System for temperature and power flux measurements on the RFX first wall

A thermal imaging system has been installed on the RFX at Consorzio RFX to investigate the phenomenology of the plasma wall interactions. The infrared camera, model Amber AE4128, is based on a 128 x 128 InSb focal plane array detector and operates in the range of 4.5 - 5 mm with an acquisition rate of 217 Hz and 12 bit of dynamic range. The system, absolutely calibrated, i s sensitive from room temperature up to 3000 degrees C, with different setu ps. The experimental data are compared with the numerical results obtained by means of transient thermal analyses carried out on analytical and finite element models of a graphite tile. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(99)61001- 2].