Long-term performance of neutron detectors during deuterium{endash}tritium operation in the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1999 · Review of Scientific Instruments

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1149465· OSTI ID:295682

Jassby, D L ^[1]; Barnes, C W ^[2]; Bitter, M; Johnson, L C; Lemunyan, G; Roquemore, A L; von Goeler, S ^[3]

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1. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton, New Jersey 08543 (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States)
3. Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton , New Jersey 08543 (United States)

During its tritium campaign the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor produced more than 750 deuterium{endash}tritium (D{endash}T) shots involving at least one tritium neutral beam, and some 20thinsp000 shots with D beams and no T beams. A calibrated system of four fission chambers and two Si surface barrier threshold detectors (SBDs) monitored the fusion neutron production rate in all these shots, while elemental activation foils measured total yields, {ital Y}, on more than 300 D{endash}T shots. The baseline fission-detector current and log-Campbell modes had stable detection efficiencies throughout the D{endash}T campaign, but there were several cross-calibration corrections as large as 10{percent} to the efficiencies of the count-rate and log-Campbell modes of some backup fission chambers and of the collimated SBD detector. For Y{gt}3{times}10{sup 16} neutrons per shot, the ratio of fission-chamber and SBD yields to activation yields varied between 0.88 and 1.1, with an average value of 0.96{endash}0.99 that was fairly constant throughout the D{endash}T period. All detectors and electronics performed reliably in the radiation field except for the uncollimated SBD detector, which had to be replaced periodically because of radiation damage. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Institute of Physics.}

• OSTI ID: 295682
• Report Number(s): CONF-980605--
• Journal Information: Review of Scientific Instruments, Journal Name: Review of Scientific Instruments Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 70; ISSN 0034-6748; ISSN RSINAK
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CALIBRATION
DEUTERIUM
NEUTRON DETECTION
NEUTRON DETECTORS
PERFORMANCE
PLASMA DIAGNOSTICS
TFTR TOKAMAK
TOKAMAK DEVICES
TRITIUM