XT-ADS: Neutronics, Shielding and Radiation Damage Calculations

This work is related to the core design of the XT-ADS facility in the framework of the EUROTRANS project. The proton accelerator design specifications are 600 MeV and up to 3.5 mA for the beam energy and current, respectively. The state-of-the-art Monte Carlo code MCNPX was used to assess the neutronics performance and shielding properties of the system. The work consisted of the core configuration (geometry, number, location of the fuel and absorber assemblies) and the appropriate fuel composition optimizations in order to reduce radiation damage on the core barrel and top grid plate, while maintaining high neutron fluxes and keff around 0.95. The assessment of the core configuration and fuel composition was performed, resulting from the interplay among parameters such as desired high neutron fluxes, keff value wanted for safety and core performance reasons, as-low-as-possible radiation damage (core barrel and top grid plate) and the fuel composition.