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Thermal shield portfolio

All shine and precision

21 Jun 2021
A cluster of polished metal and silver catches the eye at the far end of the Assembly Hall, as thermal shield panels join vacuum vessel #6 inside the arms of a tall assembly tool.
Chang_Hyun_VVTS6_1a.jpg
You have to look twice to see it: the inboard thermal shield section has been clamped to vacuum vessel sector #6. Only its colour, shiny silver, permits us to distinguish it from the background grey of the vacuum vessel.
First there was a 440-tonne vacuum vessel sector, raised to vertical and inserted into the central "V" of the sector sub-assembly tool closest to the Tokamak pit (SSAT-2).

Then came the inboard panel of thermal shielding designed and built for sector #6. The inboard panel was attached to the right wing of the tool in February 2021, and rotated in towards the vertical sector in April. It has since been attached firmly with 16 clamps, married so closely to the shape of the sector that only its polished silver surface distinguishes it from the duller grey of the steel sector.

And now, two outboard thermal shield sections have been posiitoned on the wings of SSAT-2 for rotation and alignment. The operation was rehearsed earlier this year; when finished in July, vacuum vessel sector #6 will be fully cloaked in a thermal barrier that will prevent the transfer of heat from the vessel to the ultra-cold superconducting magnets.

To complete the first sector sub-assembly, two toroidal field coils must be positioned and attached. While the assembly teams work to complete the inboard and outboard assembly of the thermal shield, toroidal field coil #12 (TF12) has been positioned temporarily on the adjacent sector sub-assembly tool.

Special thanks to Chang Hyun Noh, Thermal Shield Manufacturing Engineer, for the photo coverage.

Seen from under the sector. The right and left outboard sectors are already attached on the wings of the tool; they will be rotated inward to meet and match perfectly, leaving no part of the vacuum vessel visible.
Mission accomplished. The inboard panel has been attached and the assembly tool has been removed. While one part of the team works on attaching the outboard panels, another will install helium pipes at top and bottom. The thermal shield is an actively cooled barrier between the (warm) vacuum vessel and the (cold) magnets.
An outboard section of thermal shield is visible on the lift, while (centre) the inboard section has been attached and clamped. The 440-tonne sector is supported by the tool from above; a "pedestal" also sits under the protruding vacuum vessel port at bottom right.
The thermal shield is designed to fit like a glove. Little by little, the tool introduces the inboard panel behind the vacuum vessel.
A special tool, the inboard assembly tool, is used to rotate the inboard thermal shield sector around to the vacuum vessel where it is attached with 16 clamps. The shine and reflection of the thermal shield stands out next to the grey metal of the vacuum vessel.
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