Accelerator for the production of tritium (APT)

A collaborative study by Los Alamos and Brookhaven National Laboratories investigating a facility to produce tritium for the USA's defense needs indicates that a 1.6-GeV, 250-mA proton accelerator is required. A reference design of this accelerator starts with two parallel 125-keV injectors feeding the 350-MHz radio-frequency quadrupoles that funnel at 2.5-MeV into a 700-MHz drift-tube linac. This then injects at 100 MeV into a 1400-MHz side-coupled linac. The accelerator will cost about $1.2B and require 746 MW of electricity. The accelerator components, the control and diagnostics, and the accelerator facility are discussed, and design considerations are presented.<>