nano-structuring, putting increased
demands on instrumentation to make accurate measurements on ever
smaller samples. The unique information that can be obtained by isotopic
labelling in soft matter and biology and health studies provides a powerful
incentive to use these techniques, but the sample volumes required are
relatively large and remain a hindrance to greater exploitation. A future drive
will be to further develop neutron optics, possibly in combination with more
powerful sources, to reduce sample volumes. The use of neutron reflectivity,
where sample volumes are intrinsically small, to study, for example, biological
membranes, is increasing rapidly. There is also an increasing demand to
study kinetics, for example, processes and processing, which further drives
technique development.
Neutrons can also be used at a more macroscopic scale for example in

radiographic and tomographic imaging. Neutronscan easily penetrate large
objects, giving a picture that is effectively opposite (and hence
complementary) to that provided by X-rays. Future development will include
the use of neutron energy selective imaging, which allows distinction between
different elements or even different crystallographic phases and textures
which can be extremely important in determining, for example, the strength of
engineering materials. This can be combined with neutron diffraction to
provide a three-dimensional map of residual stress, which in turn can be
related back to the materials properties. Potential applications range from
improved gears for higher-power wind turbines to the advanced technology
needed for Formula 1 motor racing.
Key facts and figures

Neutron sources are a powerful creative hub for science and
technology,bringing together a range of research disciplines from physics to
earth science, medicine and engineering to solve current research problems
and generate new research projects.
There are around 15 neutron sources operating worldwide with significant
capabilities for materials science research.
The UK has the largest community of neutron-scattering expertise in the
world, closely followed by Germany and France. In total, Europe has more
than 4000 neutron users.
More than 1000 experiments are completed each year at ILL and ISIS, and
each facility produces more than 500 research publications annually.
The US and Japan have recently built billion-dollar neutron sources to help
develop their neutron-scattering expertise and user communities, and to gain
parity with Europe.
Industry use of neutron sources for productdevelopment, process
optimisation and quality control can generate significant financial savings,
export opportunities and reduce environmental impact.
Neutron sources support a wide range of basic and applied research. Basic
research today is rapidly moved to underpin the technologies of tomorrow.
Timeline
1911 Ernest Rutherford develops the atomic model in which the nucleus
carries most of the mass of the atom but occupies a very
small part of its volume.
1923 Prince Louis-Victor P R de Broglie proposes that particles with mass
may also show wave-like properties, now referred to as
the de Broglie wavelength of a moving particle.
1932 James Chadwick discovers the neutron at the University of
Cambridge. He receives the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1935 for
discovering this missing part of the atom.
1938 Enrico Fermi receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for his work
investigating the atomic scattering and absorption
cross-sections of slow and thermal neutrons.
1946 Ernest O Wollan and Clifford G Shull, using the Graphite Reactor at
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US, establish the basic principles of the
neutron diffraction technique. They prove the existence of antiferromagnetism,
as predicted by Louis Nel who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1970.
1955 The first measurements of phonons from a prototype triple-axis
spectrometer built by Bertram N Brockhouse confirm the quantum theory of
solids.
1956 The Dido research reactor comes online at the Harwell Laboratory. It
is the first reactor in the UK devoted to materials research and is instrumental
in developing the use of neutron beams by university researchers.
1972 ZING-P and ZING-P pulsed spallation neutron source concepts are
demonstrated by Jack Carpenter at Argonne National Laboratory, US.
1972 The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, one of the most
intense thermal neutron sources in the world, comes into operation. It
pioneers the use of neutron optics (guides) to substantially increase the
experimental capacity of a neutron source and operation as a user facility.
1974 Small-angle neutron scattering shows that polymer chains in the liquid
state have a random coil conformation, as predicted by Paul J Flory who wins
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his fundamental achievements in
understanding macromolecules.
1984 The ISIS pulsed spallation neutron source opens at the Rutherford
Appleton Laboratory, UK. It is the first major neutron user facility based on a
high-energy proton accelerator.
1987 J Georg Bednorz and K Alexander Mller receive the Nobel Prize in
Physics for the discovery of high-temperature superconductors. Later,
neutron spectroscopy shows that magnetic interactions are crucial to
understanding the mechanism of this phenomenon.
1991 Pierre-Gilles de Gennes receives the Nobel Prize in Physics for his
work on liquid crystals and polymers. Neutron spin-echo spectroscopy was
used to validate his models of polymer reptation dynamics.
1994 Clifford G Shull and Bertram N Brockhouse receive the Nobel Prize in
Physics for pioneering the development of neutron-scattering techniques that
can show where atoms are and what atoms do.
2009 Next-generation accelerator-based pulsed neutron sources come
online in the UK (ISIS Target Station 2), Japan (J-PARC) and the US (SNS).
2010 Lund, Sweden, is chosen as the site for the construction of the
European Spallation Source. Construction is planned to be completed around
201819. The ESS will provide neutron beams up to 30 times brighter than
present day neutron sources.
More Reading
More Reading for Fun
More Reading
More Reading
TOKAMAK
Fusion Reactor
http://science.howstuffworks.com/fusion-reactor.htm
Fusion reactors have been getting a lot of press recently because they
offer some major advantages over other power sources. They will use
abundant sources of fuel, they will not leak radiation above normal
background levels and they will produce less radioactive waste than current
fission reactors.
Nobody has put the technology into practice yet, but working reactors aren't
actually that far off. Fusion reactors are now in experimental stages at several
laboratories in the United States and around the world.
A consortium from the United States, Russia, Europe and Japan has
proposed to build a fusion reactor called the International Thermonuclear
Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France, to demonstrate the
feasibility of using sustained fusion reactions for making electricity. In this
article, we'll learn about nuclear fusion and see how the ITER reactor will
work.
ITER fusion reactor plant at Cadarache, France
Physics of Nuclear Fusion: Reactions

Current nuclear reactors use nuclear fission to generate power. In nuclear
fission, you get energy from splitting one atom into two atoms. In a
conventional nuclear reactor, high-energy neutrons split heavy atoms of
uranium, yielding large amounts of energy, radiation and radioactive wastes
that last for long periods of time (see How Nuclear Power Works).
In nuclear fusion, you get energy when two atoms join together to form one.
In a fusion reactor, hydrogen atoms come together to form helium atoms,
neutrons and vast amounts of energy. It's the same type of reaction that
powers hydrogen bombs and the sun. This would be a cleaner, safer, more
efficient and more abundant source of power than nuclear fission.
The Sun
There are several types of fusion reactions. Most involve the isotopes of
hydrogen called deuterium and tritium:
Proton-proton chain - This sequence is the predominant fusion reaction
scheme used by star such as the sun. Two pairs of protons form to make
two deuterium atoms. Each deuterium atom combines with a proton to
form a helium-3 atom. Two helium-3 atoms combine to form beryllium-6,
which is unstable. Beryllium-6 decays into two helium-4 atoms. These
reactions produce high energy particles (protons, electrons, neutrinos,
positrons) and radiation (light, gamma rays)
Deuterium-deuterium reactions - Two deuterium atoms combine to form a
helium-3 atom and a neutron.
The protonproton chain reaction dominates in stars

the size of the Sun or smaller.
The protonproton chain reaction dominates in stars

the size of the Sun or smaller.
Deuterium-tritium reactions - One atom of deuterium and one atom of

tritium combine to form a helium-4 atom and a neutron. Most of the energy
released is in the form of the high-energy neutron.
Conceptually, harnessing nuclear
fusion in a reactor is a no-brainer.
But it has been extremely difficult
for scientists to come up with a
controllable, non-destructive way
of doing it. To understand why,
we need to look at the necessary
conditions for nuclear fusion.
Isotopes
Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same number of
protons and electrons but a different number of neutrons. Some common
isotopes in fusion are:
Protium is a hydrogen isotope with one proton and no neutrons. It is the
most common form of hydrogen and the most common element in the
universe.
Deuterium is a hydrogen isotope with one proton and one neutron. It is
not radioactive and can be extracted from seawater.
Tritium is a hydrogen isotope with one proton and two neutrons. It is
radioactive, with a half-life of about 10 years. Tritium does not occur
naturally but can be made by bombarding lithium with neutrons.
Helium-3 is a helium isotope with two protons and one neutron.
Helium-4 is the most common, naturally occurring form of helium, with two
protons and two neutrons.
Conditions for Nuclear Fusion

When hydrogen atoms fuse, the nuclei must come together. However, the
protons in each nucleus will tend to repel each other because they have the
same charge (positive). If you've ever tried to place two magnets together and
felt them push apart from each other, you've experienced this principle firsthand. To achieve fusion, you need to create special conditions to overcome
this tendency. Here are the conditions that make fusion possible:
http://imgarcade.com/1/deuterium-and-tritium/
High temperature - The high temperature gives the hydrogen atoms enough
energy to overcome the electrical repulsion between the protons.
Fusion requires temperatures about 100 million Kelvin (approximately six times
hotter than the sun's core).
At these temperatures, hydrogen is a plasma, not a gas. Plasma is a highenergy state of matter in which all the electrons are stripped from atoms and
move freely about.
The sun achieves these temperatures by its large mass and the force of gravity
compressing this mass in the core. We must use energy from
microwaves, lasers and ion particles to achieve these temperatures.
High pressure - Pressure squeezes the hydrogen atoms together. They must
be within 1x10-15meters of each other to fuse.
The sun uses its mass and the force of gravity to squeeze hydrogen atoms
together in its core.
We must squeeze hydrogen atoms together by using intense magnetic fields,
powerful lasers or ion beams.
W-ith current technology, we can only achieve the temperatures and
pressures necessary to make deuterium-tritium fusion possible. Deuteriumdeuterium fusion requires higher temperatures that may be possible in the
future. Ultimately, deuterium-deuterium fusion will be better because it is
easier to extract deuterium from seawater than to make tritium from lithium.
Also, deuterium is not radioactive, and deuterium-deuterium reactions will
yield more energy.
What is Plasma
If you boost a gas to extremely high temperatures, you get plasma. The
energy begins to break apart the gas molecules, and the atoms begin to split.
Normal atoms are made up of protons and neutrons in the nucleus (see How
Atoms Work), surrounded by a cloud of electrons. In plasma, the electrons
separate from the nucleus. Once the energy of heat releases the electrons
from the atom, the electrons begin to move around quickly. The electrons are
negatively charged, and they leave behind their positively charged nuclei.
These positively charged nuclei are known as ions.
When the fast-moving electrons collide with other electrons and ions, they
release vast amounts of energy. This energy is what gives plasma its unique
status and unbelievable cutting power.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/plasma-cutter3.htm
Commonplace Plasma
Almost 99 percent of all matter in the universe is plasma. It's not common on
Earth because of its extremely high temperatures; but somewhere like the
sun, it's the norm. On Earth, you find it in lightning, among other places.
Plasma cutters are not the only devices to harness the power of plasma.
Neon signs, fluorescent lighting and plasma displays, just to name a few, all
rely on it to get the job done. These devices use "cool" plasma. Though cool
plasma cannot be used to cut metals, it has tons of other useful applications.
Check out How Fluorescent Lamps Work to learn more.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/plasma-cutter3.htm
Fusion Reactors: Magnetic Confinement

There are two ways to achieve the temperatures and pressures necessary for
hydrogen fusion to take place:
Magnetic confinement uses magnetic and electric fields to heat and
squeeze the hydrogen plasma. The ITER project in France is using this
method.
Inertial confinement uses laser beams or ion beams to squeeze and heat
the hydrogen plasma. Scientists are studying this experimental approach
at the National Ignition Facility of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in the
United States.
National Ignition Facility of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory
Microwaves, electricity and neutral particle beams from accelerators heat a

stream of hydrogen gas. This heating turns the gas into plasma. This plasma
gets squeezed by super-conducting magnets, thereby allowing fusion to
occur. The most efficient shape for the magnetically confined plasma is a
donut shape (toroid).
A reactor of this shape is called a tokamak. The ITER tokamak will be a selfcontained reactor whose parts are in various cassettes. These cassettes can
be easily inserted and removed without having to tear down the entire reactor
for maintenance. The tokamak will have a plasma toroid with a 2-meter inner
radius and a 6.2-meter outer radius.
Let's take a closer look at the ITER fusion reactor to see how magnetic
confinement works.
Tokamak
"Tokamak" is a Russian acronym for "toroidal chamber with axial magnetic
field."
Toroidal Plasma
Let's look at magnetic confinement first. Here's how it would work:
Magnetic Confinement: The ITER Example

The main parts of the ITER tokamak reactor are:
Vacuum vessel - holds the plasma and keeps the reaction chamber in a
vacuum
Neutral beam injector (ion cyclotron system) - injects particle beams from
the accelerator into the plasma to help heat the plasma to critical
temperature
Magnetic field coils (poloidal, toroidal) - super-conducting magnets that
confine, shape and contain the plasma using magnetic fields
Transformers/Central solenoid - supply electricity to the magnetic field
coils
Cooling equipment (crostat, cryopump) - cool the magnets
Blanket modules - made of lithium; absorb heat and high-energy neutrons
from the fusion reaction
Divertors - exhaust the helium products of the fusion reaction
>| dsssa
The Tokamak
http://www.iter.org/mach
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
The Tokamak
Here's how the process will work:

1. The fusion reactor will heat a stream of deuterium and tritium fuel to form
high-temperature plasma. It will squeeze the plasma so that fusion can
take place. The power needed to start the fusion reaction will be about 70
megawatts, but the power yield from the reaction will be about 500
megawatts. The fusion reaction will last from 300 to 500 seconds.
(Eventually, there will be a sustained fusion reaction.)
2. The lithium blankets outside the plasma reaction chamber will absorb highenergy neutrons from the fusion reaction to make more tritium fuel. The
blankets will also get heated by the neutrons.
6 Li + 1 n 4 He + 3 H + 4.8 MeV
3
0
2
1
3. The heat will be transferred by a water-cooling loop to a heat exchanger to
make steam.
4. The steam will drive electrical turbines to produce electricity.
5. The steam will be condensed back into water to absorb more heat from
the reactor in the heat exchanger.
Initially, the ITER tokamak will test the feasibility of a sustained fusion reactor
and eventually will become a test fusion power plant.
Lithium Ore
Lithium Ore
Fusion Reactors: Inertial Confinement

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is
exp-erimenting with using laser beams to induce fusion. In the NIF device,
192 laser beams will focus on single point in a 10-meter-diameter target
chamber called a hohlraum. A hohlraum is "a cavity whose walls are in
radiative equilibrium with the radiant energy within the cavity" (Science &
Engineering Encyclopaedia).
At the focal point inside the target chamber, there will be a pea-sized pellet of
deuterium-tritium encased in a small, plastic cylinder. The power from the
lasers (1.8 million joules) will heat the cylinder and generate X-rays. The heat
and radiation will convert the pellet into plasma and compress it until fusion
occurs. The fusion reaction will be short-lived, about one-millionth of a second,
but will yield 50 to 100 times more energy than is needed to initiate the fusion
reaction. A reactor of this type would have multiple targets that would be
ignited in succession to generate sustained heat production. Scientists
estimate that each target can be made for as little as $0.25, making the fusion
power plant cost efficient.
The laser used for inertial confinement process
Inertial Confinement Process
Inertial Confinement Process
Like the magnetic-confinement

fusion reactor, the heat from
inertial-confinement fusion will
be passed to a heat exchanger
to make steam for producing
electricity.
Applications of Fusion
The main application for fusion is in making electricity. Nuclear fusion can
provide a safe, clean energy source for future generations with several
advantages over current fission reactors:
Abundant fuel supply - Deuterium can be readily extracted from seawater,
and excess tritium can be made in the fusion reactor itself from lithium, which
is readily available in the Earth's crust. Uranium for fission is rare, and it must
be mined and then enriched for use in reactors.
Safe - The amounts of fuel used for fusion are small compared to fission
reactors. This is so that uncontrolled releases of energy do not occur. Most
fusion reactors make less radiation than the natural background radiation we
live with in our daily lives.
Clean - No combustion occurs in nuclear power (fission or fusion), so there is
no air pollution.
Less nuclear waste - Fusion reactors will not produce high-level nuclear
wastes like their fission counterparts, so disposal will be less of a problem. In
addition, the wastes will not be of weapons-grade nuclear materials as is the
case in fission reactors.
NASA is currently looking into developing small-scale fusion reactors for
powering- deep-space rockets. Fusion propulsion would boast an unlimited
fuel supply (hydrogen), would be more efficient and would ultimately lead to
faster rockets.
Cold Fusion
In 1989, researchers in the United States and Great Britain claimed to have
made a fusion reactor at room temperature without confining hightemperature plasmas. They made an electrode of palladium, placed it in a
thermos of heavy water (deuterium oxide) and passed an electrical current
through the water. They claimed that the palladium catalyzed fusion by
allowing deuterium atoms to get close enough for fusion to occur. However,
several scientists in many countries failed to get the same result.
But in April 2005, cold fusion got a major boost. Scientists at UCLA initiated
fusion using a pyroelectric crystal. They put the crystal into a small container
filled with hydrogen, warmed the crystal to produce an electric field and
inserted a metal wire into the container to focus the charge. The focused
electric field powerfully repelled the positively charged hydrogen nuclei, and
in the rush away from the wire, the nuclei smashed into each other with
enough force to fuse. The reaction took place at room temperature. See
Coming in out of the cold: Cold fusion, for real (csmonitor.com) to learn more.
Lots More Information

Related Articles
How Atoms Work
How Atom Smashers Work
How Electricity Works
How Hydropower Plants Work
How Nuclear Bombs Work
How Nuclear Power Works
How Nuclear Radiation Works
How Power Grids Work
How Solar Cells Work Nuclear Power Quiz
More Great Links
Inertial Fusion Energy: A Tutorial on the Technology and Economics
National Ignition Facility Project: How NIF Works
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Project ITER
World Nuclear Association: Nuclear Fusion Power
http://science.howstuffworks.com/fusion-reactor7.htm
Swiss Plasma Center to harness

the sun's energy
September 22nd, 2015
At EPFL, the Center for Research in Plasma Physics (CRPP) has become
the Swiss Plasma Center (SPC), and for good reason: the Center is
upgrading its facilities and expanding its scope of activities. These
improvements strengthen the role the Lausanne-based tokamak will play as
one of three research facilities selected by the EUROfusion consortium to
develop nuclear fusion as part of the international project known as ITER.
Once mastered, nuclear fusion will be able to produce enough energy clean,
reliable energy to meet the needs of mankind for centuries to come. Unlike
fission, fusion does not create radioactive waste with a long lifespan, and it is
based on abundant materials that are easier to extract than uranium.
Numerous international research projects are under way, and one of the most
crucial challenges they face is plasma confinement. This refers to confining a
gas that is heated to more than a hundred million degrees considerably
hotter than the core of the sun so that the component hydrogen atoms will
fuse and release huge amounts of energy. But these extreme temperatures
must not damage the reactor, which means the plasma must be kept away
from the walls. This is done using a magnetic field that is contained inside a
ring-shaped chamber called a tokamak.
"Tokamak" is a Russian acronym for "toroidal chamber with axial magnetic
field."
One-of-a-kind research facility

The Variable Configuration Tokamak, which was built in 1992 at the Swiss
Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL, Switzerland), has always
been on the leading edge among research facilities in this field. The TCV
tokamak, as it is known, is operated by the Center for Research in Plasma
Physics (CRPP) and is unique because as its name indicates it can
produce plasma in various shapes. This feature allows scientists to determine
the most appropriate configuration for use in an energy-producing reactor.
And it was thanks to this feature that in late 2013 the TCV tokamak was
selected by the EUROfusion consortium as one of three national facilities on
the European continent to be used to help design the international power
plant ITER, currently being built in the south of France, and develop its
successor, DEMO, a prototype commercial reactor.
The Lausanne-based lab recently received 10 million francs from the Swiss
government to upgrade certain aspects of its facility. Thanks to these funds,
the Center will soon be equipped to carry out new experiments on the TCV
tokamak, particularly in relation to extracting energy and particles from the
plasma.
New mechanisms for heating the plasma with microwaves and with the
injection of neutral particles may also be installed. At the same time, the
Center is expanding its sector for lower density and lower temperature
plasmas in order to explore new applications for plasma, such as in the
medical field, the food industry and astrophysics. These improvements will
encourage many Swiss and European researchers to visit Lausanne and
conduct new experiments.
The "Swiss Plasma Center", a new international

reference
Alongside these developments, the Lausanne-based lab is changing its name.
It is now the Swiss Plasma Center that will impress its credentials on
Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world as a leading institution in this
field. The renamed Center was officially inaugurated today in Lausanne.
Attendees included Bernard Bigot, Director-General of ITER, along with
officials from the EUROfusion consortium, who emphasized the importance of
the research being carried out in Switzerland in support of the objective of the
reactor being built in Cadarache. The reactor, using nuclear fusion, aims to
generate ten times more power than was injected into it.
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Rolex Learning Center
EPFL Rolex Learning Center
How Tokamak Works
http://www.fusionforenergy.europa.eu/understandingfusion/technology.aspx
http://www.fusionforenergy.europa.eu//understandingfusion/Technology/tokamok.swf
Wendelstein 7-x stellarator
History of Tokamak
http://www.iter.org/news/videos/36
Technology
In order to produce a self-sustaining fusion reaction, the tritium and deuterium
plasma must be heated to over 100 million C this requires powerful heating
devices and minimal thermal loss. To sustain such a temperature the hot
plasma must be kept away from the walls of the reactor. However, because
the plasma is an electrically-charged gas it can be held or contained by
magnetic fields. This allows the plasma to be held, controlled and even
heated by a complex cage of magnets, whilst enabling the neutrons to escape
as they have no electric charge.
In a tokamak the plasma is held in a doughnut shaped vessel. Using special

coils, a magnetic field is generated, which causes the plasma particles to run
around in spirals, without touching the wall of the chamber.
The Magnetic Fields
Experimental arrangement for controlled nuclear fusion. In a Tokamak, two
superimposed magnetic fields enclose the plasma: (1) this is the toroidal field
generated by external coils on the one hand and (2) the field of a flow in the
plasma on the other hand. In the combined field, the field lines run helicoidally
around the torus centre.
https://www.euronuclear.org/info/encyclopedia/t/tokamak.htm
In this way, the necessary twisting of the field lines and the structure of the
magnetic areas are achieved. Apart from the toroidal field generated by the
external field coils and the field generated by the flow in the plasma, the
Tokamak requires a third vertical field (poloidal field), fixing the position of the
flow in the plasma container.
Magnetic Fields
https://www.laetusinpraesens.org/iter/iter8.php
The flow in the plasma is mainly used to generate the enclosing magnetic
field. In addition, it provides effective initial heating of the plasma. The flow in
the plasma is normally induced by a transformer coil. Owing to the
transformer, the Tokamak does not work continuously, but in pulse mode.
Since, however, a power plant should not be operated in pulse mode for
technical reasons, methods are examined to generate a continuous flow - for
example by high-frequency waves. The fusion research plant JET is built
according to the Tokamak principle. The fusion reactor ITER is also planned
according to this principle.
In a tokamak the plasma is held in a doughnut shaped vessel. Using special

coils, a magnetic field is generated, which causes the plasma particles to run
around in spirals, without touching the wall of the chamber.
Toroidal magnetic confinement fusion is the advanced technology that is the

main approach for European fusion research and is at the heart of the ITER
experiment. The reactions take place in a vessel that isolates the plasma from
its surroundings it has a torus or doughnut shape essentially a continuous
tube. The confining magnetic fields (toroidal and poloidal fields ) are
generated by electromagnets located around the reactor chamber and by an
electrical current flowing in the plasma itself. This current is partly induced by
a solenoid at the centre of the torus which acts as the primary winding of a
transformer. The resulting magnetic field keeps the plasma particles and their
energy away from the reactor wall.
C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\Fusion For Energy - Understanding Fusion - Technology.htm
To achieve net fusion power output in a deuterium tritium reactor, three

conditions must be fulfilled:
a very high temperature greater than 100 million C;
a plasma particle density of at least 1022 particles per cubic metre; and
an energy confinement time for the reactor of the order of 1 second.
In order to control the plasma we need to understand fully its properties.
For example: how it conducts heat, how particles are lost from the plasma, its
stability, and how unwanted particles (impurities) can be prevented from
remaining in the plasma.
One of the major challenges in fusion research has been to maintain plasma
temperature. Impurities cool the plasma and ways must be found to extract
them. Plasma is heated by the electrical current induced by the transformer
arrangement, but additional heating is needed to reach the high temperatures
required. This includes the injection of beams of highly energetic fusion fuel
particles (deuterium and or tritium) which, on collision with plasma particles,
give up their energy to them, and radio-frequency heating where high-power
radio waves are absorbed by the plasma particles.
Europe has a large track record in fusion. Europes JET (Joint European
Torus) located at Culham (UK) is the worlds largest fusion facility and the
only one currently capable of working with a Deuterium-Tritium fuel mixture.
JET has reached all its originally planned objectives and in some cases
surpassed them. In 1997 it achieved a world record fusion power production
of 16 MW and a Q = 0.65.
Europe has also been building on the knowledge accumulated through the
Tore Supra tokamak in France , the first large tokamak to use
superconducting magnets; the ASDEX device in Germany with ITER-shaped
plasmas; the reversed pinch device RFX in Italy and the stellarators TJ-II in
Spain and W7-X in Germany.
View of the plasma inside the tokamak MAST in the United Kingdom. (Source:
UKAEA-Culham)
Deuterium-Tritium Reaction
D(T,n)He
2 D(3 T,1 n)4 He
1
1
0
2
http://video.elementy.ru/smith/smith-eng.mp4
http://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya_biblioteka/430851/The_Path_to_Fusion_Power?context=20451
https://m.forocoches.com/foro/showthread.php?t=4452871

http://horizon-magazine.eu/sites/default/files/pictures/HO-ITER-TK-cooling_1.jpg
Wendelstein 7-X
Fusion Reactor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendelstein_7-X
Wendelstein 7-X
The Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) reactor is an experimental stellarator (nuclear
fusion reactor) built in Greifswald, Germany, by the Max Planck Institute of
Plasma Physics (IPP), and completed in October 2015.[2] It is a further
development of Wendelstein 7-AS. The purpose of Wendelstein 7-X is to
evaluate the main components of a future fusion reactor built using stellarator
technology, even if Wendelstein 7-X itself is not an economical fusion power
plant.
The Wendelstein 7-X reactor is the largest fusion device created using the
stellarator concept which was the brainchild of physicist Lyman Spitzer. It is
planned to operate with up to 30 minutes of continuous plasma discharge,
demonstrating an essential feature of a future power plant: continuous
operation.
The name of the project, referring to the mountain Wendelstein in Bavaria,
was decided at the end of the 1950s, referencing the preceding project from
Princeton University under the name Project Matterhorn. The research facility
is an independent partner project with the University of Greifswald.
Mountain Wendelstein
University of Greifswald
Design and main components

The Wendelstein 7-X device is based on a five field-period Helias
configuration. It is mainly a toroid, consisting of 50 non-planar and 20 planar
superconducting magnetic coils, 3.5 m high, which induce a magnetic field
that prevents the plasma from colliding with the reactor walls. The 50 nonplanar coils are used for adjusting the magnetic field. It aims for a plasma
density of 31020 particles/cubic metre, and a plasma temperature of 60~130
million K.
The main components are the magnetic coils, cryostat, plasma vessel,
divertor and heating systems.
The coils (NbTi in aluminium) are arranged around a heat insulating cladding
with a diameter of 16 meters, called the cryostat. A cooling device produces
enough liquid helium to cool down the magnets and their enclosure (about
425 metric tons of 'cold mass') to superconductivity temperature (4 K). The
coils will carry 12.8 kA current and create a field of up to 3 Tesla.
The plasma vessel, built of 20 parts, is on the inside, adjusted to the complex
shape of the magnetic field. It has 254 ports (holes) for plasma heating and
observation diagnostics. The whole plant is built of five almost identical
modules, which were assembled in the experiment hall.
The heating system includes 10 megawatts of microwaves for Electron
Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH), for up to 10 seconds, and can deliver
1 megawatt for 50 seconds during operational phase 1 (OP-1).[7] For
operational phase 2 (OP-2), after completion of the full armor/water-cooling,
up to 8 megawatts of neutral beam injection will also be available for 10
seconds,[8] while the microwave system will be extended to true steady state
(30 minutes). An Ion Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ICRH) system will
become available for physics operation in OP1.2.[9]
A system of sensors and probes based on a variety of complementary
technologies will measure key properties of the plasma, including the profiles
of the electron density and of the electron and ion temperature, as well as the
profiles of important plasma impurities and of the radial electric field resulting
from electron and ion particle transport.
Wendelstein 7-X
Wendelstein 7-X
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8f/Wendelstein7-X_Torushall-2011.jpg
The History
The German funding arrangement for the project was negotiated in 1994,
establishing the Greifswald Branch Institute of the IPP in the north-eastern
corner of the recently integrated East Germany. Its new building was
completed in 2000. Construction of the stellarator was originally expected to
reach completion in 2006. Assembly began in April 2005. Problems with the
coils took about 3 years to fix.[4] The schedule slipped into late
2015.[4][11][12]
A three-lab American consortium (Princeton, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos)
became a partner in the project, paying $7.5 million USD of the eventual total
cost of 1.06 billion Euros.[13] In 2012, Princeton University and the Max
Planck Society announced a new joint research center in plasma physics,[14]
to include research on W7-X.
The end of the construction phase was officially marked by an inauguration
ceremony on 20 May 2014.[15] After a period of vessel leak-checking,
beginning in the summer of 2014, the cryostat was evacuated, and magnet
testing was completed in July 2015.[5]
The reactor successfully produced helium plasma (with temperatures of about

1106 K) for about 0.1 s on December 10, 2015. For this initial test with about
1 mg of helium gas injected into the evacuated plasma vessel, microwave
heating was applied for a short 1.3 MW pulse.[16]
More than 300 discharges with helium were done in December and January
with gradually increasing temperatures finally reaching six million degrees, to
clean the vacuum vessel walls and test the plasma diagnostic systems. Then
on February 3, 2016, operational phase 1 (OP-1) began, with production of
the first hydrogen plasma to initiate the science program. A 2 MW microwave
pulse resulted in a plasma temperature of 80106 K, with a lifetime of
second, fulfilling all expectations. Such tests were planned to continue for
about a month, followed by a scheduled shut-down to open the vacuum
vessel and install protective carbon tiles lining the vessel, and a "diverter" for
removing impurities from the plasma. Then the science program will continue
while gradually increasing the power and duration of the discharges
Schema of the coil system (blue) and plasma (yellow). A magnetic field line is
highlighted in green on the yellow plasma surface.
Superconducting feed lines being attached to the superconducting planar

coils.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/Stellarator_Wendelstein_7-X_Planar-Spulen_Vermessung.jpg
Construction as of May 2012. Visible are the torus, offset in the test cell, and
the large overhead crane. Note the workers for scale.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/W7-X_Stellarator_Experiment.jpg
Wide-angle view inside the W7-X stellarator (under construction),

showing the stainless cover plates and the water-cooled copper
backing plates (which will eventually be covered by graphite tiles) that
are being installed as armor to protect against plasma/wall
interactions.
History[edit]
The German funding arrangement for the project was negotiated in 1994,
establishing the Greifswald Branch Institute of the IPP in the north-eastern
corner of the recently integrated East Germany. Its new building was
completed in 2000. Construction of the stellarator was originally expected to
reach completion in 2006. Assembly began in April 2005. Problems with the
coils took about 3 years to fix.[4] The schedule slipped into late
2015.[4][11][12]
A three-lab American consortium (Princeton, Oak Ridge, and Los Alamos)
became a partner in the project, paying $7.5 million USD of the eventual total
cost of 1.06 billion Euros.[13] In 2012, Princeton University and the Max
Planck Society announced a new joint research center in plasma physics,[14]
to include research on W7-X.
The end of the construction phase was officially marked by an inauguration

ceremony on 20 May 2014.[15] After a period of vessel leak-checking,
beginning in the summer of 2014, the cryostat was evacuated, and magnet
testing was completed in July 2015.[5]
The reactor successfully produced helium plasma (with temperatures of about
1106 K) for about 0.1 s on December 10, 2015. For this initial test with
about 1 mg of helium gas injected into the evacuated plasma vessel,
microwave heating was applied for a short 1.3 MW pulse.[16]
More than 300 discharges with helium were done in December and January
with gradually increasing temperatures finally reaching six million degrees, to
clean the vacuum vessel walls and test the plasma diagnostic systems. Then
on February 3, 2016, operational phase 1 (OP-1) began, with production of
the first hydrogen plasma to initiate the science program. A 2 MW microwave
pulse resulted in a plasma temperature of 80106 K, with a lifetime of
second, fulfilling all expectations. Such tests were planned to continue for
about a month, followed by a scheduled shut-down to open the vacuum
vessel and install protective carbon tiles lining the vessel, and a "diverter" for
removing impurities from the plasma. Then the science program will continue
while gradually increasing the power and duration of the discharges.
Timeline
Year
Event
1994
Project initiated
2005
Assembly began
2014
Inaugurated
2015
Successful helium plasma test at 1106 K for ~0.1 s
2016
Hydrogen plasma at 80106 K for 0.25 s according to expectations
- EAST20101224
11001500
303
http://www.ipp.cas.cn/xwdt/ttxw/201207/t20120710_96336.html

20121024
http://tieba.baidu.com/p/2223121270
http://www.hf.cas.cn/lmjx/cmsj/201210/t20121024_3666056.html
Read More
http://www.nuclear-power.net/neutron-cross-section/
Good Luck!

Understanding Neutron Radiography Post Result Extended Reading XI-A

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Understanding Neutron Radiography Post Result Extended Reading XI-A

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

Understanding Neutron Radiography

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

The Great Rationalizer on Neutron

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

The Magical Book of Neutron Radiography

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

ASNT Certification Guide

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Electron emission radiography

Blocking and filtering

Enlargement and projection

Control of diffraction effects

Real time imaging

Image analysis techniques

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Fion Zhang at Norway

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

SME- Subject Matter Expert

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

1.17, 1.33 MeV

0.14 ~ 1.2 MeV

Dose rate* Rem/hr at one meter per curie

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Application potential of cold neutron

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section (at MeV?)

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron Absorption Cross Section

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Hence, non-invasive and fully nondestructive methods such as Magnetic

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

This imaging technique was applied to investigate the exchange of minerals

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

In order to study the characteristics of building materials, water absorption

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

The probability of neutron scattering and/or absorption by a matter

The beam detected by a two-dimensional imaging device results in an

Hydrogen is one of the elements, which have a large mass attenuation

Charlie Chong/ Fion Zhang

Neutron energy and imaging