An operational non-destructive examination technique for ITER Divertor plasma facing components

Within the framework of the Tore Supra Tokamak upgrade, a pioneering activity around the non-destructive infrared thermography techniques has been developed at the CEA to evaluate the capability of the plasma facing components to be efficiently cooled. In 1996 an active infrared thermography test bed based on the heat transient method was developed and was used as an inspection tool in order to guarantee the actively cooled plasma facing components performances. This paper deals with the improvements carried out on this infrared thermography test bed to obtain an accurate and reliable examination of the ITER Divertor, and highlights that infrared thermography facility is now an operational test bed for the commissioning of the full-scale ITER Divertor components.