Deliveries
2nd vacuum vessel sector from Korea
30 Aug 2021
One vacuum vessel sector is already positioned inside a giant sub-assembly tool, ready to be associated with two vertical coils and thermal shielding to form the first sub-assembly of the ITER Tokamak. A second sits on stillage at the other end of the Assembly Hall, still wrapped in its protective plastic sheet. The latest sector, which shipped from Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, on 24 June, was delivered to the ITER construction site in the early hours of 27 August.
Sector #1(7) shipped from Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, Korea, on 24 June, and reached Marseille's industrial harbour at Fos-sur-Mer on 5 August. The 440-tonne component was delivered to the ITER construction site in the early hours of 27 August. (Photo Emmanuel Bonici)
Called sector #1(7)*, it is the second vacuum vessel sector delivered by the Korean Domestic Agency of four that it will procure in total; two other sectors are respectively 96 percent and 89 percent complete in Korea. Five other sectors are also progressing under European responsibility. Procured from the AMW consortium (Ansaldo Nucleare, Mangiarotti, Walter Tosto, and sub-contractors), they range in completion from 72 to 94 percent.
The nine 40-degree sectors required to form the ITER toroidal chamber are largely similar, differing only in the details relevant to their position in the circular arrangement and interfacing components.
Moving the massive component and its housing, precisely positioning the transport trailer between the two rows of "elephant legs," and lowering the trailer so that the load could safely rest on stillage was a patient and delicate operation that lasted close to two hours.
"Like sector #6, delivered last year, sector #1(7) is a 'regular' sector, meaning that it interfaces with standard equatorial port plugs. This contrasts with 'irregular' sectors that interface with features such as neutral beam penetrations," explains Vacuum Vessel Section Leader Alex Martin. "The slight differences between the two sectors we have on site are in the inner rails, the triangular support, and penetrations in the lower area to meet specific interface requirements."
Like its predecessor, sector #1(7) will go through a series of operations in the Assembly Hall, such as the installation of diagnostics and instrumentation, before it is upended and moved to the sub-assembly tooling to form the second of the ITER Tokamak sub-assemblies.
* Readers will have seen this sector referred to as #7 in past articles. In fact, sectors #1 and #7 (both supplied by Korea) are nearly identical. It was decided to install Korea's second sector (#1) in the place of #7 in the assembly pit at ITER—hence the name "#1(7)"—in order to accelerate the assembly of the torus chamber. The sectors in positions #6 and #7 in the assembly pit will be the first of nine to be welded together.
Delivered on Friday 27 August, sector #1(7) was unpacked the next day. In this image, members of the vacuum vessel team are carrying out a first visual inspection prior to removing the component's protective plastic wrapping.
Chang Ho Choi, head of the Sector Modules Delivery & Assembly Division; Alex Martin, Vacuum Vessel Section Leader; and members of the vacuum vessel team celebrate the accomplishment of another major ITER milestone.
15 metres long, 10 metres wide, 9 metres high—dubbed "the garden shed," sector housing could contain one large "groundfloor" appartment and a second overhead in the garret. Sector #1(7) arrives inside the ITER Cleaning Facility on Friday 27 August.
At 600 tonnes, including housing and the transport frame, vacuum vessel sectors are among the heaviest loads to travel the ITER Itinerary.
Just over six weeks were required for sector #1(7) to travel half way around the world. Ahead, the component must still travel by road, by barge (across the inland sea of Berre) and by road again to reach the ITER site. Photo: Emmanuel Bonici
The second Korean sector left the port of Ulsan late June and arrived at the industrial port of Fos-sur-Mer on 5 August. The box may be nondescript, but the 440-tonne jewel that is travelling inside is anything but.
Sector #1(7) is very similar to the first sector that left the assembly line. With each realization, the lessons learned serve to ease the industrial steps (including final assembly and welding, achievement of tolerances, PAUT examination, and packing) for the remaining sectors.
Vacuum vessel sectors are assembled from four smaller segments. In August 2020, the four segments for sector #1 (7) were properly aligned and ready for welding on a specially designed platform at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea.