The Hot Cell Facility will be adjacent to the Tokamak Complex
The Tokamak Complex Seismic Pit to the left, 17 metres deep, and to the right, the smaller and more shallow area that will house the foundations of the Hot Cell Facility. Photo: AIF
Work continues to clear, clean, and fill the irregularities in the rock floor of the Seismic Pit. In the background—the first building on the ITER platform.
Tower cranes at each of the four corners of the Seismic Isolation Pit will be used to lower the tons of steel rebar needed for the reinforced foundations of the Tokamak Complex.
The green banks of the ITER platform, planted last year with over 3.5 tons of seeds, stand out against a grey April sky. A lone digger works to create a staircase to lead from the contractors' area below to the worksites on the platform.
Less profound than the main work site, the square area that abuts the Tokamak Complex Seismic Isolation Pit to the north is reserved for the foundations of the ITER Hot Cell Facility. Final trim blasting will be carried out in May 2011 to finalize the perimeters of this area. Photo: Altivue/Spie Batignolles
To produce the estimated 250,000 m³ of concrete necessary for the construction of the ITER facilities, a specially dedicated concrete batching plant was built on site. Here: the two mixing machines, each with four tanks. Photo: AIF
Some 360,000 tons of foundation and building will rest on the bottom of the Seismic Isolation Pit; 360,000 tons is the weight of New York's Empire State Building. Photo: F4E
Laser and land surveyor rods are used to measure the surface levelling before foundation work begins. The technique of microgravity is used to measure gravity variations in order to determine rock properties. Photo: F4E
Workers rappel down the walls of the Seismic Isolation Pit to install wire mesh along the rock face as a protective measure for those working below. The horizontal rock surface of the 90 x 130 metre Tokamak Complex Seismic Isolation Pit is as smooth as a billiard table. Photo: F4E
At the peak of ITER construction in 2014-2015, 5,000 people are expected on the ITER site, up from 1,400 in 2011. The projected rise is due to a sharp increase in the number of construction workers on the platform.
Seventeen metres below the surface of the platform
The final excavation phase now involves "milling" the rock in order to achieve a perfectly flat surface, on which to commence the construction of the lower basemat. Photo: F4E
Precise measuring instruments are used to create the level surface required for the anti-seismic installation of the Tokamak Complex. Next step: the pouring of a thin, "blinding" layer of concrete to have a perfectly smooth work surface. Photo: F4E
The rock face is draped with protective steel mesh as the last diggers, scrapers and dumpers prepare the Seismic Pit for the concrete pourers to move in. Photo: F4E
The floor of the Seismic Pit is 17 metres below the level of the platform. Ground surveys will provide information about the underlying bedrock in order to verify the assumptions used for the design of the Tokamak Complex. Photo: F4E
The Tokamak Excavation area is readied for the pouring of a thin layer of "blinding concrete" that will create the clean and flat work surface upon which to create the 1.5 metre-thick basemat. Photo: F4E
By way of radar mapping and the boring of more than 500 holes, geological surveys provided a detailed map of the substratum. Some voids were detected, the largest being a few cubic meters in volume; these small voids, or "karsts" must now be filled with concrete. Photo: F4E
Trucks move back and forth continuously between the excavation site and a rubble storage area located to the east of the ITER platform. Storing the material on site limits the amount of construction traffic on the roads closest to ITER. Photo: F4E
The walls and roof trusses of the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility go up in the distance, blurred by the dust from the excavation site. Photo: F4E
The quality of the rock substrata on the 42-hectare ITER platform has determined the exact location of the 360,000-ton Tokamak Complex. In the area of the Tokamak Building, the soil bearing capacity will be at least 100 tons per square metre. Photo: F4E
Rubble is removed and fissures, faults and karsts on the rock surface explored. With radar mapping and the boring of more than 500 holes, geological surveys provided a detailed map of the substratum. Photo: F4E
The Tokamak Building will sit 13 metres below ground and 60 metres above ground. 60 metres is the approximate height of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Photo: F4E
The concrete batching plant seen in the distance will supply the 150,000 tons of concrete necessary for the ground support structure of the Tokamak Complex (foundations and retaining wall). Photo: F4E
The Tokamak Seismic Isolation Pit will house the anti-seismic foundations of the future Tokamak Complex. Some 360,000 tons will rest on the bottom of this Pit, including the foundations, the ITER Tokamak, and Complex edifice. Photo: F4E
Excavating to 17 metres requires the removal of an estimated 210,000 cubic metres of rock and soil from the ITER platform—a feat that was accomplished in four months. Photo: F4E
Over the course of four months, 210,000 cubic metres of soil and rock are excavated from the ITER platform to form the Tokamak Complex Seismic Isolation Pit.
On the level ITER platform, the quality of the rock substrata has determined the exact location of the future 360,000 ton Tokamak Complex, where physics experiments will be conducted from 2019 forward. Photo: Altivue/AIF
From 2007-2009, work on the ITER site work was divided into two phases: the clearing of 90 hectares; and the levelling of a vast platform to house the buildings and facilites of the ITER scientific experiments. Photo: Altivue/AIF
Rising 60 metres above ground, the Tokamak Complex will house a complex array of plant systems to support the ITER Tokamak. Image credit: ITER Organization
From left to right, the Cleaning Facility, the Assembly Building (where two subassembly tools stand ready to suspend the vacuum vessel sectors) and the Tokamak Building. Image credit: ITER Organization
A vertical section of the future Tokamak Complex showing the ITER Tokamak nestled 13 metres below ground within the thick foundations of the Seismic Isolation Pit, now under construction. Image credit: ITER Organization
Big city lights or fusion facility? This illustration shows the openings and penetrations implemented in the Tokamak Complex Buildings Configuration Model. Image credit: ITER Organization (2010)
All photos are to be credited to the ITER Organization unless otherwise specified. The ITER Organization provides images and videos on its public website free of charge for educational and institutional use. An explanation of the "Terms of Use" is available for download.
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