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The ITER magnet procurement is now well underway. The magnet systems consist of 4 superconducting coil sets (toroidal field (TF), poloidal field (PF), central solenoid (CS) and correction coils (CC)) which use both NbTi and Nb3Sn-based conductors. The magnets sit at the core of the ITER machine and are tightly integrated with each other and the main vacuum vessel. The total weight of the system is about 10000 t, of which about 500 t are Nb3Sn strands and 250 t, NbTi. The reaction of the magnetic forces is a delicate balance that requires tight control of tolerances and the use of high-strength, fatigue-resistance steel forgings. Integration and support of the coils and their supplies, while maintaining the necessary tolerances and clearance gaps, have been completed in steps, the last being the inclusion of the feeder systems. Twenty-one procurement agreements have now been signed with 6 of the ITER Domestic Agencies for all of the magnets together with the supporting feeder subsystems. All of them except one (for the CS coils) are so-called Build to Print agreements where the IO provides the detailed design including full three-dimensional CAD models. The production of the first components is underway (about 175 t of Nb3Sn strand was finished by July 2011) and manufacturing prototypes of TF coil components are being completed. The paper will present a design overview and the manufacturing status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The magnet system for ITER comprises 18 Toroidal Field (TF) Coils using Nb3Sn cable-in-conduit superconductor, which operate at 4.5 K in supercritical helium. The procurement of the TF Coils and Structures is amongst the first which have been launched following the creation of the ITER Organization (IO). It is organized in 4 phases. A Procurement Design Readiness Review held in April 2008 confirmed the readiness of the design to proceed with Phases I and II. Procurement Arrangements (PA) were signed with the European and Japanese Domestic Agencies (DA) respectively in June and November 2008. After a brief description of the TF Coils and Structures, the paper gives an overview of the PA showing the milestones towards series production. The procurement strategy of both DA involved is described, in particular the first step which covers pre-production activities: qualification of raw materials, manufacturing trials, mock-ups and full-scale prototype radial plates, impregnation tests and, possibly, winding trials. The work carried out by IO is also presented: optimization of the cover plate welding to satisfy the allowable stress criteria while minimizing the associated distortions, qualification of blends of cyanate ester with epoxy resin for the impregnation of the winding packs and design of the coil terminal region including integration of the needed instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report the main test results obtained on the Poloidal Field Conductor Insert coil (PFI) for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), built jointly by the EU and RF ITER parties, recently installed and tested in the CS Model Coil facility, at JAEA-Naka. During the test we (a) verified the DC and AC operating margin of the NbTi Cable-in-Conduit Conductor in conditions representative of the operation of the ITER PF coils, (b) measured the intermediate conductor joint resistance, margin and loss, and (c) measured the AC loss of the conductor and its changes once subjected to a significant number of Lorentz force cycles. We compare the results obtained to expectations from strand and cable characterization, which were studied extensively earlier. We finally discuss the implications for the ITER PF system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The DC performance of the so-called Good Joint Nb3Sn Short Sample conductor, measured in the SULTAN facility in 1999 with a progressively reduced (chopped) joint length, became worse as the joint became shorter. In this paper we present the analysis of those tests using the THELMA code. The results confirm quantitatively that the loss of performance was due to increasingly unbalanced current distribution. Once the unbalance due to the joint is properly modeled, the performance of the conductor can be fitted using the same extra longitudinal strain in the critical current scaling, proportional to the electromagnetic load but independent of the joint length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we discuss the predictive analysis performed in support of the test program of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Poloidal Field Conductor Insert (PFCI). A subset of the test program items was considered, with particular emphasis on DC performance and AC losses. The results and implications of the comparison of selected predictions from different laboratories will be presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of how representative a short Nb3Sn conductor sample is for simulating conductor-in-coil conditions in the ITER magnets is addressed here by considering the particular case of the Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC), tested in 2001-2003 at JAERI Naka, Japan, and its associated Good Joint IGJ) sample (tested in 1999 in the SULTAN facility). While the basic thermal-hydraulic conditions are interpreted from experimental data by the M&M code, the sensitivity of the voltage-temperature characteristics to mechanical effects (due to the strain sensitivity of the Nb3Sn) is investigated by analysis. The results are used to assess the errors to be expected in predicting coil performance from measurements made on conductor samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the test of the PFCI is foreseen in 2006 at JAERI Naka, Japan, it is essential to consider in detail the lessons learned from the short NbTi sample tests, as well as the issues left open after them, in order to develop a suitable test program of the PFCI aimed at bridging the extrapolation gap between measured strand and future PF coil performance. Here we consider in particular the following issues: 1) the actual possibility to quench the PFCI conductor in the Tcs tests before quenching the intermediate joint, 2) the question of the so-called sudden or premature quench, based on SULTAN sample results, applying a recently developed multi-solid and multi-channel extension of the Mithrandir code to a short sample analysis; 3) the feasibility of the AC losses calorimetry in the PFCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central Solenoid Model Coil (CSMC) was designed and built by an ITER collaboration in 1993-2001. Three heavily instrumented Inserts have been also built for testing in the background field of the CSMC. The Nb[sub 3]Al Insert was designed and built by Japan to explore the feasibility of an alternative to Nb[sub 3]Sn superconductor for fusion magnets. The Nb[sub 3]Al Insert coil was tested in the CSMC Test Facility at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, Naka, Japan in March-May 2002. It was the third Insert tested in this facility under this program. The Nb[sub 3]Al Insert coil was charged successfully without training in the background field of the CSMC to the design current of 46 kA at 13 T peak field and later was successfully charged up to 60 kA in 12.5 T field. This paper presents the test results overview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the design of the Nb[sub 3]Sn and NbTi cable-in-conduit conductors of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor magnets. Optimization of the amount of superconducting strand; Conductor thermohydraulic analysis; Consideration of non-uniform current distribution among superconducting strands; Conductor design rules; Heat deposition; Conductor parameters.

Focuses on the predicted thermohydraulic performance of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Central Solenoid Model Coil in Japan. Expected cable performance; Simulation of the conductor performance; Possible increase in conductor temperature; Correlation of strand and conductor data base with thermohydraulic behavior.