The preparation of the Shutdown Dose Rate experiment for the next JET Deuterium-Tritium campaign

Abstract

The assessment of the Shutdown Dose Rate (SDR) due to neutron activation is a major safety issue for fusion devices and in the last decade several benchmark experiments have been conducted at JET during Deuterium-Deuterium experiments for the validation of the numerical tools used in ITER nuclear analyses. The future Deuterium-Tritium campaign at JET (DTE2) will provide a unique opportunity to validate the codes under ITER-relevant conditions through the comparison between numerical predictions and measured quantities (C/E). For this purpose, a novel SDR experiment, described in the present work, is in preparation in the frame of the WPJET3-NEXP subproject within EUROfusion Consortium. The experimental setup has been accurately designed to reduce measurement uncertainties; spherical air-vented ionization chambers (ICs) will be used for on-line ex-vessel decay gamma dose measurements during JET shutdown following DT operations and activation foils have been selected for measuring the neutron fluence near ICs during operations. Active dosimeters (based on ICs) have been calibrated over a broad energy range (from about 30keV to 1.3 MeV) with X and gamma reference beam qualities. Neutron irradiation tests confirmed the capability of active dosimeters of performing on-line decay gamma dose rate measurements, to follow gamma dose decay at the end of neutron irradiation as well as insignificant activation of the ICs.