Tritium Monitoring in the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility

The proposed ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) is designed to operate with negative ion neutral injectors in order to provide the required beam power and efficiency. The operation of the neutral beam test bed involves the firing of a beam of deuterons into a calorimeter. The deuterons will become embedded in the calorimeter and subsequent particles can be involved in deuterium fusion reactions. There are two branches of this reaction which have approximately equal probability. These are: D + D → 3He + n D + D → 3H + p Because of this relationship, it is possible to estimate the level of tritium production accurately by measuring the neutron production. The proposed testing campaign will generate an annual tritium discharge to the atmosphere of about 246 GBq. An absolutely calibrated neutron monitor is needed for tritium accounting but difficulties arise because the neutron source is complex: it is spatially extended and varying and is anisotropic. Furthermore the material of the injector will cause significant scattering of neutrons between the source and any detector. To resolve these problems it is proposed that a set of detectors is deployed around the injector and that a neutron source be placed within the injector is used to calibrate them. Very detailed Monte-Carlo calculations have been carried out to model the neutron transport thought the NBTF. All major component of the injector have been modelled. These include the calorimeter, the residual ion dump, the neutraliser, the beam source, the HV bushing and the vacuum vessel. The spatial variation of the neutron source, based on the deuteron deposition on the calorimeter and the residual ion dump has been simulated. The effects of anisotropy and the angular dependence of the neutron energy spectrum have been included. The calculations demonstrate that such a suite of detectors can be calibrated using a 252Cf source to absolutely determine the neutron and therefore the tritium production to an accuracy of better than 10 %. A range of radiation monitoring devices and strategies are proposed in and around the facility to meet modern health and safety standards. The instrumentation for monitoring discharges to the stack and active drains, which can be met from existing commercial supplies, is described. (author)