Theoretical development of alternative neutron armoring materials in nuclear reactors

With the increase in the world population and developing technology, the need for energy is increasing day by day. In order to close this energy gap, new energy sources need to be focused on, thought about and alternatives should be put into use quickly. Nuclear energy is one of the most important candidates to close this gap. Scientists agree that most of the energy needs will be met in the future with the energy to be obtained from fusion reactors, which is one of the promising types of nuclear energy applications. However, there are some problems that prevent the widespread use of fusion reactors. One of these problems is that the fusion reactor primary wall and building materials start to become radioactive and become damaged due to the neutrons released as a result of the D-T reaction. For this reason, it is necessary to replace the fusion reactor wall after a certain time. Therefore, the design and development of fusion reactors and power plants is required. In this context, material development studies are of great importance in fusion nuclear reactor designs. In this study, the neutron shielding capacities of F82H, JLF-1, Eurofer 97 and CLAM steel alloys, which are planned to be used in the first wall structural components of ITER fusion test reactors, and the effect of Bor (B) and Molybdenum (Mo) doping to these alloys on the neutron shielding capabilities are investigated theoretically and effectively. It is aimed to be determined by simulation methods. In addition, the results were compared with paraffin, which is widely used in neutron shielding. The neutron energies used for this purpose were chosen as 4,5 MeV and 14 MeV. While the theoretical evaluation of the samples was made by determining the effective neutron removal cross sections, the neutron shielding capabilities of the materials were determined with the GEANT4 simulation program. As a result, it was determined that the "F8Bor20 alloy" formed in this study is the most ideal material as a neutron shielding material.