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3.3.2.1 The MEGAPIE project [40]
MEGAPIE is an international (CEA, PSI, FZK, CNRS France, ENEA, SCK•CEN. JAERI will
join soon) experiment to be carried out in the SINQ target location at the Paul Scherrer Institute in
Switzerland and aims at demonstrating the safe operation of a liquid metal target at a beam power in
the region of 1 MW. The minimum design service life will be 1 year (6 000 mAh).
The target material will be the PbBi eutectic mixture. Existing facilities and equipment at PSI will
be used to the largest possible extent. In fact, the MEGAPIE target will be used in the existing target
block of SINQ.
A vertical cut through this target block and parts of the proton beam line is shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Vertical cut through the target block
and part of the proton beam transport line of SINQ
The target’s outer dimensions must be such that it fits into the target position of the SINQ facility,
the existing target exchange flask including its contamination protection devices and the existing
target storage positions.
The target will be designed for 1 MW of beam power at a proton energy of 575 MeV, i.e. a total
beam current of ip = 1.74 mA.
It is also important to realise that the stability of beam delivery cannot be guaranteed at all times.
The MEGAPIE heat removal system must be able to cope with frequent short beam trips and
occasional unstable operation i.e. up to days long shutdown periods.
A sketch of the MEGAPIE spallation target is given in Figure 6.
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