ITER full model in MCNP for radiation safety demonstration
The development of nuclear fusion as a safe and virtually limitless power source is receiving growing attention in the context of looming energy crisis and climate change. ITER project stands as the flagship international initiative and is advancing steadily. The construction of the Tokamak Complex is nearly finished, and the assembly of core components has begun on site. Simultaneously, the design is being finalized, and the safety case is becoming more concrete. Current approaches to radiation safety demonstration using 3D nuclear analysis with the Monte Carlo code MCNP require sophisticated artifacts to sew together simulations in separate models for the Tokamak and the rest of the facility. This results in cumbersome studies and, consequently, challengeable conclusions. To address this issue, we have built the an integral MCNP model of the ITER facility: the ITER full model. Along with improvements to the D1SUNED code, we illustrate its computational practicality and pertinence in two meaningful simulations for ITER safety case. This work represents the culmination of a two-decade-long effort of ITER modelling aiming to demonstrate adequate radiation safety. Beyond supporting the remaining design tasks, this model simplifies the corresponding 3D nuclear analysis and improves the robustness of the ITER safety case.
Authors
- E. Polunovskiy
- J. Alguacil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5663-215X)
- M. De Pietri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2815-6889)
- Y. Le Tonquèze
- R. Juárez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7649-202X)
- Aljaž Kolšek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9852-6670)
- R. Pampin
- Marco Fabbri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9979-3025)
- Victor Lopez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0668-3338)
- G. Pedroche
- P. Martínez-Albertos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0195-870X)
- J. Sanz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5166-7460)
- M. Loughlin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3402-7506)
- Pol Guijosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1631-5660)
- M. Belotti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0108-5611)
Institutions
- ITER (FR)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- National Transportation Research Center (US)
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (ES)
- Fusion for Energy (ES)
- Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-10-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52667-x
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Nuclear reactor physics and engineering
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.09
Funders
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Comunidad de Madrid
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- European Commission
- Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia
- Agenzia Nazionale per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e lo Sviluppo Economico Sostenibile
- Culham Centre for Fusion Energy
- Japan Atomic Energy Agency