Operation of the accelerator driving the VENUS-F core for the low power ADS experiments Guinevere and FREYA at SCK-CEN
Résumé
GUINEVERE and FREYA are European projects devoted to experimental studies of
accelerator-driven system feasibility. They are mainly dedicated to on-line reactivity
monitoring, subcriticality determination and operational procedures. An experimental
reactor of SCK•CEN (Belgium) modified into a fast lead core, VENUS-F, is coupled to a
versatile accelerator-driven neutron source developed by CNRS/IN2P3 (France) driving the
reactor in different modes. A deuteron beam is provided by an electrostatic accelerator
with a time structure driven solely by the ion source. The deuteron ions are accelerated
(220 keV) onto a tritiated target located at the centre of the reactor core, creating neutrons
by T(d,n) 4 He reactions. This paper describes the design and commissioning of the facility
and reports on the operation of the accelerator coupled to the reactor.