First IR images from plasma facing components inside nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in France are acquired using advanced infrared endoscope cameras
The French Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) has released the first images from a network of twelve advanced IR cameras supplied by Cedip Infrared Systems for the observation of the plasma facing components in the Tore Supra nuclear fusion reactor.
The Tore Supra Tokamak reactor, based on the Cadarache site near Aix en Provence, provides leading-edge facilities in the field of nuclear fusion research.
Initial published results illustrate the spectral distribution of measured energy at different points within the reactor, and high-resolution IR images demonstrating the integrity status of critical components such as the torroidal limiter.
Based upon Cedip's advanced Jade infrared technology, the observation of the inner wall of the reactor is made through IR endoscopes connected to cameras located in a remote compartment of the reactor.
Each endoscope in the installation observes a different region of the reactor and the thermal protection inside it.
The plasma facing components within the reactor are subjected to a tempeature that can range from 100C to 1500C.
To provide a working solution Cedip developed its Jade infrared camera technology such that it would operate in a strong magnetic field and provide data across the full temperature scale in a single range, because there was no time to switch between measurement ranges as the temperature increases. Accommodating the core detector and processing electronics in a low carbon steel to shield the internal camera parts from the magnetic field, the Agathe system is now demonstrating the leading edge thermal sensitivity, wide dynamic range, and high speed image acquisition to operate in the harsh internal environment of a nuclear fusion reactor.
The original contract was awarded to Cedip through an international call for tenders, where all the major manufacturers of infrared systems were bidding.
