An Innovative Target for the RACE HP Experiment

In the RACE (reactor-accelerator coupling experiments) project, a series of ADS (accelerator driven system) experiments are envisaged for the study of the coupling of a neutron source with sub-critical reactors. In these experiments, a continuous electron beam impacts on an actively cooled solid target where it is converted through photonuclear reactions in a neutron flux, able to feed the reactor. In a RACE foreseen 'high power' phase, where the beam power would be enhanced from 1 to about 30 kW, the target would be submitted to very severe conditions both from the mechanical and the thermal points of view. In this paper, the development of a new concept of uranium target is described with detailed neutron production analyses, power deposition distributions, thermo-mechanical simulations and cooling schemes. Two possible solutions are envisaged in order to control the power deposition distribution.