Speaker
Description
ITER will be a major step towards demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of nuclear fusion as a clean and safe energy source. It will operate the largest Tokamak ever built. The radiation fields expected in ITER, both during and after operation, make nuclear analyses particularly valuable. Some of these analyses constitute a significant part of the ITER Rapport Préliminaire de Sûreté (RPrS), the safety report periodically updated and reviewed by the French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASNR). The generation of 3D radiation maps is required to demonstrate ITER’s compliance with the French radiological safety regulations, aimed at protecting workers and the public.
With this perspective, since 2024 the UNED team has been working on the production of a new MCNP representation of the ITER facility to support the upcoming radiation maps within the next RPrS update. The produced model addresses a robustness requirement. A remarkable aspect of it is that it leaves behind the common practice of coupling models. This coupling resulted in the introduction of unassessed uncertainties due to source binning, weakening the robustness of the results.
Motivated by this need, and in close collaboration with the ITER Organization, the UNED team produced the first integral Best Estimate (BE) MCNP representation of the ITER facility: the BE ITER Full Model. This model represents the tokamak, the site buildings and the tokamak cooling water systems. The model was produced without deliberate pessimism and gradually reducing legacy conservatism embedded in earlier ITER reference models. It incorporates a block structure architecture, a desired feature in many previous ITER reference models. It enables the modularity of the model: the extraction of partial representations using dedicated tools, thereby supporting future local studies avoiding ad hoc approaches based on producing local models. This architecture also facilitates version control and promotes the use of the model as a geometry database by the broader community. Moreover, it enables the deployment of uncertainty quantification schemes.
The BE ITER Full Model will increase the credibility and robustness of nuclear analysis results. It is the cornerstone of the ITER radiation safety case and a significant improvement regarding fusion safety demonstrations. Finally, it was produced with the past, present, and future in mind. It lays the groundwork for next steps, including its own Gitronization and progress toward a digital twin of ITER’s operating fusion reactor.
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