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Latest ITER Newsline

  • Tokamaks | Different approaches around the world

    Look east, look west ... tokamak projects are underway in different parts of the world. All of them are benefiting from and complementing the pioneering work al [...]

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  • Construction site | A guide to work underway

    Just like the ITER worksite, drone photography is also making progress. This view of the ITER platform is the sharpest and most detailed of all those we have pu [...]

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  • Vacuum vessel repair | A portfolio

    Whether standing vertically in the Assembly Hall or lying horizontally in the former Cryostat Workshop now assigned to component repair operations, the non-conf [...]

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  • European Physical Society | ITER presents its new plans

    The new ITER baseline and its associated research plan were presented last week at the 50th annual conference of the European Physical Society Plasma Physics Di [...]

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  • Image of the week | The platform's quasi-final appearance

    Since preparation work began in 2007 on the stretch of land that was to host the 42-hectare ITER platform, regular photographic surveys have been organized to d [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Progress on magnet supports in China

The gravity and poloidal field magnet supports, shown here, represent more than 350 tonnes of equipment. (Click to view larger version...)
The gravity and poloidal field magnet supports, shown here, represent more than 350 tonnes of equipment.
The Chinese Domestic Agency is building the full set of magnet supports for ITER, representing more than 350 tonnes of equipment. The magnet supports will support the overall tokamak gravity load of 10,000 tonnes as well as withstand the unprecedented large electromagnetic loads experienced by the magnets.

The gravity support system, attached to the base of the cryostat with 18-fold symmetry (see image), needs to accommodate local thermal shrinkage during operation of -32 mm for the toroidal field coil structure cooled to 4 K while remaining rigid against all out-of-plane bending.
 
In May, representatives of the ITER Organization and the Chinese Domestic Agency were present to witness a step forward in the preparation of a gravity support mockup test frame, which is part of the qualification phase of the Magnet Supports Procurement Arrangement.

On 20 May 2013, representatives from the ITER Organization and the Chinese Domestic Agency witnessed the installation of the gravity support mockup multi-dimensional loading frame and preparation work for further qualification tests scheduled in September at SWIP, Chengdu. (Click to view larger version...)
On 20 May 2013, representatives from the ITER Organization and the Chinese Domestic Agency witnessed the installation of the gravity support mockup multi-dimensional loading frame and preparation work for further qualification tests scheduled in September at SWIP, Chengdu.
The mockup aims to verify the reliability of design and simulate some sub-scale operation loads on the ITER gravity supports. To this aim, a true-size gravity support mockup and a multi-dimensional loading test frame system was designed by the Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP).

At the beginning of 2012, the loading frame system was fabricated by the Changchun Research Institute for Mechanical Science Co, Ltd. and pre-accepted by both the Chinese Domestic Agency and SWIP. It was delivered to SWIP in February for assembly.
 
In May 2103, the first set of Alloy 718 fasteners were released for the final gravity support mockup test installation; these had been manufactured by Guizhou Aerospace Xinli Casting & Forging Co., Ltd.

Wuhan Heavy Machinery, the main machining and welding supplier of the Chinese Domestic Agency, is currently producing prototypes of poloidal coil supports in order to optimize and qualify final manufacturing processes in the prospect of beginning series manufacturing in 2014.

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