Juarez R, Belotti M, Kolsek A, López V, Alguacil J, Pedroche G, López-Revelles A J, Martínez-Albertos P, De Pietri M, Guijosa P, Le Tonqueze Y, Loughlin M J, Polunovskiy E, Pampin R, Fabbri M, Sanz J
Departamento de Ingeniería Energética, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
Instituto de Fusión Nuclear "Guillermo Velarde", Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 3;15(1):8563. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-52667-x.
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.
在迫在眉睫的能源危机和气候变化背景下,核聚变作为一种安全且近乎无限的能源的发展正受到越来越多的关注。国际热核聚变实验堆(ITER)项目是旗舰国际倡议,正在稳步推进。托卡马克装置的建设已接近尾声,核心部件的组装已在现场开始。与此同时,设计正在最终确定,安全论证也变得更加具体。目前使用蒙特卡罗代码MCNP进行三维核分析来进行辐射安全论证的方法,需要复杂的工件来将托卡马克和设施其他部分的单独模型中的模拟缝合在一起。这导致研究繁琐,结论也存在争议。为解决这个问题,我们构建了ITER设施的完整MCNP模型:ITER全模型。连同对D1SUNED代码的改进,我们在ITER安全论证的两个有意义的模拟中展示了其计算实用性和相关性。这项工作代表了ITER建模长达二十年努力的成果,旨在证明足够的辐射安全性。除了支持其余的设计任务外,该模型简化了相应的三维核分析,并提高了ITER安全论证的稳健性。