Acceptance criteria for the ITER divertor vertical target

In the frame of the toroidal pump limiter fabrication for Tore Supra, CEA developed a large experience of infrared test for acceptance of high heat flux components armoured with carbon fibre composite flat tiles. The test is based on a thermal transient induced by an alternative hot/cold water flow in the heat sink structure. The the surface temperature transients are compared with those of a reference element, the maximum difference for each the leading to a value called Delta T-ref_max. This method is proposed for the commissioning of plasma facing components for the ITER divertor vertical target. This paper describes the determination of the best acceptance criteria for the "monoblock" geometry of the carbon part. First, it has been shown that the location and the extension of the defects could reliably be determined by monitoring both top and lateral surfaces during the test. Second, it was possible to fix an acceptance method based on Delta T-ref_max. Samples with calibrated defects are now under fabrication to validate the results. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.