Experimental validation of calculations of decay heat induced by 14 MeV neutron activation of ITER materials

In a D-T fusion tokamak, neutron activation of structural material will result in a source of heat from radioactive decay after shutdown of the plasma. Although relatively small, in certain postulated loss-of-cooling accidents this decay heat could drive a temperature transient of modest proportions. In safety studies of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), such accident scenarios are analysed for their possible consequences, requiring an accurate knowledge of the level and time-dependence of the decay heat in components in which it is significant. This is calculated by activation modelling using computer codes with libraries of nuclear data. This paper describes an international benchmark activity to validate several of these codes and data, using the results of direct measurements of decay heat in ITER-relevant materials after exposure to a flux of 14 MeV neutrons. The results show consistency between the codes and, when using data from the recently-compiled FENDL/A-2 activation data library, good agreement with the experiments over the time-scales of interest in ITER safety studies.