Manufacturing milestones in Korea
28 Mar 2016
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ITER Korea
Welding has begun in Korea on the first column segments for the 800-tonne Sector Sub-Assembly Tool.
During a recent tour of industrial contractors and sub-contractors, the head of the Korean Domestic Agency Kijung Jung and staff members were able to photograph manufacturing progress on two procurement packages that fall under Korean scope—assembly tooling and the ITER thermal shield.
The group first visited Taekyung Heavy Industry in Changwon, where manufacturing activities are underway on the Sector Sub-Assembly Tool. Six stories high, made of 800 tonnes of steel each, two Sector Sub-Assembly tools will work side by side in the ITER Assembly Building to equip the nine sectors of the vacuum vessel before their transfer to the Tokamak Pit. The contractor has finished all of the roll-bending procedures for the main columns of the first tool and has begun welding the first segments of bended rolls (pictured). Taekyung is a sub-contractor to SFA Engineering, which is main supplier of the Sector Sub-Assembly Tools.
The team from ITER Korea stands in front of a 40° sector of the ITER thermal shield. The Director of the Korean Domestic Agency, Kijung Jung, is fourth from right.
The second visit was to Sam Hong Machinery in Changwon to verify manufacturing progress on the ITER thermal shield, which will be installed between the vacuum vessel and the cryostat to minimize heat loads transferred by thermal radiation. Sam Hong Machinery, which is working under contract with the main supplier SFA, is responsible for welding, machining, silver coating and pre-assembly activities. The fabrication is progressing simultaneously on all nine 40° thermal shield sectors.
Next month, the cooling tube will be welded on the inboard section of sector #6—one of the first components of the thermal shield scheduled for delivery to ITER. A special facility has also been constructed at Sam Hong Machinery for silver coating operations. Coating baths measuring 9 x 3 x 6 metres—the largest in the world—will be used to apply low-emissivity silver coating to both sides of the shield plates. Silver coating of the first sectors will begin in November.