The R&D@UCL program in support of the MYRRHA linear accelerator

The MYRRHA project, currently proposed by the SCK•CEN, aims to demonstrate the feasibility and operability of a safe and efficient transmuter, constituted of a subcritical core fed by an external neutron source obtained by a high power proton accelerator. The outstanding challenge of the MYRRHA accelerator is the design requirement of Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF), set on 250 hours. This issue concerns all the R&D activities around the MYRRHA accelerator. The current R&D program is divided in three lines of investigation.The second R&D line, named RFQ@UCL, is devoted to the injector engineering design and subsequent construction, including prototyping and feedback to design. This activity is led by SCK•CEN in collaboration with the Cyclotron Resources Center (CRC), at Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, the CNRS/IN2P3 laboratories IPN Orsay (IPNO) and LPSC Grenoble and the IAP Frankfurt laboratory. This program is in close contact with the first R&D line, the FP7 MAX program. The principal motivation of the RFQ@UCL program is the experimental address of the MYRRHA injector design. The first scope is globally oriented on the 4-rod RFQ. After successful construction and test of a short test section for thermal behavior investigation, to be conducted by IAP in the framework of MAX, the full-size 4-rod RFQ prototype is foreseen to be constructed and installed for beam tests. The initial setup includes a commercial ECR proton source, a dedicated LEBT section, a full-size 4-rod RFQ prototype, a diagnostic section and a beam dump. In a later stage the RFQ@UCL activity could be eventually extended towards the subsequent higher beam energy structures of the injector. Such an initial injector will evaluate the choice of RFQ itself, and furthermore, this test platform is capable of exploring many other critical issues in the injector design.