Vacuum vessel sector #9: moving in
Despite a complex sensor configuration that required twice as much work activity as some previous sectors, vacuum vessel sector #9 went through pre-assembly preparation in record time.
Sector #9 from Europe arrived at ITER on 6 March and was placed temporarily in a building near the Tokamak Complex so bosses, studs, clips, sensors, and cables could be welded and installed onto its inner and outer walls. This phase of preparation was completed in just over three months. For comparison, the pre-assembly preparation of vacuum vessel sector #5 (the first European sector to arrive on site) had required more than six months to complete even though there was only half as much sensor-related welding and installation to execute.
Sector #9 was transferred today to the Assembly Hall. The next step is to place the 440-tonne sector in the upending tool before transferring it—in a vertical position—to a sector sub-assembly tool where will be transformed into a “sector module” through the addition of toroidal field coils, thermal shield panels, and other components.
