accelerating-news-arc.web.cern.ch - EuCARD2

ADS research workshop held at CERN

Panagiotis Charitos — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:48:44 +0000

ADS research workshop held at CERN
by Jennifer Toes (CERN)

Visualisation of the European Spallation Source (ESS), a neutron source driven by a linear accelerator (Image: ESS)

In February 2017, over 70 high-energy physicists visited CERN to attend and present at a workshop on the “Status of Accelerator Driven Systems Research and Technology Development”.

Accelerator Driven Systems (ADS) refer to the use of particle accelerators in combination with subcritical nuclear reactor cores to allow fission to be sustained through the production of neutrons by spallation.

ADS have a variety of applications, ranging from the transmutation of nuclear waste, to energy generation and production of isotopes for use in cancer treatments.

The workshop, organised by WP4 of the EuCARD-2 project, focused on the following ADS-related topics: international ADS programmes, socio-economic impact of ADS, accelerator operation in ADS, coupling experiments, and future challenges for ADS research and development.

“The workshop has gathered a wide and active community, whose interest is demonstrated by the many programs that are on-going in the world. Accelerator technologies in ADS can provide important contributions to society,” said Marcello Losasso, member of the Scientific Programme Committee.

He continued: “The old cyclotron/linac opposition led to interesting discussions during the workshop. In particular, cyclotron technology was assessed as a worthwhile route of investigation for industrial applications of ADS.”

In fact, all current ADS projects across the world are based on linear machines, and therefore researchers already have benchmarks concerning their cost, time to market and technical characteristics.

This is not the case for high power cyclotrons, whose data are limited and not often as up-to-date.

Further presentations were made on the ADS programmes across Europe and in China, Japan, the United States and Ukraine. The international ADS efforts include a wide range of R&D into applications such as: nuclear waste elimination, energy production, neutron spallation sources, and the production of isotopes and high intensity beams for fundamental research.

International cooperation was stressed for the further development of ADS, which may present a challenge due to conflicting national goals in ADS R&D.

The critical aspects of accelerators for use in ADS were also discussed, touching on their technical requirements, economic feasibility and licensing issues. Ultimately, the ADS projects currently existing and in development across the world seem to suggest they are technically feasible. However, the industrial deployment of the technology depends on many interlinked factors as the licensability and cost.

Presentations on coupling experiments demonstrated that zero power facilities offer good flexibility and simplicity of execution, and are therefore of critical importance to gather validation measurements and facilitate the licensing processes. Benchmarking can also be improved by using multiple approaches to gather parametric measurements.

In addition, speakers detailed a new design for a high power target and reported on the new spallation target prototypes and sources.

Of course, as with any emerging field, new and innovative research and development is crucial. As such, the workshop also featured talks on new projects and approaches for the future.

This included CYCLADS, a recently submitted EU FET-OPEN project (not-yet approved) whose consortium, coordinated by CERN, includes major industrial and academic European partners such as iThEC, PSI, AIMA-Dev, HNI, ENEA, N-21, ASG. The aim of the project is to establish the conceptual design of an innovative high-power, compact and cost-effective cyclotron to be used for the transmutation of nuclear waste. The project should be able to provide fresh economical data and new technical opportunities on the benefits of cyclotrons as an option for an ADS.

The workshop closed with summary reports from the Session Chairmen highlighting the current status and future challenges of ADS around the world.

Acceleration Driven Systems

ADS

EuCARD2

CYCLADS

issue 20

Accelerators for testing energy efficiency

Panagiotis Charitos — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 13:11:24 +0000

Accelerators for testing energy efficiency
by Jennifer Toes (CERN)

3D Photo Composition of the Planned FAIR Facility at GSI (Image: FAIR/Jan Schäfer)

Researchers at GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt, Germany have presented preliminary results for the integration of accelerator facilities into Virtual Power Plant (VPP) networks within the scope of the EuCARD-2 project.

Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are networks that aim to optimise the production, storage and use of energy. They are comprised of renewable producers such a wind turbines and solar panels, storage facilities such as battery stations, and both public and industrial users. The networks aim to ensure better availability and reliability for consumers.

Dr Jens Stadlmann, Vice Machine Coordinator of SIS18 at GSI, said: “Accelerators are large and variable power consumers which makes them eligible candidates for VPP.”

The GSI team analysed the energy consumption of the accelerator complex and found a 3-6 MW difference between operation and shutdown. This meant the shutdown of the equipment could be scheduled during times of high-energy demand by identifying switchable loads.

The FAIR Facility

In an effort to consider the feasibility for future accelerator complexes, the GSI team studied the SIS100, the main synchrotron of the future Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR).

The FAIR synchrotron will be able to work in very flexible cycles with three different modes of operation: Cycles A, B and C. Cycles A and B are regular modes of operation, which have similar dynamic loads and safety margins but Cycle C has much higher dynamic loss and is not planned as a regular mode of operation.

Experiments could schedule operation cycles with high dynamic loss around times of low energy demand. Next, power providers could make use of the whole facility as part of a VPP scenario by actively switching accelerator facilities to a low energy consuming cycle when general power demand is high.

Challenges for accelerators in VPP networks

Potential energy management schedules for accelerators must be considered carefully, as researchers may be expected to wait significant periods for the facility to be switched back to high-energy operation. Longer operating times may be required to compensate, which has its own impact on energy consumption and staff and operating costs.

In addition, the operation of the cryogenic system during low-energy may present a technical challenge for facility operators.

The SIS100 magnets are cooled by a two-phase helium system, whereby liquid helium extracts heat from the magnets and is evaporated back into a gas before being transported back to the surface of the facility.

If an accelerator facility is switched to low-energy operation, the level of cooling must be adjusted accordingly. At a lower energy magnets will produce less heat, so not all of the liquefied helium can be evaporated.

To recoup all of the deployed helium, facilities may need to install heaters or a method of pumping the liquid back into the feed box. Using heaters means the energy consumption of the cryo plant will stay relatively constant for all modes of accelerator operation. Significant changes must be made at the cryosystem to realise lower energy consumption during cycles of low dynamic load.

Next steps for accelerators and VPPs

Allowing power suppliers to switch accelerator facilities from high to low energy during times of high energy demand adds a layer of complexity and risk to facility operation.

Before accelerators may be fully integrated into VPP networks the cryogenic systems require further development, safety measures must be assessed and the facility must comply with additional regulations from the power network operators.

The longer operating times needed to compensate users for a loss of beam time may result in similar or higher energy consumption, and the costs for the manpower and operation of these facilities may also be higher.

Trialling for the expansion of VPP networks with accelerator facilities may allow researchers and power suppliers to identify potential obstacles to further use, which in turn may present future avenues of research and development.

“The technical and organisational obstacles which have to be overcome to qualify a complex machine like an accelerator for a VPP seem to be transferable to other scenarios und thus be of general interest for society,” said Dr Stadlmann.

From EuCARD to EuCARD-2

Sabrina El Yacoubi — Thu, 27 Nov 2014 09:58:17 +0000

From EuCARD to EuCARD-2
by Mathilde Chaudron (CERN)

EuCARD-2 kick-off meeting in the Council Chamber at CERN. Image credit: CERN.

The EuCARD'13 annual meeting took place on 10-14 June at CERN. The event, which brought together more than 180 accelerator specialists from all over the world, drew the conclusions from the EuCARD project and kicked-off its continuation, EuCARD-2.

EuCARD-2 officially started on 1st May 2013 and will run for four years. With a total budget of 23,4M, including 8M of EU contribution, it will build upon the success of EuCARD and will push it into an even more innovative regime. EuCARD-2 brings a global view to particle accelerator research in order to address challenges for future generation of accelerators. By promoting complementary expertise, cross-disciplinary fertilisation and a wider sharing of knowledge and technologies throughout academia and with industry, EuCARD-2 aims at significantly enhancing multidisciplinary R&D for European accelerators, actively contributing to the development of a European Research Area in accelerator science.