Exploratory study for the production of Sc beams at the ISOL facility of MYRRHA preliminary thermal investigations

Abstract This paper reports on the start-up of an exploratory study for optimising an ISOL-target geometry towards isotopes production at driver-beam energies in the range of 100 MeV. A 1D algorithm that determines the optimal target thickness, as well as a partially algorithmic method that combines the particle-transport calculations with thermo-mechanical simulations have been developed. Further developments are planned in order to integrate an isotope-release model, as well as to provide a degree of automation, in order to facilitate optimisation. In the future this will allow easier determination of the optimal target design for the production of a specific isotope. To illustrate the optimisation process, the exploratory study for the production of scandium beams at an ISOL facility with a 100 MeV proton driver-beam is presented.