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Latest ITER Newsline

  • Industrial milestone | First cryopump passes all tests

    The serial production of ITER's powerful torus and cryostat cryopumps is progressing at Research Instruments, Germany, on behalf of the European Domestic Agency [...]

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  • Cryoline installation | Ball joints against earthquakes

    In order to reach clients inside the Tokamak Building, cooling fluids produced by the ITER cryoplant flow through many kilometres of highly sophisticated p [...]

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  • The changing fusion landscape | ITER hosting private sector workshop

    Take out your smart phone and search your favourite news site for 'nuclear fusion' or 'fusion energy.' On any given day, you will find articles discussing break [...]

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  • Image of the Week | Advisory committee season

    The 30th Meeting of the ITER Council Science and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC-30) took place at ITER Headquarters from 13 to 16 May. The Science and Tech [...]

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  • ITER Design Handbook | Preserving the vital legacy of ITER

    The contributions that ITER is making to fusion physics and engineering—through decades of decisions and implementation—are delivering insights to the fusion co [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Cryodistribution

One more link in the chain

Providing cryogenic fluids to the superconducting magnets, cryopumps and other "clients" in the ITER machine requires a sophisticated distribution system that ramifies to deliver the cryoplant-originating fluids to their final destinations. Last week, three of the key distribution components, the auxiliary cold boxes, were lifted from the Assembly Hall and positioned inside the Tokamak Building prior to their final installation.

The first of the five auxiliary cold boxes required to distribute cooling fluids to different ''clients'' inside the machine was transferred to the Tokamak Building on 1 December. (Click to view larger version...)
The first of the five auxiliary cold boxes required to distribute cooling fluids to different ''clients'' inside the machine was transferred to the Tokamak Building on 1 December.
There will be a sum total of five auxiliary cold boxes, all located at Level 3 of the Tokamak Building. Procured by India and designed and manufactured by Linde Kryotechnik AG in Switzerland, the 28-tonne components act like dispatchers, receiving the different fluids from the cryogenic termination cold box located inside the cryoplant and redistributing them throughout the ITER machine. Three have now been delivered; two others are expected next year.

Pending their final installation, three auxiliary cold boxes are now pre-positioned in the gallery at Level 3 of the Tokamak Building. (Click to view larger version...)
Pending their final installation, three auxiliary cold boxes are now pre-positioned in the gallery at Level 3 of the Tokamak Building.
Each of the auxiliary cold boxes serves a specific client, either cryopumps, magnet coils (toroidal field, central solenoid, poloidal field or correction), or magnet supporting structures. Looking like giant cylindrical boilers, the auxiliary cold boxes accommodate a complex network of piping, valves, cryogenic rotating machines, liquid helium phase separators and heat exchangers.

Last week's operation marked an important milestone in the linking of the cryoplant to the Tokamak Building. From producer to consumer, by way of the cryogenic termination cold box and a pair of massive cryolines that will transport the cryogenic fluids over a bridge connecting the two buildings, circuit installation is now progressing steadily.

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