Nuclear heating experiments for the validation of fusion reactor shielding performance

Nuclear heating experiments were performed at the 14 MeV Frascati neutron generator, with the purpose of validating the shielding performance of the International Thermonuclear Experiment Reactor (ITER) shielding system (first wall, shielding blanket and vacuum vessel). The experiments consisted of the irradiation, with 14 MeV neutrons, of large assemblies that simulated, for size and material composition, the shielding system and the toroidal field magnet. The nuclear heating was measured with different thermo-luminescent detectors, as a function of the penetration depth inside the assemblies. The experimental results obtained were compared with the same quantities calculated with the same nuclear database and code used for nuclear heating calculations in the ITER design.