Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Energy: Fusion, ENEA develops new tool to study ITER plasma
Producing a 3D image of the neutron flux to study the characteristics of the plasma used in ITER[1], the reactor under construction in Cadarache (southern France) that aims to achieve fusion energy production in a safe and environment-friendly way, is the objective of the Radial Neutron Camera (RNC), a diagnostic tool funded by Fusion For Energy[2], which ENEA is developing as part of a consortium of European research institutes, which it coordinates with the Diagnostics Laboratory at its Frascati Research Center (Rome).
“This tool will measure in real time the spatial distribution and energy of neutrons emitted in fusion reactions, from which it will be possible to calculate the power density generated by the reactor and the temperature of the plasma, two fundamental parameters for the evaluation of the reactor performance and the control of the plasma”, explained Daniele Marocco at the Diagnostic Laboratory of the ENEA Fusion Energy Development Division.
A set of different types of detectors [3] (Figure 1) distributed inside and outside the tokamak donut will enable to conduct the measurement, intercepting the neutrons emitted by the plasma.
The diagnostics equipment, which will be installed in a vaccum vessel and placed at the outermost plasma surface (Figure 2), passed final design verification by an international team of experts and has entered the construction phase.
The Consortium is currently engaged in the design of the part of the RNC to be installed outside the vacuum vessel and will look at the central part of the plasma (Figure 3); experimental testing of prototype detectors and other components is also being carried out.
“The complex design of the Radial Neutron Camera represents a major scientific and technological challenge that requires the use of a wide range of skills, from plasma physics to shielding design, from mechanical and structural analysis to detector technology, from nuclear safety analysis to the development of innovative software for data analysis,” concluded Basilio Esposito, head of the ENEA Diagnostics Laboratory.
Notes
[1] The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is the largest international fusion project, conducted as part of a collaboration between the seven major economic powers (European Union, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States). ITER aims to demonstrate the feasibility of fusion energy production delivering the maximum scientific return in order to transition to the Demonstration Fusion Power Reactor DEMO.
[2] Organization managing the European contribution to ITER.
[3] Scintillators, synthetic diamond arrays, and uranium-238 fission chambers ( 238U )