New considerations for compact cyclotrons

A compact cyclotron built with superconducting magnets could be a transformative solution to many scientific problems facing the defense, medical, and energy industries today. This thesis discusses three potential applications of compact cyclotrons: generation of ¹³ for medical imaging, active interrogation for counter-proliferation, and fast neutron imaging for Enhanced Stockpile Surveillance (ESS). The first two applications are broadly reviewed. The ESS imaging application extends from preliminary work performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who proposed a linear accelerator-driven ²H(d,n)³He reaction, and a complex gas-handling target subsystem. Here, the entire source-side engineering is reconsidered by investigating the viability of 56 different neutron-producing reactions. It is found through Monte Carlo simulation that the ⁷Li(p,n)⁷Be reaction could improve image contrast by employing a superconducting cyclotron capable of 3.8 MeV, 414 [mu]A proton beam and liquid lithium target.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• Marshall, Eric S. (Eric Scott)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Richard C. Lanza.

• Nuclear Science and Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/76967

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/76967