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Repaired thermal shield elements leave Indian facility
5 Feb 2024
Three panels from the vacuum vessel thermal shield sets that were sent to India for repair are now heading back to ITER to be reassembled.
Three repaired panels of vacuum vessel thermal shield left the INOX-CVA facility in Vadodara (India) on 3 February. The load is scheduled to ship on 8 February.
At the INOX-CVA facility in Vadodara (Gujarat), cooling pipes were removed from the panels, the pipe path was machined, and new piping was welded to the surface. It takes approximately eight months to complete repairs on one set of vacuum vessel thermal shield—an "assembly unit" consisting of one inboard and two outboard segments. After placing a contract in June 2023 for the repair of two sets, a contract was placed in December 2023 for three additional sets to be sent to INOX-CVA for repair.