Neutronic analysis for bolometers in ITER

Neutronic considerations in ITER have such importance that they drive the design of many diagnostics and components of the machine, and bolometers are not an exception. Bolometer cameras will be installed on the vacuum vessel, viewing the plasma through the gaps between blanket modules, divertor, equatorial and upper port plugs. The ITER reference bolometer sensors are of a resistive type. For this study it is assumed that they are composed of a thin silicon nitride carrier film and platinum resistors disposed in a Wheatstone bridge configuration. Their assumed radiation hardness is 0.1 dpa. Neutronic calculations were performed with the Monte Carlo program MCNP5, the FENDL 2.1 nuclear data library and the latest B-lite ITER neutronic model with the appropriate modifications using the CAD to MCNP converter MCAM. A complete characterization of the neutron fluxes in all the bolometer locations and the calculation of neutron damage were performed. Values above the failure threshold damage were obtained for some of the bolometers, leading to a complete redesign of some parts of the bolometric system in order to extend its lifetime. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.