Procurement Arrangements now total 90.53% of ITER in-kind value
12 Jan 2015
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Sabina Griffith
On 15 December 2014, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima signed three Procurement Arrangements: the Electron Cyclotron Plant Controller and the Subsystem Control Unit Procurement Arrangement; the In-Vessel Viewing System Procurement Arrangement (pictured); and the Blanket Module Connector Procurement Arrangement (see next picture).
With the recent conclusion of three new Procurement Arrangements, the number of Procurement Arrangements signed with the ITER Domestic Agencies since 2007 has reached 104, representing 90.53 percent of the in-kind value of the project.
On 15 December 2014, ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima signed the Electron Cyclotron Plant Controller and the Subsystem Control Unit Procurement Arrangement. The plant controller is the master control system that will oversee the configuration and operation of the entire electron cyclotron plant, protecting the system against potentially damaging events such as loss of vacuum or arcs in the transmission lines or in the diamond windows. The plant controller is also in charge of managing the stop requests sent by ITER's central interlock system. The subsystem control unit oversees the operation and monitoring of the electron cyclotron upper launchers, implements local protection functions and interfaces with the electron cyclotron plant control system. This system will be procured by the European Domestic Agency.
The In-Vessel Viewing System Procurement Arrangement, also concluded with Europe, covers the system that will be deployed between plasma pulses (or during the shutdown of the machine) to perform visual examination and metrology of the plasma-facing components. It will be able to visualize, on demand, the whole interior surface of the vacuum vessel with a lateral resolution in the range of 1 to 3 mm and create a 3D map with a depth resolution of 0.1 to 0.5 mm. The in-vessel viewing system will allow operators to assess the effect of transient events such as disruptions or vertical displacement events; in the latter case, the system will perform the long-term assessment of the overall erosion of the blanket first wall. The in-vessel viewing system is based on the principle of laser-scanning.
The Blanket Module Connector Procurement Arrangement, signed at ITER and countersigned in Russia, covers the set of connections between the blanket modules and the vacuum vessel that will accommodate for the large electromagnetic loads and keep blanket modules from moving.
The final Procurement Arrangement, signed with Russia, covers a set of connections between the blanket modules and the vacuum vessel (Blanket Module Connectors) that will accommodate for the large electromagnetic loads expected during off-normal plasma events and keep blanket modules from moving in radial, poloidal and toroidal directions. The 1,760 connectors will be produced in Russia out of extra high tensile steel.
A complementary diagnostic arrangement (CDP) was also signed with Russia for the Vertical Neutron Camera, a diagnostic system that will enable—through the direct measurement of neutrons during operation—to demonstrate the achievement of fusion on a reactor scale.
All Procurement Arrangements have been countersigned by the respective Domestic Agencies.