Analysis of the diagnostic calorimeter measurements and characterisation of the particle beam of the BATMAN experiment

One of the main concerns of the modern world is energy production. As more non-renewable resources are expended, we need to research an alternative to fossil energy sources. ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) is one of the largest global project, that tackle this problem by nuclear fusion. Among the issues that need to be solved to achieve nuclear fusion, plasma heating is one of the most important. One of the systems used for this scope is a Neutral Beam Injector (NBI). To study the beam characteristics, the test facility SPIDER is under construction in Padova. One of its diagnostics is the calorimeter STRIKE, whose main components are uni-directional CFC tiles. A prototype of the ion source, BATMAN, is operating at Max-Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP, Garching bei München, Germany) and is equipped with a prototype of the calorimeter, called mini-STRIKE. The final objective is to reconstruct and characterize the energy flux impinging on a CFC tile in the BATMAN experiment. To this end, an inversion method was developed at Consorzio RFX, Padova, to obtain the two-dimensional profile of the energy flux from the corresponding temperature profile. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the applicability and calibration of the inversion method, and subsequently to use it on experimental campaigns as a means to study the beam characteristics. In Chapter 1, an overview of the energetic problem, nuclear fusion, plasma, ITER and a description of both the ion source and calorimeter are given. Chapter 2 explains the main programs used in this thesis and gives an insight on the inversion method. Chapter 3 shows the calibration procedure for the inversion methods, and the data analysis. Finally, in Chapter 4 conclusions are presented.