A Multichannel Neutron Collimator for the ITER Tokamak

A concept for the multichannel neutron collimator of the ITER is presented. The design of the collimator is based on the use of a 12-collimator radial neutron camera that was developed earlier and two complementary compact neutron cameras. It is proposed that the compact neutron cameras be placed inside the shielding blocks located in the equatorial (nine collimators) and diverter diagnostic (seven collimators) ITER ports. The plasma would thereby be fully covered in the vertical direction, and the total number of collimator channels would be 21 (12 channels in the radial camera and nine channels in the compact camera). The collimator length and diameters, as well as the optimal materials for the shielding blocks and the inner walls of the collimators, were determined using the MCNP code. It is shown by simulation that, for an adequate collimation of neutron fluxes to be achieved, the collimators should be 1.0–1.5 m long, have an i.d. of 4–5 cm, and be enclosed in a water–iron shielding. It is proposed that threshold fission chambers based on ²³⁸U and natural- and CVD-diamond detectors be used as the sensors. The computations are presented to demonstrate that this composition and arrangement of the channels in the radial and compact cameras makes it possible to measure the two-dimensional spatial distribution of the neutron source and the total thermonuclear power to an accuracy of 10%.     

SANS准直器的蒙特卡罗模拟

本文采用基于蒙特卡罗方法的谱仪设计软件VITESS,对中子小角散射谱仪上三种不同形状的准直器进行了模拟。比较了这三种不同准直器在输入条件相同的情况下,它们出口处的中子注量率、水平面和竖直面的中子角分布。通过分析,采用具有超镜因子m=1．5的bender类型的准直器可以获得较高的中子注量率,但是其水平面角分布相对其它两种稍微偏大。这为中子小角散射谱仪设计中准直器的选择提供了一个参考。     

A conceptual project for a divertor monitor of the neutron yield in the ITER

The operating conditions of a neutron diagnostic system responsible for measuring the neutron yield in the ITER tokamak reactor are analyzed. Based on results of physical calculations and analysis of suitable methods for measuring the neutron yield, an original concept of a system for measuring neutron fluxed in the divertor zone of the ITER is proposed. The design for the neutron flux monitor located in the divertor zone of the tokamak is selected in view of the requirements specified for the neutron diagnostic system of the ITER and its operating conditions. Four fission chambers with different sensitivities and radiator materials are used as sensitive elements of the monitor. This system is capable of measuring neutron fluxes over the entire dynamic range of the neutron yield in the ITER with an error of ≤10% and a time resolution of 1 ms that are necessary for studying the physical mechanism of thermonuclear plasma ignition and burning. Several possible variants for housing the detector unit inside the divertor assembly and integrating it in the existing project are proposed. The problems of carrying out efficiency calibration of the divertor neutron monitor with the aim of determining the absolute value of the neutron yield in the ITER tokamak reactor are discussed.     

Relationship between neutron yield rate of tokamak plasmas and spectrometer measured flux for different sight lines

A parametric relationship between total neutron yield rate and collimated fluxes related to the brightness (B) of plasma chords (λ) is developed for different emissivity distributions of tokamak plasmas. Specifically, the brightness was expressed as a function of chord coordinates of radial position using a simple model for the emissivity profiles of width parameter w. The functional brightness dependence B(λ,w) was calculated to examine the relationship between measured flux and deduced yield rate, and its plasma profile dependence. The results were used to determine the chord range of minimum profile sensitivity in order to identify the preferred collimator sight for the determination of yield rate from neutron emission spectroscopy (YNES) measurements. The YNES method is discussed in comparison to conventional methods to determine the total neutron yield rates and related plasma fusion power relying on uncollimated flux measurements and a different calibration base for the flux-yield relationship. The results have a special bearing for tokamaks operating with both deuterium and deuterium-tritium plasmas and future high power machines such as for ITER, DEMO, and IGNITOR.     

Radiation Hardness of a Fast Neutron Scintillation Spectrometer with a Stilbene Crystal

Neutron detectors with organic oscillators such as stilbene crystals are suggested for use in measuring the characteristics of neutron radiation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). These detectors will be used as neutron-flux monitors in a multichannel neutron collimator for obtaining the spatial characteristics of a plasma source of thermonuclear neutrons with a 1-ms temporal resolution. In addition, operation in the spectrometric mode will ensure the measurement of the thermonuclear-neutron energy spectrum, which yields data on the fusion-plasma temperature and the ratio of the deuterium and tritium concentrations. During the operation of the facility, the detectors will be exposed to irradiation with a large fluence of fast neutrons. The first results obtained in studies of the characteristics of a stilbene crystal irradiated by fast neutrons with a fluence of up to 10¹⁴ neutrons/cm² are presented.     

Neutron analysis of the ITER vertical neutron camera

The neutron fields in the collimators of a new design for the vertical neutron camera (VNC) of the ITER have been calculated for a standard isotropic bulk DT neutron source. The neutron and gamma-ray spectra and flux densities at the neutron detector sites have been calculated. The signal-to-background ratio of VNC detectors (²³⁸U-based fission chambers and diamond detectors) has been estimated. The signal-to-background ratios versus the threshold energy were calculated for the diamond detectors operating in the threshold counter mode. The effect of background Γ-ray radiation on the performance of the diamond detectors in the VNC environment has been estimated. The radiation heating of the VNC structural components has been calculated. The serviceability of the VNC with the proposed design has been demonstrated.     

Neutron Spectrum Measurements in the Vertical Channel of the IR-8 Research Reactor

Experimental results of neutron spectrum and neutron flux measurements in a dry vertical channel of the IR-8 research nuclear reactor at the Kurchatov Institute Russian Research Center are presented. The data were obtained using five sets of various activation detectors. The spectrum was reconstructed using the KASKAD computational program used in the method of integral neutron detectors. The results obtained make it possible to optimally plan the experiments on the irradiation and study of the radiation stability of various elements of the diagnostic systems of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in the new irradiation channel of the IR-8 research reactor.     

Testing the neutron attenuator based on <Superscript>6</Superscript>LiH for γ-ray diagnostics of plasmas in the JET tokamak

A ⁶LiH attenuator of a neutron flux incident on a detector is used to reduce the γ-ray background induced by neutrons in the detector material. This attenuator has been tested during experiments with deuterium (DD) plasmas on the JET tokamak. A specimen of the neutron attenuator with dimensions of ?30 × 300 mm has been developed by the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute and inserted into a vertical collimator used for γ spectrometry of plasmas. To compare γ-ray spectra recorded with and without the ⁶LiH attenuator being mounted, identical discharges with heating of the DD plasma by a neutral particle beam have been selected. For γ rays with energies of <3 MeV, which are induced by neutrons in the detector material, the suppression factor is found to be ～100. A low attenuation (～2) observed at energies of >3 MeV can be attributed to the transparency of the ⁶LiH attenuator for γ rays. This portion of the spectrum is due to γ radiation of the plasma and γ rays induced by neutrons in the constructional materials of the tokamak. To estimate the efficiency of the ⁶LiH attenuators as a mandatory component of the ITER γ-ray diagnostic system, it is necessary that measurements be taken in deuterium-tritium (DT) discharges.     

Irradiation tests of ITER candidate Hall sensors using two types of neutron spectra

We report on irradiation tests of InSb based Hall sensors at two irradiation facilities with two distinct types of neutron spectra. One was a fission reactor neutron spectrum with a significant presence of thermal neutrons, while another one was purely fast neutron field. Total neutron fluence of the order of 10(16)?cm(-2) was accumulated in both cases, leading to significant drop of Hall sensor sensitivity in case of fission reactor spectrum, while stable performance was observed at purely fast neutron spectrum. This finding suggests that performance of this particular type of Hall sensors is governed dominantly by transmutation. Additionally, it further stresses the need to test ITER candidate Hall sensors under neutron flux with ITER relevant spectrum.     

Pulse-signal digitizer for high-temperature plasma diagnostic systems

A pulse-signal digitizer for laser, neutron, and gamma diagnostics of high-temperature plasma at the GOL-3 and GDL (Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences) is described. The architecture of a two-channel 12-bit ADC12500PXIe digitizer with a sampling rate of 500MHz, a PXI Express interface, and a built-in reconfigurable digital signal processing unit is described. The results of ADC12500PXIe metrological tests are presented: its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), jitter, effective number of bits, and differential and integral nonlinearities are shown. The high-temperature plasma diagnostic systems based on ADC12500PXIe are considered. The structure of the digital signal processing unit that was modified for a prototype of the ITER vertical neutron camera (Cadarache, France) is described.     

A comparative analysis of the sensitivity of CsI (Tl), ZnO(Ga), and YAG(Ce) scintillators to the plasma background radiation under operating conditions of the ITER tokamak reactor

Problems related to neutral particle flux measurements on the ITER tokamak reactor under intense plasma background radiation conditions are considered. The results of measuring a background sensitivity with respect to neutron and γ-radiation for the scintillation detector, which is based on three different crystals (CsI (Tl), ZnO(Ga), and YAG(Ce)), are presented. The scintillators are compared and conclusions about the possibility of their applications in detectors of neutral particle analyzers currently created at the Ioffe Institute for the ITER tokamak reactor, are drawn.     

Strategy for the absolute neutron emission measurement on ITER

Accuracy of 10% is demanded to the absolute fusion measurement on ITER. To achieve this accuracy, a functional combination of several types of neutron measurement subsystem, cross calibration among them, and in situ calibration are needed. Neutron transport calculation shows the suitable calibration source is a DT/DD neutron generator of source strength higher than 10(10)?n/s (neutron/second) for DT and 10(8)?n/s for DD. It will take eight weeks at the minimum with this source to calibrate flux monitors, profile monitors, and the activation system.     

Neutron spectroscopy results of JET high-performance plasmas and extrapolations to DT performance

In a fusion reactor with high energy gain, the fusion power will be mainly thermonuclear (THN). Measurements of the THN neutron rate are a good performance indicator of a fusion plasma, requiring neutron emission spectroscopy (NES) measurements to distinguish thermal and nonthermal contributions. We report here on recent NES results from JET high-performance plasmas with high fractions (about 65%) of THN emission. The analysis is made with a framework for analyzing NES data, taking into account THN reactions and beam-target reactions. The results are used to extrapolate to the equivalent DT rates. Finally, we discuss the applicability of using NES in the deuterium phase of ITER, both for the extrapolations to ITER’s future DT performance as well as for the measurements of confined energetic ions.     

Construction and testing of the instrument for neutron holographic study at the Budapest Research Reactor

Neutron scattering device dedicated to neutron holography experiments is described. The device is operating at a constant wavelength prepared by a double focusing monochromator. It is equipped by highly efficient shielding, proper collimator, Eulerian cradle, monitor detector, gamma-ray, and neutron detectors as well. Relevant software serves as control for the measurement and data collection. The harmonized application of the components enumerated above makes our device extremely efficient and unparalleled. Two atomic resolution neutron holographic experiments carried out illustrate the efficiency and power of the instrument.     

Neutron spectroscopy as a fuel ion ratio diagnostic: lessons from JET and prospects for ITER

The determination of the fuel ion ratio n(t)/n(d) in ITER is required at a precision of 20%, time resolution of 100 ms, spatial resolution of a/10, and over a range of 0.016?keV and for n(T)/n(D)<0.6. A crucial issue is the signal-to-background situation in the measurement of the weak 2.5 MeV emission from DD reactions in the presence of a background of scattered 14 MeV DT neutrons. Important experimental input and corroboration for this assessment are presented from the time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at JET where the presence of a strong component of backscattered neutrons is observed. Neutron emission components on ITER due to beam-thermal and tritium-tritium reactions can further enhance the prospects for NES.     

The development of Campbell integration system applied in high particle flux measurement

Campbell Mode is a method widely used in nuclear signal processing. In this article, we introduce the design of the new system based on the Campbell integration measurement applied in NFM (neutron flux measurement) systems for ITER plasma diagnose. In this article, we introduce a digital particle flux measurement system based on Campbell integration theory. A subsequent series of experiment are conducted to test the digital Campbell system performance, which proves that the Campbell integration system is competent for the plasma diagnose in ITER.     

Diagnostics of the ITER neutral beam test facility

The ITER heating neutral beam (HNB) injector, based on negative ions accelerated at 1 MV, will be tested and optimized in the SPIDER source and MITICA full injector prototypes, using a set of diagnostics not available on the ITER HNB. The RF source, where the H(-)∕D(-) production is enhanced by cesium evaporation, will be monitored with thermocouples, electrostatic probes, optical emission spectroscopy, cavity ring down, and laser absorption spectroscopy. The beam is analyzed by cooling water calorimetry, a short pulse instrumented calorimeter, beam emission spectroscopy, visible tomography, and neutron imaging. Design of the diagnostic systems is presented.     

Effect of neutron irradiation on the electrodes of a vacuum photoemission detector

The effect of neutron irradiation on Ta-Be photocathodes of a vacuum photoemission detector (VPD) has been investigated. The VPD has been designed for tomography of plasmas using thermal X-ray radiation on the ITER international tokamak reactor. The exposure of VPD electrode samples to neutrons with a fluence of 1.6 × 10¹⁹ neutrons/cm² (E > 0.1 MeV) is shown to change the relative concentration of Ta and Be in the surface layer. As a result, the detector sensitivity in the DT operating mode of the ITER is inevitably altered. Some recommendations concerning selection of materials for the VPD electrodes are presented. The conclusion is drawn that sputtering by thermonuclear neutrons in the ITER may lead to deposition of a conductive film on the insulator surface and that a special shape of insulators must be therefore used to avoid formation of such a coating.     

ITER中子屏蔽横块的模态分析与谱分析研究

为避免真空室屏蔽层受地震的影响,根据ITER中子屏蔽层结构对其中子屏蔽单元模块进行了单点响应谱分析,将中子屏蔽结构的模态分析结果与法国某地的加速度谱进行了模态叠加。分析发现,应力极值在许可应力范围之内。     

A Vacuum Photoemission Detector for X-ray Tomography on the ITER Facility

A vacuum photoemission detector designed for plasma tomography in X rays on the ITER facility is described. Such detectors allow X rays to be detected in the presence of intense neutron and -photon fluxes. The results of tests of a prototype of this detector on a ⁶⁰Co source of rays, its calibration using radiation from an X-ray tube, and tests of its serviceability on the T-10 facility are presented. The values of the valid signal and the signal-to-noise ratio are assessed for the parameters of the ITER facility. Selecting the number of detectors and their arrangement on the ITER facility to ensure the required spatial resolution of the diagnostics is considered.