Accelerator Driven Subcrtical System (ADS) Experiments at KURRI

Abstract

The Research Reactor Institute of Kyoto University started basic research on accelerator driven system (ADS) from 2002 for development of innovative nuclear system for nuclear transmutation or neutron source. For this purpose, new FFAG (Fixed Field Alternating Gradient) accelerator complex that can produce pulsed 100MeV proton beam was developed and new experiments coupled with nuclear reactor core at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA) were started from 2009, which were the world’s first experiments on ADS with proton. Nuclear characteristics of ADS were measured by changing neutron energy spectrum, and several experiments at ADS cores loaded with thorium were also carried out.