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

  • Deputy Director-General | Yutaka Kamada, Science & Technology

    In his late childhood and early teens, Yutaka Kamada developed two passions: one for growing cactus, the other for fusion energy. Half a century later, his [...]

    Read more

  • Images of the week | Yet another magnet feeder from China

    This in-cryostat feeder will supply electrical power and cryogenic fluids to some of the top correction coils of the ITER machine. ITER will rely on 31 mag [...]

    Read more

  • Gyrotrons | India successfully demonstrates ITER power and pulse requirements

    As a part of its in-kind commitments to the project, ITER India will deliver two radio-frequency-based power sources (or 'gyrotrons") with state-of-the-art [...]

    Read more

  • Neutral beam power supply | Lightning-power voltage

    In January 2021, preparatory works began for the construction of two large buildings designed to accommodate a unique set of electrical equipment. A little more [...]

    Read more

  • MITICA | Cryopump passes site acceptance tests

    Cryopumps, which play an essential role in ITER, are not what one has in mind when picturing a pump. A conventional pump creates negative pressure to suck in fl [...]

    Read more

Of Interest

See archived entries

ITER NEWSLINE -

Lower cylinder

Sealed away in its cocoon

To make room in the Cryostat Workshop for the assembly of the upper cylinder, contractors are preparing the completed lower cylinder for storage outside on the platform. The process involves reams of synthetic "cocooning" material and sprayable glue.
 
Destined for open-air storage. The cryostat lower cylinder will be protected from weather, moisture and dust by the synthetic skin of the ''cocoon.'' (Click to view larger version...)
Destined for open-air storage. The cryostat lower cylinder will be protected from weather, moisture and dust by the synthetic skin of the ''cocoon.''
The "mothballing" technique for the lower cylinder is designed and implemented by Cocoon Holland, a specialist in weatherproof storage solutions.
 
Mid-April, the mega-doors of the Cryostat Workshop will open to allow the lower cylinder to be removed on a self-propelled modular transporter. The 375-tonne component will be dressed all in white for the occasion, wrapped in layers of synthetic thermoplastic material that are "melted" together through the application of sprayable glue.
 
The synthetic skin that is formed seals the lower cylinder hermetically and protects it from weather, moisture and dust. Inside of the cocoon, the enclosed air is kept constantly circulating and humidity is maintained at a steady 38 percent—conditions that prevent the formation of corrosion or mould.
 
The component will travel only a few dozen metres to a storage zone to the north of the Workshop. The transport path has been reinforced with airport-grade paving materials that can withstand pressures of up to 20 tonnes per cubic metre and large turning loads.

return to the latest published articles