What's new @ ITERThis is our all brand new RSS stream to keep in touch with ITERFri, 18 Oct 2013 14:00:00 +0100http://www.iter.orgen-usFEATURED: Manufacturing | Completion of the first vacuum vessel gravity support https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3708https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/37082022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3708"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3708/vv_gravity_supports_1.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>The factory acceptance test on the first ITER vacuum vessel gravity support has been successfully completed at Haneul Engineering in Gunsan, Korea. Under the 8,500*-tonne plasma chamber, nine gravity supports will allow for the vacuum vessel's thermal expansion and sustain loads in the radial, toroidal and vertical directions. Nine vacuum vessel gravity supports will be installed between the cryostat toroidal pedestal and the lower port of each vacuum vessel sector. These supports are specially designed** to allow radial movement to accommodate the thermal expansion of the vacuum vessel that is caused by the temperature difference between initial assembly and operation, while maintaining high rigidity in the toroidal and vertical directions in order to withstand the dead weight&#160;of the tokamak, thermal loads, electromagnetic loads, plasma disruptions such as vertical displacement events, and seismic loads. In the supports' dual-hinge structure, radial movement is permitted by the rotation of dowels, while toroidal and vertical movement is restricted by the rigidity of the dowels and that of the primary hinge. The possibility of 15º inclination introduces radial reaction force that provides centering to the stable equilibrium state of the ITER vacuum vessel. On 12 November 2021, the factory acceptance test on the first vacuum vessel gravity support (for sector #6) was successfully completed at the Haneul Engineering (subcontractor of Hyundai Heavy Industries). Due to the ongoing pandemic, an official ceremony could not be held. However, the Director-General of ITER Korea, Kijung Jung, and a dozen experts were able to attend a small ceremony to congratulate the team on the successful completion of the first support and to celebrate industry involvement in fusion research. The most critical step was dowel assembly—not only because the required tolerances for each hole of the upper block, lower block, primary hinge, and the dowels is only 0.02 mm, but also because the surface of dowels is coated with a very thin layer of MoS2 (20±3µm). Because the purpose of the MoS2 coating is to reduce and to sustain the friction coefficient during ITER operation, the coating on the dowels cannot be scratched or otherwise removed, making the precise assembly of the dowels very challenging. In order to increase the confidence in dowel assembly, pre-tests were performed with dummy dowels and a 1&#58;1 scale mockup. Based on the results from these tests, the optimized setting value was fixed and the blocks and the dowels were set on the gravity support assembly jig. After several rounds of 3D measurements to aid in the precise alignment of the blocks, the dowel was successfully assembled. After assembly, a functional test of vacuum vessel gravity support #6 was performed to verify whether full design movement (5° to 27°) could be achieved without excessive force. During the test, the upper block of the gravity support was moved from 5° to 27.05° very smoothly. Values of 1,385 kgf (maximum push force) and 2,410 kgf (maximum pull force) were recorded during the push operation (5° to 27.05°) and pull operation (27.05° to 5°) respectively. With the completion of the factory acceptance test, vacuum vessel gravity support #6 can be prepared for delivery to the ITER site in March 2022. *The double-walled ITER vacuum vessel weighs 5,200 tonnes. With the installation of the blanket and the divertor, as well as components such as the port plugs and diagnostics, the total weight rises to 8,500 tonnes. ** Vacuum vessel gravity supports are classified as Safety Important Components and as ITER Quality Class 1. The supports are non-pressure bearing equipment; however, as they support the vacuum vessel (Level N2 Cat IV Nuclear Pressure Equipment) they are considered part of this equipment. Design, manufacturing, and testing must comply with the applicable parts of the French regulation on pressure equipment. Design, analysis, and fabrication of the vacuum vessel gravity supports must follow RCC-MR rules for supports (RCC-MR subsection H).</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3708/vv_gravity_supports_1.jpghttps://www.iter.org/doc/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3708/vv_gravity_supports_1.jpgFEATURED: Technology | Hail showers in ASDEX Upgrade for ITER disruption mitigation https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3711https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/37112022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3711"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-900-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3711/spi-on-asdex-u_with-insert.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>Just before the 2021 Christmas holiday break, the team at the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak successfully fired frozen deuterium pellet fragments into a plasma as part of a global effort within the fusion institutes of the ITER Members to explore the physics of disruption mitigation for ITER based on shattered pellet injection technology. Even in the early phases of pre-fusion-power operation, ITER will need an effective method to mitigate the consequences of plasma disruptions. For this purpose, the ITER Organization is designing a disruption mitigation system based on the technology of shattered pellet injection. As part of the ongoing efforts to support the design of the system, the ITER Disruption Mitigation System Task Force is pursuing a program to optimize the performance of shattered pellet injection technology and to provide the best possible basis for how to scale it to ITER. The shattered pellet injection technique works by forming cryogenic pellets and firing them at high speeds towards a shattering section, where they are disintegrated into showers of small fragments which are sprayed into the plasma chamber. These tiny iced particles penetrate into the plasma where they evaporate and deliver the quantity and species of material required to ensure the mitigation process. The disruption mitigation system foreseen for ITER will use the injection of hydrogen, neon and mixtures thereof to raise the plasma particle density before it disrupts. This avoids the generation of high-energy runaway electrons during the plasma current quench phase of the disruption and converts a large fraction of the plasma energy into photonic radiation, which very significantly reduces the thermal and electromagnetic loads on plasma-facing components and the confinement chamber. To study the relationship between the pellet fragment properties and the associated rise in plasma density, in May 2020 the ITER Organization launched a project together with the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (IPP), in Garching, Germany, to install a shattered pellet injection system on the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. Michael Lehnen, Leader of the Disruption Mitigation System Task Force, describes this specially designed system and the capabilities it will offer as key in 'closing the gap in our experimental program by providing unique information on the impact of different pellet shatter sizes and velocities on the mitigation process.' _GAo_//static.iter.org/com/animation/figure1.gif*350*right_GAx_&#160;Following an intensive period of assembly, commissioning, and laboratory characterization, fragmented pellets were injected by the shattered pellet injection system for the first time on 14 December 2021 into an ASDEX Upgrade H-mode plasma. The movie on the right shows a dual injection, with a first plume of fragments entering on the low magnetic field side of the vessel (right part of the picture) followed by a second injection with a delay of 20 ms. The gas from the ablated fragments is ionized and forms the radiating streamers which are visible in both the toroidal and poloidal directions. The heart of the ASDEX Upgrade shattered pellet injection system is a state-of-the-art, three-barrel gun injector designed and built by PELIN LLC., St. Petersburg, Russia. The injector incorporates many unique features allowing the control of pellet size and velocity. The pellets from the three barrels can be fired independently against the in-vessel shatter heads, whose geometries have been chosen to generate different fragment size distributions, spatial extents of the fragment plume and injection durations. _GAo_//static.iter.org/com/animation/figure3a.gif*350*left_GAx_ Before its installation, the shattered pellet injection system was commissioned and underwent extensive testing in a laboratory at IPP. The pandemic has posed additional challenges, requiring Igor Vinyar, the director of PELIN, and his team to participate mainly remotely in the commissioning work. 'The start of the ASDEX Upgrade shattered pellet injection project coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The severe restrictions and uncertainties, the halt of travel, as well as the disruption of the complex global supply chains necessary to procure or manufacture the thousands of unique components have posed significant challenges,' says Gergely Papp, leader of this project at IPP. 'Despite the hardships, thanks to the expertise and dedication of the teams at IPP, PELIN and ITER the first pellets could be fired into ASDEX Upgrade 18 months after the contract signature.' As part of the laboratory tests, the fragment plumes have been recorded and characterized for a large number of different pellet types using high-speed cameras providing first-of-a-kind, high-resolution measurements of the shattering process, which will be used for future modelling of this key process for ITER. During this commissioning and testing exercise, more than 1,300 high quality videos were produced.&#160;An example of the fragment plume obtained during laboratory tests can be seen in the movie on the left, above, and in the images at right. To study in detail the impact of the injected material on a plasma disruption, the shattered pellet injection installation at ASDEX Upgrade has been accompanied by the upgrade of several essential diagnostics. The non-axisymmetric plasma radiation will be measured with bolometers using AXUV diodes and foil cameras, located at six different toroidal and poloidal positions on the tokamak. The arrival of the fragments can be observed with three high-speed cameras viewing the injection location toroidally, horizontally and vertically. This diagnostics upgrade for shattered pellet injection project was one of the largest of its kind for the ASDEX Upgrade. The shattered pellet injection system and diagnostics will be put to work during the coming months in a series of experiments conducted by the ITER Disruption Mitigation System Task Force together with IPP and the EUROfusion consortium. These ASDEX Upgrade shattered pellet injection tests are part of a broad experimental effort within the Task Force, which is supported by the domestic programs of the ITER Members. 'Developing a credible design solution for the ITER disruption mitigation system requires the testing of all key injection parameters on actual tokamak experiments,' says Lehnen. 'Together with the extensive modelling activities in the Task Force, I am confident that we will have a good basis to provide our engineers with the information they need to optimize the design of the ITER disruption mitigation system.'</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-900-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3711/spi-on-asdex-u_with-insert.jpghttps://www.iter.org/doc/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3711/mag_image_pellets.jpgFEATURED: Image of the week | Like a Meccano under the Christmas treehttps://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3714https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/37142022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/newsline/-/3714"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3714/components_in_ass_hall_1b_small.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>Like Erector set or Meccano parts scattered beneath the tree on Christmas morning, components for the ITER Tokamak cover the floor of the Assembly Hall, waiting to be assembled. On the right, in the foreground, toroidal field #9 is now ready to be upended and installed in one of the sector sub-assembly tools. On the opposite side of the Hall, one the two outboard thermal shield panel for vacuum vessel sector #1(7) is being prepared for installation. Both components are part of the second vacuum vessel 'module,' whose central component (the vacuum vessel sector) was docked in the sector sub-assembly tool in late December 2021 (watch this video). A few steps further along lie elements of the complex rigging used to lift the heaviest ITER components. In light grey, on the left, the sector lifting tool is capable of lifting and balancing loads such as vacuum vessel sectors, toroidal field coils and 1,400-tonne sector sub-assemblies; the yellow dual crane heavy lifting beam, on the right, can rotate the loads 90° for transfer into the V-shaped openings of the tall standing tools. Farther into the Hall, on the right, the 'upending cradle' is tasked with lifting and tilting vacuum vessel sectors and toroidal field coils from horizontal to vertical. Directly across from that stands the first of two 20-metre-tall sector sub-assembly tools, each one currently supporting parts of the ITER vacuum vessel. In the first tool, it is possible to see that thermal shield panels are attached to the open wings, ready to be rotated inwards. At the far end of the Hall, on the right, we can distinguish a kidney-bean-shaped bottom correction coil parked on temporary supports. Other coils from the same set are already installed in the bottom of the Tokamak pit and this one will join them soon. Finally, a circular platform with ribs—the central solenoid assembly platform—can be seen in the back on the right. The central solenoid modules will be stacked one after another on this platform, encased within a strong supporting structure. Given the high amount of co-activity in this space, and in the Tokamak pit beyond, the ITER construction teams carry out extremely detailed planning and coordination. To learn more about ITER machine assembly and how it is managed, see the new ITER Talks video released in this issue of Newsline.</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3714/components_in_ass_hall_1b_small.jpghttps://www.iter.org/doc/www/content/com/Lists/Stories/Attachments/3714/components_in_ass_hall_1b_small.jpgOF-INTEREST: ITER Talks | Assemblyhttps://www.iter.org/of-interest/1055https://www.iter.org/of-interest/10552022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/of-interest/1055"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1055/iter talks_assembly_jens_brian_3.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>The size and weight of major ITER components, the careful handling, tiny assembly tolerances, the breadth of manufacturers, the tight schedule, complex interfaces ... all of these elements combine to make the assembly of the ITER machine an engineering and logistics challenge of enormous proportions. In this new ITER Talks video, two members of the Construction Domain—Jens Reich (Ex-Vessel Delivery &amp; Assembly Division Head) and Brian Macklin (Group Leader for Ex-Vessel Assembly)—describe how teams have planned for the assembly of the 23,000-tonne ITER machine, how the sequences are unfolding, what the main challenges are, and what lessons have been learned since the first machine assembly activity was launched in 2018. Watch the fifth episode of the ITER Talks here. See the full ITER Talks playlist on YouTube&#160;here.</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1055/iter talks_assembly_jens_brian_3.jpgOF-INTEREST: ITER Information Day: Hot Cell Project Integratorhttps://www.iter.org/of-interest/1054https://www.iter.org/of-interest/10542022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/of-interest/1054"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1054/hcc.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>The ITER Organization has launched the procurement for the Hot Cell Facility Project Integrator.&#160; The ITER Hot Cell Facility is the maintenance and refurbishment facility supporting tokamak operation. The role of the Project Integrator will be to&#160;prepare and promote the collaboration to realize the ITER Hot Facility, working with both the clients and first-tier contractors through all project phases. For companies interested in learning more about the Hot Cell Facility Project Integrator contract, a virtual procurement Information Day will be organized on 24 January 2022.&#160; Register&#160;here&#160;by 20 January. The deadline for this&#160;Call for Nomination&#160;is 28 January 2022.&#160;</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1054/hcc.jpgOF-INTEREST: Monaco-ITER Fellows: campaign openshttps://www.iter.org/of-interest/1053https://www.iter.org/of-interest/10532022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/of-interest/1053"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1053/monaco-iter_2022.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>Recruitment opens TODAY for the 2022 Monaco-ITER Postdoctoral Fellowship campaign. The ITER Organization is looking for five postdoctoral candidates in the fields of fusion science or engineering for two-year positions based in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France (ITER Headquarters). If your PhD was awarded after 1 January 2019—or you are about to obtain one—and you are interested in participating in one of the greatest scientific and technical challenges of the 21st century, this may be an opportunity for you. The positions are funded by the Principality of Monaco, which signed a Partnership Arrangement with the ITER Organization&#160;in 2008 and renewed its sponsorship in 2018 for ten years. Candidates must have&#160;an excellent track record of creativity and accomplishment in their chosen fields. The campaign closes on 1 March 2022. For more information see Monaco-ITER 2022. To apply, see the ITER Jobs page.</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1053/monaco-iter_2022.jpgOF-INTEREST: CERN Courier: Vacuum solutions fuel fusion dreamshttps://www.iter.org/of-interest/1052https://www.iter.org/of-interest/10522022-01-12 00:00:00Wed, 12 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100 <div class="field-image"> <a href="https://www.iter.org/of-interest/1052"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1052/cern_courier_2.jpg" alt="" /></a> </div> <div class="field-body"><p>The CERN Courier just released its 2022 In Focus report on vacuum science, technology and innovation. In it, there is a four-page report on vacuum science at ITER featuring Vacuum Section Leader Robert Pearce. &quot;Design, construction, commissioning, operation and upgrade&#58; the life-cycle of large-scale scientific vacuum systems informs the exclusive coverage in this CERN Courier In Focus report,&quot; writes the editor. &quot;Think technology innovation and implementation on an ambitious canvas like ITER's sprawling vacuum ecosystem, a core building block in the international research effort to transform nuclear fusion into an at-scale energy proposition (pp. 20-22).&quot; [...]&quot;When it becomes operational later this decade, the ITER fusion research project will be dependent on one of the most complex vacuum systems ever built. Joe McEntee checks out progress with ITER vacuum section leader Robert Pearce, while highlighting the downstream commercial opportunities already spinning out from the core construction programme.&quot; You can read the report here. Watch a recent ITER TALK on vacuum here.</p></div> https://www.iter.org/img/crop-600-85/www/content/com/lists/of interest/attachments/1052/cern_courier_2.jpgPRESS: Is kernfusie een onhaalbare droom of een reële optie voor de toekomst?https://newsmonkey.be/kernfusie-onhaalbare-droom-reele-optie-toekomst/https://newsmonkey.be/kernfusie-onhaalbare-droom-reele-optie-toekomst/2022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Special Issue on European Programme towards DEMO: Outcome of the Pre-Concept Design Phasehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/fusion-engineering-and-design/special-issue/10KZQ5JW058https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/fusion-engineering-and-design/special-issue/10KZQ5JW0582022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: The Escaped Sapiens Podcast #30: Fusion Energy is Cominghttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fusion-energy-is-coming-thomas-sunn-pedersen-escaped/id1556077156?i=1000547403329https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fusion-energy-is-coming-thomas-sunn-pedersen-escaped/id1556077156?i=10005474033292022-01-17 00:00:00Mon, 17 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Fusion Power Generation May Come Sooner Than You Thinkhttps://www.discoursemagazine.com/economics/2022/01/11/fusion-power-generation-may-come-sooner-than-you-think/https://www.discoursemagazine.com/economics/2022/01/11/fusion-power-generation-may-come-sooner-than-you-think/2022-01-14 00:00:00Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: How will tritium move inside ITER and DEMO?https://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/news/how-will-tritium-move-inside-iter-and-demo/https://fusionforenergy.europa.eu/news/how-will-tritium-move-inside-iter-and-demo/2022-01-14 00:00:00Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Is a $22bn giant magnet the 'holy grail' of clean energy?https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/iter-nuclear-fusion-magnet-energy-b1989102.htmlhttps://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/iter-nuclear-fusion-magnet-energy-b1989102.html2022-01-14 00:00:00Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Better than donuts? Here are a baker's dozen of research stories from 2021 at PPPL that you don't want to misshttps://www.pppl.gov/news/2022/better-donuts-here-are-baker%E2%80%99s-dozen-research-stories-2021-pppl-you-don%E2%80%99t-want-misshttps://www.pppl.gov/news/2022/better-donuts-here-are-baker%E2%80%99s-dozen-research-stories-2021-pppl-you-don%E2%80%99t-want-miss2022-01-12 00:00:00Wed, 12 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Nucléaire : la fusion va-t-elle permettre d'avoir une énergie plus propre et plus sûre?https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/nucleaire-la-fusion-va-t-elle-permettre-davoir-une-energie-plus-propre-et-plus-sure-4086877https://www.lejdd.fr/Societe/nucleaire-la-fusion-va-t-elle-permettre-davoir-une-energie-plus-propre-et-plus-sure-40868772022-01-12 00:00:00Wed, 12 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Alternatieve wegen naar kernfusie https://www.deingenieur.nl/artikel/alternatieve-wegen-naar-kernfusiehttps://www.deingenieur.nl/artikel/alternatieve-wegen-naar-kernfusie2022-01-11 00:00:00Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: Vacuum solutions fuel fusion dreamshttps://cerncourier.com/a/vacuum-solutions-fuel-fusion-dreams/https://cerncourier.com/a/vacuum-solutions-fuel-fusion-dreams/2022-01-11 00:00:00Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100PRESS: South Korea's "artificial sun" sets 2022 goal at 50-second-long super-hot plasma operationhttp://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20220110/f6347d591b43473a8e12bd6049e31d20/c.htmlhttp://www.xinhuanet.com/english/asiapacific/20220110/f6347d591b43473a8e12bd6049e31d20/c.html2022-01-11 00:00:00Tue, 11 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0100