Daniele Aprile

Detailed design optimization of the MITICA negative ion accelerator in view of the ITER NBI

The ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (PRIMA) is presently under construction at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy). PRIMA includes two experimental devices: an ITER-size ion source with low voltage extraction, called SPIDER, and the full prototype of the whole ITER Heating Neutral Beams (HNBs), called MITICA.The purpose of MITICA is to demonstrate that all operational parameters of the ITER HNB accelerator can be experimentally achieved, thus establishing a large step forward in the performances of neutral beam injectors in comparison with the present experimental devices.The design of the MITICA extractor and accelerator grids, here described in detail, was developed using an integrated approach, taking into consideration at the same time all the relevant physics and engineering aspects. Particular care was taken also to support and validate the design on the basis of the expertise and experimental data made available by the collaborating neutral beam laboratories of CEA, IPP, CCFE, NIFS and JAEA. Considering the operational requirements and the other physics constraints of the ITER HNBs, the whole design has been thoroughly optimized and improved. Furthermore, specific innovative concepts have been introduced.

Physics design of the HNB accelerator for ITER

The physics design of the accelerator for the heating neutral beamline on ITER is now finished and this paper describes the considerations and choices which constitute the basis of this design. Equal acceleration gaps of 88 mm have been chosen to improve the voltage holding capability while keeping the beam divergence low. Kerbs (metallic plates around groups of apertures, attached to the downstream surface of the grids) are used to compensate for the beamlet–beamlet interaction and to point the beamlets in the right direction. A novel magnetic configuration is employed to compensate for the beamlet deflection caused by the electron suppression magnets in the extraction grid. A combination of long-range and short-range magnetic fields is used to reduce electron leakage between the grids and limit the transmitted electron power to below 800 kW.

Physics design of the injector source for ITER neutral beam injector (invited).

Two Neutral Beam Injectors (NBI) are foreseen to provide a substantial fraction of the heating power necessary to ignite thermonuclear fusion reactions in ITER. The development of the NBI system at unprecedented parameters (40 A of negative ion current accelerated up to 1 MV) requires the realization of a full scale prototype, to be tested and optimized at the Test Facility under construction in Padova (Italy). The beam source is the key component of the system and the design of the multi-grid accelerator is the goal of a multi-national collaborative effort. In particular, beam steering is a challenging aspect, being a tradeoff between requirements of the optics and real grids with finite thickness and thermo-mechanical constraints due to the cooling needs and the presence of permanent magnets. In the paper, a review of the accelerator physics and an overview of the whole R&D physics program aimed to the development of the injector source are presented.

A low-cost, user-friendly electroencephalographic recording system for the assessment of hepatic encephalopathy.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is useful to objectively diagnose/grade hepatic encephalopathy (HE) across its spectrum of severity. However, it requires expensive equipment, and hepatogastroenterologists are generally unfamiliar with its acquisition/interpretation. Recent technological advances have led to the development of low‐cost, user‐friendly EEG systems, allowing EEG acquisition also in settings with limited neurophysiological experience. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between EEG parameters obtained from a standard‐EEG system and from a commercial, low‐cost wireless headset (light‐EEG) in patients with cirrhosis and varying degrees of HE. Seventy‐two patients (58 males, 61 ± 9 years) underwent clinical evaluation, the Psychometric Hepatic Encephalopathy Score (PHES), and EEG recording with both systems. Automated EEG parameters were calculated on two derivations. Strong correlations were observed between automated parameters obtained from the two EEG systems. Bland and Altman analysis indicated that the two systems provided comparable automated parameters, and agreement between classifications (normal versus abnormal EEG) based on standard‐EEG and light‐EEG was good (0.6 < κ < 0.8). Automated parameters such as the mean dominant frequency obtained from the light‐EEG correlated significantly with the Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease score (r = −0.39, P < 0.05), fasting venous ammonia levels (r = −0.41, P < 0.01), and PHES (r = −0.49, P < 0.001). Finally, significant differences in light‐EEG parameters were observed in patients with varying degrees of HE. Conclusion: Reliable EEG parameters for HE diagnosing/grading can be obtained from a cheap, commercial, wireless headset; this may lead to more widespread use of this patient‐independent tool both in routine liver practice and in the research setting. (Hepatology 2016;63:1651‐1659)

Ion beam transport: modelling and experimental measurements on a large negative ion source in view of the ITER heating neutral beam

Neutral beam injectors are among the most important methods of plasma heating in magnetic confinement fusion devices. The propagation of the negative ions, prior to their conversion into neutrals, is of fundamental importance in determining the properties of the beam, such as its aiming and focusing at long-distances, so as to deposit the beam power in the proper position inside the confined plasma, as well as to avoid interaction with the material surfaces along the beam path. The final design of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam prototype has been completed at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy), in the framework of a close collaboration with European, Japanese and Indian fusion research institutes. The physical and technical rationales on which the design is based were essentially driven by numerical modelling of the relevant physical processes, and the same models and codes will be useful to design the DEMO neutral beam injector in the near future. This contribution presents a benchmark study of the codes used for this purpose, by comparing their results against the measures performed in an existing large-power device, hosted at the National Institute for Fusion Science, Japan. In particular, the negative ion formation and acceleration are investigated. A satisfactory agreement was found between codes and experiments, leading to an improved understanding of beam transport dynamics. The interpretation of the discrepancies identified in previous works, possibly related to the non-uniformity of the extracted negative ion current, is also presented.