ITER "conductor community" meets in Moscow
17 Sep 2012
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Alexander Petrov, ITER Russia
From left to right: Dmitry Kravtsov (toroidal field quality resposible officer for Russia), Vladimir Tronza (toroidalf field responsible officer for Russia), Arnaud Devred (ITER's Superconductor Systems & Auxiliaries Section Leader), Hideki Kajitani (JAEA contact for toroidal field coils), Alessandro Bonito Oliva (toroidal field responsible officer for Europe), and Arnaud Foussat (ITER Toroidal Field Coil Section Leader).
The traditional international Conductor Meeting was held in Moscow on 10-13 September, 2012. The regular meeting was attended by representatives from the ITER Organization, experts from the ITER Domestic Agencies of Europe, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and USA, as well as specialists from the Domestic Agencies' suppliers.
Such meetings are particularly important since the ITER magnetic system, with conductors forming its core, is one of the ITER Tokamak's key elements. The manufactured conductors which are designed to withstand super high current in continuous mode have to meet the ITER Organization's strict requirements.
At the moment, 10 out of the 11 conductor Procurement Agreements are either well into the production phase or are completing the qualification/pre-production phase. This is particularly true for the toroidal field conductors, where 75 percent of the required niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) strands and one-third of the cable-in-conduit conductor unit lengths have been completed. Also, a technical solution has been found for the central solenoid conductors that are being implemented by ITER's Japanese partner.
"This is a clear indication that the ITER Project is moving ahead and is able to keep schedule," said meeting Chair Arnaud Devred, ITER Superconductor Systems and Auxiliaries Section Leader.
"In spite of the difficulties of coordinating work at about 30 suppliers and six Domestic Agencies around the world," says Arnaud Devred, "the ITER conductor community has always tried to work in a cooperative and synergetic manner."
In Devred's opinion, "in spite of the difficulties of coordinating work with about 30 suppliers and six Domestic Agencies around the world, the ITER conductor community has always tried to work in a cooperative and synergetic manner, and the conductor meetings have always been a great opportunity for sharing experience and tackling difficult interface issues."
The Conductor Meeting is also an opportunity to showcase the work done in the Russian Federation and for the Domestic Agencies involved in coil procurement to visit the conductor production facility. Russia is responsible for the procurement of 22 kilometres of conductors, destined for toroidal field coils, and 11 kilometres destined for the poloidal field coils of the ITER magnet system. Toroidal field coils include more than 90 tonnes of superconducting Nb3Sn strands; poloidal field coils include 40 tonnes of niobium-titanium (Nb-Ti) strands.
Arnaud Devred praised the progress achieved by the Russian suppliers highly, saying that "The Russian Domestic Agency has now entered full toroidal field conductor and poloidal field cable production. It is a proactive partner, eager to play collectively and to assume its role within the ITER collaboration."
The next regular meeting is planned for March 2013 in Cadarache.