DEMO Shutdown Dose Rate Assessment Inside the Vacuum Vessel

Shutdown dose rate (SDDR) assessments have been performed for the DEMO tokamak model, including the latest design and environmental configurations. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the shutdown radiation fields and establish dose rate limits to ensure safe personnel access to the Vacuum Vessel (VV) and nearby components. The simulations were based on the DEMO baseline model, further refined with the minor updates of the lower port, equatorial port limiter, and upper port assemblies. The computational approach employed the Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNP for neutron and photon transport calculations, coupled with the activation and decay code FISPACT-II to determine time-dependent decay gamma source terms. The mesh-coupled Rigorous Two-Step (R2Smesh) methodology developed in KIT was applied to achieve spatially resolved decay of photon source distributions and to compute corresponding SDDR 3D maps within the DEMO reactor configuration. The results provide a detailed characterization of the residual radiation environment inside the VV, offering insight into the accumulated activity, shielding performance of different materials, and potential access scenarios for maintenance operations in next-generation fusion devices.

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Publication Details

Journal
Applied Sciences
Published
2026-02-17
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/app16041983
Primary Topic
Nuclear reactor physics and engineering
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

DEMO Shutdown Dose Rate Assessment Inside the Vacuum Vessel

Roman Afanasenko, D. Leichtle, P. Pereslavtsev, Jin Hun Park et al.
Applied Sciences
Nuclear reactor physics and engineering
article

DEMO Shutdown Dose Rate Assessment Inside the Vacuum Vessel

Roman Afanasenko, D. Leichtle, P. Pereslavtsev, Jin Hun Park, Joelle Elbez-Uzan
article en

Abstract

Shutdown dose rate (SDDR) assessments have been performed for the DEMO tokamak model, including the latest design and environmental configurations. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the shutdown radiation fields and establish dose rate limits to ensure safe personnel access to the Vacuum Vessel (VV) and nearby components. The simulations were based on the DEMO baseline model, further refined with the minor updates of the lower port, equatorial port limiter, and upper port assemblies. The computational approach employed the Monte Carlo particle transport code MCNP for neutron and photon transport calculations, coupled with the activation and decay code FISPACT-II to determine time-dependent decay gamma source terms. The mesh-coupled Rigorous Two-Step (R2Smesh) methodology developed in KIT was applied to achieve spatially resolved decay of photon source distributions and to compute corresponding SDDR 3D maps within the DEMO reactor configuration. The results provide a detailed characterization of the residual radiation environment inside the VV, offering insight into the accumulated activity, shielding performance of different materials, and potential access scenarios for maintenance operations in next-generation fusion devices.

Applied SciencesVol. 16(4)
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE), Isotopen Technologien München (Germany) (DE)
EUROfusion, European Commission, Euratom Research and Training Programme
Openalex Percentile: Top 53%
Nuclear reactor physics and engineering
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