search:

Latest Issue Newsline Archive Subscribe to Newsline

16 Sep - 20 Sep, 2013

Barcelona, Spain

13 Oct - 17 Oct, 2013

Daegu, Korea

20 Oct - 26 Oct, 2013

Bejing, China

21 Oct - 25 Oct, 2013

Nice, France

27 Oct - 30 Oct, 2013

Budapest, Hungary

Japanese Divertor Qualification Prototype succeeds performance tests
-Sabina Griffith

<< return to Newsline #59
News

Mario Merola (left) and Satoshi Suzuki (right) posing behind the Japanese vertical target qualification prototype.

Prior to starting the construction of the divertor plasma-facing components, each Domestic Agency concerned must first "qualify" by demonstrating its technical capability to carry out the procurement with the required quality, and in a timely manner. This is achieved via the successful manufacturing of medium-size "Qualification Prototypes" (QPs), which are then subject to high heat flux performance tests in the electron beam facility "Tsefey-M" located at the Efremov Institute in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The QPs are about half a metre long, and include all the most technically challenging features of the corresponding ITER divertor design.

The Japanese Domestic Agency (JA DA) is allocated with the procurement of the so-called "Outer Vertical Target" component of the ITER divertor, which is the in-vessel component subject to the highest heat load. It consists of a lower straight part, faced with carbon monoblocks, an upper curved part with tungsten monoblocks, and a steel support structure.

As planned, the Japanese Prototype has completed its performance tests in November 2008, after 1000 cycles at 3 MW/m2, plus 1000 cycles at 5 MW/m2 on the tungsten armoured region and 1000 cycles at 10 MW/m2, plus 1000 cycles at 20 MW/m2 on the carbon part. This latter result, represents a number of cycles, which is more than three times higher than the design target of 300 cycles.

In a letter to his Japanese counterpart Satoshi Suzuki, the IO Divertor Section Leader, Mario Merola, congratulated Suzuki and his team "as well as the involved industry for this important achievement and for the dedicated great effort, which was instrumental in making this goal a reality". "This is a very important accomplishment for the project" remarked Gary Johnson, ITER Deputy Director-General responsible for the Tokamak.

The comment of Masato Akiba, Head of the Division of Fusion Energy Technology at the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency was particularly touching. "From the bottom of my heart, as former group leader of the ITER divertor in JAEA, I would like to express my deep appreciation to all the concerned ITER Colleagues as well as the Russian Colleagues. I believe that we, the ITER Organization and all Parties, are an excellent Team, and today's success has been achieved by the results of this "Team", not only by the JA DA".

The start of the construction of the ITER divertor is planned early next year and is due to be completed in 2016.

<< return to Newsline #59