Diagnostic experience during deuterium–tritium experiments in JET, techniques and measurements

During 1997 JET was operated for an extensive period using a D–T mixture (DTE1). Changes in the design and operation of diagnostic systems made over the years in preparation for this phase are described. A number of diagnostic techniques have been deployed to measure the deuterium and tritium content of the plasma during DTE1 and their results are compared. All diagnostics with a direct vacuum interface with the main vessel have been fitted with tritium compatible pumps and their exhaust gases have been re-routed to the active gas handling plant. All items on the torus which could lead to a significant leak in the event of failure, were required to have double containment. Therefore, all windows, and a majority of bellows and feedthroughs, were designed and installed with a double barrier. Heated fibre hoses were installed to transmit plasma light beyond the biological shield for spectroscopic purposes. Blind fibres and fibre loops were also installed to study the effects of higher neutron fluxes on these fibres. A radiation-hardened video camera was installed to monitor the plasma during the DTE1 discharges. Extra shielding was installed on a number of diagnostics to deal with the higher neutron fluxes during DTE1. The effect of neutron radiation on electronics in the Torus Hall was studied. During DTE1 the tritium fraction was measured at the edge and in the core using several diagnostic methods. High resolution Balmer α line spectroscopy gave a measurement typical of the plasma edge region. In the JET sub-divertor volume the tritium concentration of the neutral gas was measured using Balmer α spectroscopy of a Penning gauge discharge. Using Neutral Particle Analysis, the tritium concentration was measured typically in a zone 20–40 cm from the plasma edge. Local core measurements of the tritium fraction have been made using active Balmer α charge exchange spectroscopy. The error on this measurement is, however, large,∼30%. After the discharge the tritium fraction of the exhaust was measured using the exhaust monitoring system. Using short deuterium neutral injection pulses allowed neutron rate measurements of the tritium concentration in the core region. A further technique used the measured neutron rate and calculated neutron rate from other plasma parameters to determine the tritium concentration.