Heaviest convoy yet
17 Apr 2017
The triple convoy that reached ITER on Thursday 13 April was the heaviest ever organized since the beginning of "highly exceptional" deliveries in January 2015.
3:00 a.m. on Thursday 13 April at the entrance of the ITER site: two transformers from China and a helium tank from Europe have reached their new home.
Two 278-tonne electrical transformers and one 150-tonne helium tank were delivered in a three-trailer convoy that travelled at night.
The two mammoth transformers are part of a set of three destined for ITER's pulsed power electrical network, responsible for delivering DC current for plasma operations (power injection into the magnets, plasma heating ...). One of the transformers was delivered last June and has been installed in its permanent position on the platform; transformer "bays" have been created to receive the two others.
With a total load in excess of 700 tonnes, the triple convoy was the heaviest since the transport of exceptional loads began in January 2015.
The helium tank is part of Europe's contribution to the ITER cryoplant. The tank will be installed vertically in the exterior storage area of the cryoplant zone, along with five other similar containers (see a schematic of the area here). The six-tank set, each holding 400 cubic metres of gas, will act as a buffer to keep the gas/liquid balance in the cryogenic system, and store the helium inventory when the Tokamak is in shutdown or in case of a magnet quench.