Nuclear Data for Fusion Technology, From Basic Research to Full-Scale Application

  • 1,156

    Total downloads

  • 6,898

    Total views and downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

The development of fusion technology is a worldwide R&D effort aiming at a future viable and environmentally friendly energy source. A crucial role in the development of fusion reactors belongs to neutronics, i.e. analysis related to radiation transport simulations and activation calculations for nuclear responses including heating, dose fields, material irradiation damage, gas production, tritium breeding, etc. Neutronics design analyses need to provide fundamental data for the nuclear design, optimization and performance evaluation comprising safety, licensing, waste management, and decommissioning issues. The availability of suitable and well-qualified computational tools and nuclear data for fusion technology applications is a pre-requisite to ensure sufficient prediction accuracy of the related analyses with provision of realistic uncertainties. Nuclear loads and shielding-related requirements could pose severe demands on design and operation of many systems, structures and components in fusion reactors. This is of major importance for radiation protection and shielding applications, relevant for the respective safety cases.

High-quality fusion nuclear data development and its experimental validation covers, amongst others:

- Fundamental research in nuclear reaction theory and modelling
- High-accuracy nuclear cross section measurements
- Evaluation of cross section data libraries with the corresponding covariances
- Full-scale processing with verification and validation
- Computational benchmarking
- Integral experimental validation up to the irradiation of instrumented mock-up components

The interaction of neutrons, gamma-rays, and charged particles with matter and subsequent phenomena in irradiated materials involve several complex processes falling into the domains of nuclear reaction theory, physics of radiation effects, and material science.

This Research Topic addresses open issues in the area of nuclear data for fusion technology, specifically for its application to neutronics design analyses for the ITER fusion device, the European DEMO fusion reactor, and the IFMIF-DONES irradiation facility which require high-quality cross-section data for reactions induced by neutrons and deuterons in the energy range up to ~50 MeV. Despite the TENDL evaluated nuclear data library, based on the output of the TALYS nuclear model code system, has gained a world-wide use in both basic research and applications including nuclear fusion technology, a need of its further improvement has recently been pointed out. Furthermore, in comparison to fission applications, both the energy range and the diversity of nuclear data for fusion technologies are by far broader. Specific nuclear data evaluations are requested to improve the TENDL files based to a large extent on automated calculations with the TALYS code using default nuclear models and parameters. So far, theoretical models are not (yet) capable of accurately predicting unmeasured cross sections for an arbitrary nucleus and in a broad energy range. Instead, the models still rely on high-quality experimental data, in particular for making proper choices of the models’ free parameters. Work on evaluation pipelines incorporating the treatment of model defects and relying on reproducible workflows with automatized processing and related verification and validation benchmarks is instrumental for the generation, maintenance, and quality-assurance of large-scale nuclear data libraries. Those general-purpose libraries are utilized to derive application-specific libraries, in particular for activation, damage and dosimetry applications with tailored verification and validation efforts.

We welcome all article types, including Original Research and Review.

Keywords: Fusion neutronics, Nuclear reactions, Cross sections, Computational benchmarking, Experimental validation, Fusion reactor design, Neutron radiation effects, Nuclear fuels, Fusion power generation, Radiation safety, Particle beams

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Participating Journals

Impact

  • 6,898Topic views
  • 4,715Article views
  • 1,156Article downloads
View impact