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The ITER ECRH system consists of 24 gyrotrons with up to 24 MW installed millimeter wave heating power at 170 GHz, power supplies, control system, transmission lines, one Equatorial and the four Upper Launchers. With its high frequency and small beam focus the ECRH has the unique capability of driving locally current. While the Equatorial Launcher mainly acts for central heating and current profile shaping, the Upper Launchers aim on suppressing MHD instabilities, especially neoclassical tearing modes (NTM) triggering plasma disruptions. The Upper Launchers inject millimeter waves through a quasi-optical section consisting of three fixed and the front steering mirror set. The eight overlapping beams have focal points optimized for suppression of the q = 3/2 and q = 2/1 NTMs., Several project change requests required the redesign of the Upper Launchers and the connected ex-vessel system. This redesign includes a new boundary geometry of the launchers as well as a newly designed cooling system for the Blanket Shield Module (BSM), a modified flange of the BSM to the structural main frame and a refined optical design. Additionally shield blocks with integrated in-vessel waveguides were added and the closure plate with waveguide and supply line feedthroughs was adapted. Further changes, not all caused by PCRs, include newly designed ex-vessel waveguide components with a reduced aperture and redesigned ultra low-loss CVD diamond windows. Finally several components originally foreseen as off-the-shelf components have become part of the design scope. The new launcher design status is presented with selected results on numerical design validation.

This paper deals with Remote Handling activities foreseen on the Blanket Shield Module, the plasma facing component of the ITER Electron Cyclotron Heating and Current Drive Upper Launcher. The maintenance configuration considered here is the Vertical Remote Handling, meaning gravity acting along the launcher radial axis. The plant, where the maintenance under consideration is occurring, is the Hot Cell Facility Work Cell. The study here reported has been carried out within the presently ongoing EFDA Goal Oriented Training program on Remote Handling (GOT-RH), which aims to support ITER activities. This document and its contents have to be considered as part of a more vast RAMI analysis to be developed within the GOT-RH, which aims to maximize the Electron Cyclotron Heating and Current Drive system availability. The Baseline CAD model of the Electron Cyclotron Heating and Current Drive Upper Launcher is currently in its preliminary design phase and does not provide enough details for developing a fully detailed maintenance strategy. Therefore, through a System Engineering approach, a set of assumptions was conceived on the launcher structure, as a basis for development of a Remote Handling strategy. Moreover, to compare different design solutions related to the possibility of integrating a quasi-optical component into the Blanket Shield Module, a Trade-Off was made, and its contents are shown here. The outcome of this System Engineering approach has been formalized into Task Definition Forms whose contents are reported here. The Remote Handling strategy presented in this work will be tested in the near future both through Virtual Reality simulations and through prototype experiments.

Central, retractable tubes are proposed in several Upper Port Plugs (UPPs) designs for ITER, to enable fast exchange of specific components of diagnostics housed in these UPPs. This paper investigates into possible designs to enable the efficient handling of tubes. The feasibility of tube handling is analysed by first reviewing the designs drivers. Several concepts for handling of the tube are proposed, exploring the limits described by the design drivers. Suggestions are presented for tube integration into the UPP design, concerning the tube mounting into the UPP, the load takeover and coping with the thermal elongation. It is found that the handling of tubes is feasible but still requires a lot of system level integration. Also, the added value of a tube as a feature in an UPP design to the availability of the subsystem the UPP is a part of, is questionable and needs further assessment on ITER system level. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The present design of the ECH (Electron Cyclotron Heating) upper port launcher has been evaluated in light of the ITER remote handling (RH) requirements. Changes to the launcher design associated with the accessibility, maintainability and manageability of replaceable components are presented. Captive bolts were placed along the flange of the Blanket Shielding Module (BSM). A hinge mechanism was integrated to simplify the (dis-)mounting of the BSM and a frame with incorporated cooling and actuation lines was suggested for simplified mounting and replacement of the steerable mirrors. Rotating the upper port plug upside-down improves maintenance access and component handling. Tools are proposed for manipulation of the port plug and its sub-components. The RH compatibility analysis can improve a design. Early consideration of RH requirements and implementation of necessary features is therefore vital. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A plug for the ITER core charge exchange recombination spectroscopy (core CXRS) is located in the upper port 3. It transfers the light emitted by interaction of plasma ions with the diagnostic neutral beam (DNB). The plug consists of a main shell, a shielding cassette and a retractable tube. The tube carries the first mirror (M1) with a shutter and allows multiple replacements of M1. A large uncertainty in the M1 lifetime has initiated a new design option with M1 located as far as possible from the first wall. A fast shutter has been proposed to enhance M1 protection. It operates consistently with a pulsed DNB and uses elastic hearings. Three-point attachment scheme of blanket shield modules (BSMs) has been suggested. It is capable to react electromagnetic loads caused by eddy- and halo-currents for any BSM option with a good design margin. The concern has been raised with regards to the forces caused by halo current and applied to the entire plug. Possible solutions are either to shunt and support the plug to the port in the frontal part, or re-attach all BSM in this belt from the plugs to the vacuum vessel. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

All ITER sub-systems of remote handling (RH) classes 1 and 2 have to be remotely maintainable. The maintenance strategy for these components has to ensure system availability after failure or scheduled maintenance. This paper shows how virtual reality (VR) simulation [1] can be used as a tool to analyze the maintenance process, to predict the mean time to repair and to ensure the RH compatibility of one ITER sub-system, the Upper Port Launcher (UPL) [2]. Special emphasis is put on the development of RH procedures and the identification of tooling requirements. The possibility to Simulate RH logistics and repair actions in an early stage of the design process allows for the identification of those maintenance actions that require dedicated tests in the Launcher Handling Test Facility at Karlsruhe. The VR analysis. together with dedicated mock-up tests will demonstrate the RH compatibility of the UPL plug, provide input to the design of the Port Plug maintenance area in the ITER Hot Cell, and support the development of RH maintenance tooling. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Already in the early phase of a design for ITER, the maintenance aspects should be taken into account, since they might have serious implications. This paper presents the arguments in support of the case for the maintainability of the design, notably if this maintenance is to be performed by advanced remote methods. This structure is compliant to the evolving maintenance strategy of ITER. Initial results of a Failure Mode Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) and a development risk analysis for the ITER upper port plug #3, housing the Charge Exchange Recombination Spectroscopy (CXRS) diagnostic, are employed for the definition of the maintenance strategy. The CXRS upper port plug is essentially an optical system which transfers visible light from the plasma into a fiber bundle. The most critical component in this path is the first mirror (M1) whose reflectivity degrades during operation due to deposition and/or erosion dominated effects. Amongst other measures to mitigate these effects, the strategy is to allow for a replacement of this mirror. Therefore it is mounted on a retractable central tube. The main purpose of this tube is to make frequent replacements possible without hindering operation. The maintenance method in terms of time, geometry and spare part policy has a large impact on cost of the system and time usage in the hot cell. Replacement of the tube under vacuum and magnetic field seems infeasible due to the operational risk involved. The preferred solution is to have a spare tube available which is replaced in parallel with other maintenance operations on the vessel, as to avoid any interference in the hot cell with the shutdown scheduling. This avoids having to refurbish a full port plug and also allows for a more frequent replacement of M1, as we can replace the mirror anytime the vacuum vessel is vented, estimated to be once a year. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The current design of the ITER cask for Upper Port Plugs has been evaluated. Careful reduction of the number of mechanical degrees of freedom is an opportunity to relax the tolerances in the design, resulting in cost reduction and reliability increase. A new kinematical design for the tractor module has a higher stiffness to weight ratio, reduces actuator forces by a factor four and minimizes cross-talk between lift and rotation motion. Non-cantilevered handling is recommended to reduce wheel loads on the tractor by a factor six and to simplify guidance. At the system level the tubular guide (TG) is proposed, a semipermanent 3.5 m long tube which is an extension of the Upper Port. Cask docking is simplified and the risk of the cask tilting is prevented. Redesigning the system concept is recommended and the TG looks promising. Since a system level redesign impacts the external interfaces, overall feasibility has to be investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.