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Cryolines

An elbow through the wall

24 Oct 2022

Cool is in high demand in the ITER Tokamak. Magnets need it to achieve superconductivity, the thermal shield to limit heat exchanges with the outside environment, cryopumps to trap particles and achieve high vacuum, and HTS current leads to minimize heat loads to the cryogenic system. "Cool" originates in the ITER cryoplant, where helium is processed before reaching its different clients by way of a five-kilometre network of multi-process pipes called cryolines that are provided by ITER India.

Cryoline_installation_Oct_2022_1_small.jpg
With the insertion of this massive elbow-shaped spool, total cryoline installation inside the Tokamak Building is now close to 75% complete. Inserted into a wall opening, the spool will connect the cryolines installed inside the building to those coming from the cryoplant along the elevated "cryobridge."
On Monday 17 October, a massive elbow-shaped cryoline spool was inserted into the sleeve of a pre-formed opening in the exterior wall of the Tokamak Building (Level 3). It will connect the cryolines installed inside that building to those coming from the cryoplant along the elevated "cryobridge."

Introducing a cylindrical object into a circular opening of corresponding diameter is something toddlers do all the time when they play with shape sorters. When the object is a delicate high-tech component that measures 8 metres in length, 1 metre in diameter and weighs in excess of 5.5 tonnes, things are a bit more complicated. A special crane—powerful, but small enough to operate in the congested environment of the Tokamak Building—needs to be brought inside. Then, as the load is attached to the tip of the telescopic boom, the crane's forward movements need to be as smooth as possible to avoid a "pendulum effect" that would be detrimental to the complex and delicate component. And finally, operators must be skilled enough to manoeuvre the crane and align the spool with the opening in the wall.

The operation was completed in less than 90 minutes. With the insertion of this strategic, elbow-shaped spool, the heaviest of the whole cryoline system, total cryoline installation inside the Tokamak Building is now close to 75% complete.

Mission accomplished: the elbow-shaped component is now positioned, precisely facing the corresponding section of an already installed cryoline spool. Each one of the component's five process pipes and the main pipe, 1 metre in diameter, will be welded individually and helium leak tested.
Whatever the size or weight of a component, the most delicate sequences of final alignment are done manually. Here, an operator delicately guides the 5.5-tonne spool into the wall opening, whose diameter is only a few millimetres larger than that of the component.
A special crane, powerful but small enough to operate in the congested environment of a Tokamak Building gallery, was used to lift the spool and align it with the opening in the wall. All movement needed to be as smooth as possible to avoid a "pendulum effect" that would have been detrimental to the complex and delicate component.
Operating under the supervision of ITER Organization specialists Lahcene Benkheira and Adrien Forgeas, workers from contractors ENDEL, ORYS and Cryodiffusion finalized the complex operation in 90 minutes.
Heavy-duty "Shape Sorter"
At level 3 (L3) of the Tokamak Building, the teams are ready to play a heavy-duty version of "Shape Sorter": the cylindrical object to introduce in the circular opening measures 8 metres in length, 1 metre in diameter and weighs 5.5 tonnes.
Procured by India, manufactured by INOX-CVA in India and Air Liquide in France, cryolines are more than just pipes: they are high-tech, vacuum-insulated components that, for the most complex of them, host several multi-process pipes transporting different cooling fluids in and out of the ITER Tokamak.
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