Structural design and thermal analysis of high-performance titanium targets for compact D-D neutron generator

The titanium target is key component in accelerator-driven neutron generators. During beam injection, heat is deposited on the target surface, resulting in increasing of the surface temperature of the target. Deuterium implanted in the titanium film of the target is released significantly when the temperature exceeds 200°C. This work presents three different cooling concepts and simulations of heat load and deformation for D-D neutron generator. The heat load removal capability is improved by optimizing the structure of the coolant channel inside the target. The maximum target surface temperature was controlled at 73.7°C when the deuterium beam injection power was 600 W via a double-spiral cooling structure. It was found the thermal power transferred to the coolant increases with the coolant flow up to coolant velocity equal to 19 m/s. Moreover, the depth of the target coolant channel does not affect the heat load removal capability. Finally, a 5 × 10⁸ n/s neutron yield experiment with steady operation for 7 h was performed with the application of the double-spiral coolant structure titanium target.