At the occasion of the SOFT 2016 Conference the representatives of Czech and Spanish fusion communities met to discuss opportunities for collaboration in the IFMIF-DONES Project.
DONES (DEMO-Oriented Neutron Source) is a design for Early Neutron Source (ENS) which
basically consists of a simplification of
IFMIF
. Currently, the ENS is one of the
EUROfusion Work Packages. The Spanish delegation
lead by the Ambassador Pedro Calvo-Sotelo presented the proposal of Spain to host the
IFMIF-DONES in Granada,
Andalusia.
Mr. Javier Cácere, the general manager of
INEUSTAR demonstrated preparedness of
Spanish industry and academic sphere to realize this project. The Director of IPP said that Czech
scientists support Granada as the site of DONES. He also expressed hope that the Spanish industry
might contribute to the planned upgrade of the COMPASS Tokamak (COMPASS-U). Mr. Hron
reminded that there has been a long-term and very fruitful cooperation between
Centre for Energy, Environment and Technology
(CIEMAT) and IPP in fusion research.
IFMIF, the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility, will generate a neutron flux
with a broad peak at 14 MeV. The energy of the beam and the current of the parallel accelerators
have been tuned to maximize the neutrons flux to get irradiation conditions comparable to those of
a fusion reactor. The successful validation of small specimens will allow full mechanical
characterization of suitable materials and help understanding of the degradation that will lead to
the design of constituents better tolerant to radiation.
The early construction of an 'Early DEMO' requires the accelerated construction of a neutron irradiation plant. This
initial irradiation plant will have reduced specifications in terms of accumulated damage of the
irradiated materials (30-40 dpa instead of 150 dpa). Thus, in the European framework it was decided
to design and build a facility capable of producing the specified amount of damage as soon as
possible. A discussion period was opened to determine the specifications of this so-called Early
Neutron Source (ENS).
DONES will thus be similar to IFMIF but will only have one accelerator, and it will only
include the irradiation modules required to test the structural materials, without a laboratory for
the characterization of the irradiated samples. Based on these simplifications, both the cost and
the time required for the design and construction of the facility will be significantly reduced.
Also, DONES is being designed in such a way that it could eventually be upgraded in order to meet
the full capabilities of IFMIF. The objective of the ENS project in the framework of EUROfusion
(2015-2018) is the development of the R&D and the engineering activities required to start the
construction of the facility before 2020.
Photos: IPP.
7 Sep 2016
