arXiv subjects

Pavel Pereslavtsev

Publications and source records attributed to Pavel Pereslavtsev.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

VNS Tokamak for Medical Isotope Production

The Volumetric Neutron Source (VNS) tokamak is a proposed fusion reactor for testing components under fusion neutron irradiation, and has potential use for radioisotope production. The VNS geometry is modeled in the Serpent 2.2.2 and OpenMC 0.15.2 neutronics codes. Coupled neutron-photon simulations compared fluxes, spectra, and selected reaction rates in the blanket and vacuum vessel. Good agreement was found overall, with the largest difference found in (n, 2n) reactions. On an HPC cluster, Serpent 2 was found to have shorter computation time in coupled simulations, while OpenMC was faster in neutron only simulations. Radioisotope production yields were simulated in Serpent 2.2.2 for capsule and Cobalt plate irradiation facilities. Results indicate potential for large volume production of 99Mo, 131I, 225Ac, 177Lu, 192Ir, 64Cu, 67Cu, 161Tb, and 153Sm while 203Pb indicates lower potential. 100Mo and LEU target heating was calculated, suggesting the LEU target mass or the cooling may need adjustment. Optimized 60Co production yielded 1.2 GBq/mg and 100,000 TBq after a 3-year irradiation period. Sensitivity to plant outage for 99Mo, 131I, 177Lu, and 60Co was simulated, suggesting irradiation can be restarted for the same isotope loading and demonstrated long-lived 60Co to be robust to long plant dwell-time.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2025

VNS Tokamak OpenMC-Serpent Validation for Medical Isotope Studies

The Volumetric Neutron Source (VNS) tokamak is a proposed fusion reactor for testing and qualification of reactor components for future use in a fusion power facility, and has potential use for radioisotope production. The VNS geometry is modeled in the Serpent and OpenMC neutronics codes. Analog neutron-photon coupled simulations are carried out to compare the model's vacuum vessel and blanket components across codes. In the vacuum vessel, neutron and photon flux maps are calculated, while in the blanket region, neutron and photon spectra, (n,T), and (n,2n) reaction rates are calculated and compared between models. The detector response comparisons found the following: neutron flux and (n,T) reactions achieved excellent agreement, the (n,2n) detector response had good agreement, and photon flux had regional discrepancies depending on Serpent tracking used. Hybrid tracking lead to a relative difference of about 20% in the outboard side blanket, where as employment of delta tracking resulted in less than 1% relative difference. On an HPC cluster, Serpent was found to have shorter computation time than OpenMC in neutron photon coupled simulations using both hybrid tracking and delta tracking, but longer in neutron only simulations. An exemplary radioisotope production case is presented for the demonstration of additional VNS capabilities.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2014

A Thermal Discrete Element Analysis of EU Solid Breeder Blanket subjected to Neutron Irradiation

Due to neutron irradiation, solid breeder blankets are subjected to complex thermo-mechanical conditions. Within one breeder unit, the ceramic breeder bed is composed of spherical-shaped lithium orthosilicate pebbles, and as a type of granular material, it exhibits strong coupling between temperature and stress fields. In this paper, we study these thermo-mechanical problems by developing a thermal discrete element method (Thermal-DEM). This proposed simulation tool models each individual ceramic pebble as one element and considers grain-scale thermo-mechanical interactions between elements. A small section of solid breeder pebble bed in HCPB is modelled using thousands of individual pebbles and subjected to volumetric heating profiles calculated from neutronics under ITER-relevant conditions. We consider heat transfer at the grain-scale between pebbles through both solid-to-solid contacts and the interstitial gas phase, and we calculate stresses arising from thermal expansion of pebbles. The overall effective conductivity of the bed depends on the resulting compressive stress state during the neutronic heating. The thermal-DEM method proposed in this study provides the access to the grain-scale information, which is beneficial for HCPB design and breeder material optimization, and a better understanding of overall thermo-mechanical responses of the breeder units under fusion-relevant conditions.

cond-mat.soft↗