Subscribe options

Select your newsletters:

Please enter your email address:

@

Your email address will only be used for the purpose of sending you the ITER Organization publication(s) that you have requested. ITER Organization will not transfer your email address or other personal data to any other party or use it for commercial purposes.

If you change your mind, you can easily unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe option at the bottom of an email you've received from ITER Organization.

For more information, see our Privacy policy.

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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

  • 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 [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

Assembly Hall

One giant standing

Two identical handling tools in the Assembly Hall will play a critical role in preparing ITER's nine vacuum vessel sectors for their final journey: transport by overhead crane into the Tokamak Pit. Called the sector sub-assembly tools (SSAT) they will support a sector vertically while operations that can only take place in a spacious area—the addition of large thermal shielding sections and the attachment of a pair of D-shaped toroidal field magnets—are carried out. These tools must be commissioned before the first vacuum vessel sector arrives from Korea in early 2019.

 (Click to view larger version...)
The first tool is fully assembled on the shop floor. The 800-tonne metal structure of SSAT#1 has now been installed in the Assembly Hall. The first segments of SSAT#2 have also arrived on site, ready to be installed on the anchoring elements adjacent to the first tool. Both tools have been procured by the Korean Domestic Agency, which is in charge of the design and fabrication of over three dozen dedicated assembly tools. As part of functional tests planned on the SSAT tools, test loads of 340 tonnes (just over the weight of a toroidal field coil) will be attached to each of the lateral wings to be rotated inward.  

 (Click to view larger version...)
The sector sub-assembly tools will support charges of up to 1,200 tonnes during out-of-pit pre-assembly activities. The precise actuator system of these hydraulic-powered tools will allow components to be positioned with the highest accuracy—just 1.5 mm for the toroidal field coils that are 16 metres tall, for instance—and adjusted to six degrees of freedom (up and down, side to side, forward and backward, plus rotational directions (swivel, tilt, pivot) relative to the axes). The pre-assembly operations on the first-delivered vacuum vessel sector are expected to take the longest. With lessons learned--and two tools operating in tandem—the necessary time will be reduced significantly.


return to the latest published articles