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

  • Image of the Week | Sector 5 is on its way

    The first vacuum vessel sector produced in Europe travelled last week between Monfalcone, Italy, and the French port of Fos-sur-Mer. The 440-tonne component had [...]

    Read more

  • Anniversary | ITER Document Management system turns 20

    Whatever its nature, every large project generates huge numbers of documents. And when project collaborators operate from different countries, as was the case f [...]

    Read more

  • Fusion world | Latvia mints a fusion-themed coin

    Last week, ITER Plant Installation Program Manager Bertrand Roques brought back a small but highly symbolic contribution to the ITER budget from a colloqui [...]

    Read more

  • Outreach | Train traveller? Meet ITER

    Anyone arriving at or leaving from the Aix-en-Provence high-speed train station this month is liable to learn a little about the ITER project, as there is hardl [...]

    Read more

  • Fusion world | Innovative approaches and how ITER can help

    More than 30 private fusion companies from around the world attended ITER's inaugural Private Sector Fusion Workshop in May 2024. Four of them participated in a [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Central solenoid

Elements of support cage arriving

ITER's six-storey-tall central magnet will require a robust support structure to make sure that it remains secure and aligned in the face of the huge forces at play in the ITER machine. The very first element of the "caging" structure has been delivered by US ITER.

A ''caging'' structure formed by upper and lower key blocks and 18-metre-tall tie plates will ensure that the central solenoid withstands the tremendous forces of the ITER machine and remains aligned and secure. (Click to view larger version...)
A ''caging'' structure formed by upper and lower key blocks and 18-metre-tall tie plates will ensure that the central solenoid withstands the tremendous forces of the ITER machine and remains aligned and secure.
The ITER central solenoid is an 18-metre-tall column at the centre of the machine, formed from six independent magnet windings stacked within a pre-compression support structure.

The different support elements provide a secure base and cage that enables the assembly to withstand thousands of tonnes of force—both pre-load, when forces are applied to the structure to keep vertical gaps and stresses from developing between the modules, and during operation in the face of the machine's internal magnetic forces.

The first six-tonne key block has reached ITER. (Click to view larger version...)
The first six-tonne key block has reached ITER.
The compression structure also ensures that the tall magnet remains aligned and secure during intensive cycling with peak fields of over 13 Tesla. The support structures must endure high mechanical stresses in the ITER environment, and resist fatigue and crack growth from cycles at cryogenic temperatures.

The supportive "cage" is formed from components made from high-strength, superaustenitic stainless steel (Nitronic 50)—tie plates that run the full height of the central solenoid assembly (9 interior and 18 exterior), which connect at top and bottom to upper and lower "key blocks" weighing up to 6 tonnes each (see image). Procurement is proceeding well in the United States, coordinated by US ITER.

The first lower key block was delivered in February to the ITER site and eight more have been shipped; all 18 upper and lower key blocks will have reached ITER before the end of the year. The fabrication of the tie plates and other support structure components—such as load distribution plates and flex brackets—is underway.

Please see the original article on the US ITER website here.

return to the latest published articles