A study of the structural activation caused by proton beam loss in the {open_quotes}accelerator production of tritium{close_quotes} LINAC

The Accelerator Production of Tritium (APT) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory makes use of a high power linear proton accelerator to produce neutrons via spallation reactions m a heavy metal target. The fast spallation neutrons are moderated by a heavy water blanket, and used to produce tritium by means of the reaction: {sup 3}He(n,p)T, APT 1993. Various accelerator designs are currently under consideration. At the time when this study was performed, the project called for a 1 GeV proton linear accelerator with a beam current of 200 mA, i.e., a proton beam power of 200 MW. Given the high power at which the APT accelerator is expected to operate, as well as the heavy maintenance that is likely to be required to keep it operating, it is essential to consider health physics issues at an early stage of the design