Overview of the main challenges for the engineering design of the test facilities system of IFMIF

High intense radiation fields were demanded to IFMIF to address the lack of information on effects in materials due to radiation fields with fusion reactor features. Such intense radiation fields will also produce a number of unwanted effects in exposed materials and components. The main difficulties to achieve a reliable engineering design of the Test Facilities System during the Engineering Validation and the Engineering Design phase of IFMIF now under development are reviewed in this paper. The most challenging activities will be the design of the high flux test module, the creep fatigue test module, the test cell and the remote handling system. The intense radiation fields in the irradiation area and the high availability required for IFMIF (70%) are the main reasons for these difficulties.