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After several years of design optimization, the Central Solenoid (CS) of the ITER Magnet system is now moving towards manufacture. The design has evolved to take into account on one hand the results of the R&D carried out by the US ITER team in charge of the development of the design and on the other hand the feedback provided by the involvement of industry in preparation of the manufacture. To address specific issues, dedicated mock-ups have been manufactured and tested. Electromagnetic, structural and thermo-hydraulic analyses have been carried out to verify the compliance of the design with the ITER design criteria. A review of the Final Design is planned in 2013, preparing then to move into the manufacturing phase. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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]

Now that ITER is entering construction, many of its systems are in the final stages of design and analysis. Among them the 31 feeders, which will be supplied in-kind by the Chinese ITER partner. The feeders supply the electrical power and cryogens through the warm-cold barrier to the ITER superconducting magnet systems. They are complex systems with their independent cryostats and thermal shields, densely packed with many components, such as the current feeds, the cryogenic valves and High-Voltage (HV) instrumentation hardware. Some of the feeder components are particularly critical and have been designed with great care. Among them the High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) current leads, designed for unprecedented currents, the 30 kV class, Paschen-hard HV insulation and the bus bar support system, designed to react the multi-ton Lorentz-forces from the bus bars at minimal heat load. This paper discusses the design challenges for these (and other) key components of the ITER magnet feeders. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Central Solenoid (CS) of the ITER tokamak has to provide the flux variation needed to induce the plasma current and to shape the field lines in the divertor region. It is designed as a stack of 6 identical coils, independently power supplied. Repulsing forces arising between the coils during a scenario are withstood by a precompression structure installed around the coils. Studies were carried out to simplify the winding manufacture, to optimize the precompression structure and procedure, to optimize the stack assembly of the 6 coils and the assembly of the central solenoid inside the tokamak which allows withdrawal from the machine, while meeting the ITER design criteria and in particular the Magnet Structural Design Criteria (static and fatigue). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The central solenoid (CS) of the ITER tokamak contributes to the inductive flux to drive the plasma, to the shaping of the field lines in the divertor region and to vertical stability control. It is made of 6 independent coils, using a Nb3Sn cable-in-conduit superconducting conductor, held together by a vertical precompression structure. This design enables ITER to access a wide operating window of plasma parameters, up to 17MA and covering inductive and non-inductive operation. Each coil is based on a stack of multiple pancake winding units to minimise joints. A glass–polyimide electrical insulation, impregnated with epoxy resin, is giving a high voltage operating capability, tested up to 29kV. The CS performance is fatigue driven mainly by the stress levels in the conductor jacket and in the precompression structure needed to keep the modules in contact during the repulsive forces which can arise in operation. A rigid connection to the TF coils provided at one end and a centering support at the other end allow to resist net vertical forces as well as unbalanced radial forces while avoiding torsion transmission from the TF Coils to the CS assembly. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Procurement of the ITER magnets is due to start at the end of 2007/early 2008, with the launch of the longest lead time items, the Nb3 Sn conductor and the TF coil windings. The base design for procurement was established in 2001, and the build up of the Cadarache ITER team has been accompanied by a review of the most critical, or controversial, features of the 2001 design. At the same time, an urgent R&D program has been launched to complete the necessary verification of the design solutions that are proposed. In this paper an overview will be presented of the main design features and drivers, and some of the recent issues and R&D results will be summarized. [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]

The ITER CS contains 6 identical but electrically independent modules. ITER plasma shaping requirements yield a wide range of radial (or hoop) loads and a wide range of vertical loads on each CS module. Pre-compression is used to maintain contact between the modules during all stages of plasma operation, to minimize primary tensile stresses in the coil insulation, and to prevent toroidal ratcheting of the modules during repeat operation. The preload requirements for the ITER Central Solenoid ICS) are the subject of this paper. Axial pre-compression of CS stack is carefully analyzed using finite element (FE) models. Conflicting requirements on the pre-compression structure (namely, the generation of large axial pre-compression with minimal use of radial space outside the modules) are balanced to support the desired plasma shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ITER Central Solenoid (CS) is 12 m high and 4 m in diameter. The CS consists of a stack of 6 electrically independent modules to allow control of plasma shape. The modules are compressed vertically by a p re-compression structure to maintain contact between modules. The CS conductor is CIC conductor with Nb3 S ii strands and a steel conduit. The CS model coil and insert coil test results have shown that the conductor design must be modified to achieve an operation margin. This required either to increase the cable diameter or to use strand with a higher current capability. A bronze-process (NbTi)3Sn strand is proposed to achieve a higher critical magnetic field. A square conduit with a high Mn stainless steel is proposed as it can satisfy fatigue requirements. The inlets are in the high stress region and any stress intensification there must be minimized. The preload structure is composed of a set of tie-plates, flanges, buffer plates, and wedges. These design proposals satisfy all ITER operational requirements. [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]

Examines the causes for the premature voltage development of superconducting magnet central solenoid insert coil. Variation of strand current and field; Nonuniform current distribution; Self-magnetic field effects.

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.

The Central Solenoid (CS), a key component of the ITER Magnet system, using a 45 kA Nb 3 Sn conductor, includes six identical coils, called modules, to form a solenoid, enclosed inside a structure providing vertical pre-compression and mechanical support. Procurement of the components of the ITER CS is the responsibility of US ITER, the US Domestic Agency (USDA), while the assembly of these components will be carried out by the ITER Organization (IO). Procurement of all the coil modules was awarded in 2011 to General Atomics, while procurement of the structure is split among several manufacturers, using existing equipment, sometimes among the largest ones in the world. Assembly of the ITER CS will require a dedicated area in the ITER Assembly Hall, conventional tooling and special tooling. US ITER is in charge of the procurement of special tooling, while IO is responsible for the procurement of the conventional ones. A detailed assembly procedure is under development at US ITER, in close collaboration with IO and with the support of CEA. Procurement of the special Assembly Tooling is carried out by US ITER and the main part of the first item, the Assembly Platform, was delivered to IO in 2017. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: When energized, the ITER central solenoid (CS) coils experience large pulsed electromagnetic forces translating into a combination of tensile hoop load in the toroidal direction and transverse vertical compression to be resisted by the conductor jacket itself. A key parameter for the coil design is fatigue behaviour (60000 cycles) of the CS conductor jacket. The mechanical requirements on the CS conductor jacket are derived from the mechanical analyses performed on the CS stack assembly. A prototype production of the two considered candidate materials, 316LN and JK2LB, a specially developed high Mn-bearing austenitic stainless steel, has been achieved in industry. Manufacturing specifications and first results of production controls are presented. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]