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News & Media

Latest ITER Newsline

  • On site | 28 who "truly shined"

    The new ITER Star Awards recognize exemplary performance and commitment. Every year, during the annual assessment campaign, ITER staff may be recognized for exe [...]

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  • MT-28 Conference | Superconducting magnets as a catalyst

    Many passers-by paused for a moment and picked up their cell phones to capture the scene. It was indeed rare to see dancers on the square outside of the Pavillo [...]

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  • Fusion world | TCV tokamak turns 30

    The Swiss TCV tokamak (for Tokamak à Configuration Variable, or 'variable configuration' tokamak) has been exploring the physics of nuclear fusion for 30 years [...]

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  • Image of the week | Port cell with a view

    A visit to ITER would not be complete without a peek into the Tokamak pit where the machine is being progressively assembled. For several years, one of the equa [...]

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  • Visit | Chinese Minister reaffirms "full support"

    ITER Director-General Pietro Barabaschi and the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology (MOST) Wang Zhigang share a common academic background. They both tra [...]

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Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

In the Tokamak's subterranean world



It's a world that evokes underground quarries, a cathedral carved out of rock, a pyramid's secret chamber... The space between the lower basement slab (B2) and the next-level slab (B1) of the Tokamak Complex is punctuated by 18 giant columns that will rise 30 metres when completed and provide structural support to the Tokamak Building.

In this cavernous space, thousands of embedded plates stud the ceiling, floor and walls like geometric constellations—these will be used to anchor the equipment that must be installed at every level of the building.

The thick walls between the massive columns will house pipe chases, and are made of extra-dense concrete that is formulated with magnetite gravel sourced in Swedish Lapland.

The only sunlight that enters this subterranean realm comes from regular double openings in the bioshield wall, reserved for the magnet feeders that will relay electrical power and cryogens to the ITER magnets.

What is today a vast open space around the Tokamak assembly arena will one day be occupied by the dense piping of the cooling water system primary circuit. Gone will be the cathedral-like space ... replaced by a forest of steel pipes and pumps.

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