An extensive development programme has been carried out in the EU on high heat flux components within the ITER project. In this framework, a Full Scale Vertical Target (VTFS) prototype was manufactured with all the main features of the corresponding ITER divertor design. The fatigue cycling campaign on CFC and W armoured regions, proved the capability of such a component to meet the ITER requirements in terms of heat flux performances for the vertical target. This paper discusses thermographic examination and thermal fatigue testing results obtained on this component. The study includes thermal analysis, with a tentative proposal to evaluate with finite element approach the location/size of defects and the possible propagation during fatigue cycling. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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