Thermo-mechanical analysis of unidirectional carbon-carbon composite for thermal imaging diagnostic of a particle beam

Unidirectional carbon fiber-carbon matrix (CFC) composite tiles can be used to diagnose the main features of a particle beam such as its power, divergence and uniformity. The diagnostic calorimeter STRIKE will be used with such an aim for the negative hydrogen ion beam produced by the ITER ion source prototype SPIDER, which is in operation at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy) since 2018. In the present work, a transient non-linear parametric finite element model developed in ANSYS and already validated on the basis of data collected in other test facilities, is used to predict the operational limits of STRIKE, i.e. at which performance (in terms of beam power, divergence and pulse duration) SPIDER may operate when the beam is dumped onto STRIKE. Powerful long lasting pulses in fact, may induce cracks in the tiles, affecting the heat transfer and thus limiting their diagnostic capability. The effects of different configurations for the STRIKE setup on the thermo-mechanical stresses are also discussed.