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Cryostat thermal shield | A "strong back" for a fragile component
The lower cylinder thermal shield is a large silver-plated component, circular in shape and five metres tall, which fits inside the depression in the cryostat b [...]
Diagnostic shielding | B4C ceramic bricks prove their worth
A number of materials can effectively shield diagnostic equipment from the neutron flux coming from the plasma. To find the best one, the diagnostics team at IT [...]
Image of the week | The cryostat top lid, batch after batch
Batch after batch, the elements for the top lid of the ITER cryostat keep arriving from India. As of today, 7 out of the 12 required segments have been delivere [...]
Deep inside the bowels of the Tokamak Building, the entrance to one of most spectacular rooms of the whole installation resembles that of a broom cupboard. [...]
ITER assembly | Last major assembly contract signed
One year after finalizing two major machine assembly contracts, the ITER Organization has chosen the contractors who will carry out assembly and installation ac [...]
For the past three years, the view from the top of the highest worksite crane has not changed much. Inside of the Tokamak Complex, 80 metres below, concrete galleries took shape and progressively hid the circular structure of the bioshield—but the overall pattern of volume and shape remained largely unchanged. Then, at the turn of the year, the addition of a new feature completely recomposed the landscape. With the Tokamak Building now topped by the steel structure of its crane hall, the main building on the ITER worksite is just a step away from its final aspect.
The complete crane hall structure—20 tall pillars and roof modules included—weighs approximately 2,000 tonnes. Contractors are currently installing the secondary steel structure (crossbars, etc), tightening bolts, and touching up paint.
Another three or four months and the skeleton-like steel structure, whose first elements were installed last September, will be completely covered over in the signature cladding of the ITER buildings—11,000 square metres of alternating mirror-like stainless steel and dark grey-lacquered metal.
From the outside, in conformity with the early architects' drawings, very little will distinguish the Assembly Hall from the Tokamak Building crane hall, matched as they are in height and nearly in width.
This week, European Domestic Agency contractors will begin to lay crane rails on the thick runway beams that extend past the Tokamak pit, start installing the lateral steel beams across the front of the structure (now wide open) that will permit the installation of cladding in that area, and continue the dismantling of the temporary wall that has stood for years between the Assembly Hall and the Tokamak Building. (The black tarpaulin will stay in place for now to ensure weather tightness.)
Within four weeks, a first layer of cladding should protect the entire structure. Towards the end of February, the assembly cranes will travel for the first time into the crane hall for testing and commissioning activities there.
See more information about the ongoing works in the gallery below.
