Instrumentation for neutron flux and tritium production rate monitoring in the European TBM in ITER

Test blanket modules (TBMs) will be installed in the ITER with the aim to investigate the nuclear performance of different breeding blanket designs for fusion power reactors. Here, we present an overview of our ongoing work on three types of neutron flux monitors under development at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) for the TBMs. A foil activation system with pneumatic sample transport was constructed by KIT utilizing the intense DT neutron generator of Technical University of Dresden. It is used as a test bench for the development of a neutron activation system for the TBMs. Self-powered neutron detectors (SPNDs) are widely applied in fission reactor monitoring, and the commercially available SPNDs are sensitive to thermal neutrons. We are investigating novel materials for SPND which would be sensitive also to the fast neutron flux expected in the TBMs. Within the I-SMART project, funded by KIC InnoEnergy, KIT is developing an online detector based on silicon carbide electronics for the TBMs.