The US is responsible for 100% of the central solenoid (CS) magnet, including design, R&D, fabrication of 7 CS modules using supplied conductor (from Japan), associated structure, assembly tooling, bus extensions, and cooling connections.
The central solenoid serves as the backbone of the ITER magnet system. The CS induces the majority of the magnetic flux change needed to initiate the plasma, generate the plasma current, and maintain this current during the burn time. The CS is made of six independent coil packs that use a niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) cable-in-conduit superconducting conductor, held together by a vertical pre-compression structure. The conductor will be produced in unit lengths up to 910 m. The US is responsible for the 6 modules of the CS, a spare module, and the structure that ties them together and links these modules to the rest of the magnet system.
For more information, contact Wayne Reiersen, US ITER Project Office Magnet Systems Team Leader, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, reiersenwt@ornl.gov | 865-241-3130.
US ITER and contractor General Atomics recently achieved a major milestone in fabricating the ITER central solenoid, completing vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI) on the first production module. The VPI process is the penultimate step of fabrication that turns almost 6 km of carefully wound superconducting conductor into a structurally strong, electrically insulated electromagnet.
Source: ITER Newsline
Ground insulation ensures that each module is isolated from a potential fault of up to 30,000 volts from other systems and components in the ITER cryostat.
Source: www.iter.org
The central solenoid comprises six cylindrical modules plus structure subsets that will be assembled on site by the ITER Organization. Set to begin in 2019, delivery of all modules should be complete by 2021. The crate contains the main steel components of the central solenoid assembly platform—a thick steel structure that will be used throughout the assembly phase from early 2021 to mid-2023.
Source: www.iter.org
The first of six independent magnets for ITER's central solenoid has successfully passed the heat treatment phase, which ultimately creates the solenoid's superconducting material. This milestone was reached in April at General Atomics (US), after the 110-tonne module spent just over ten days at 570 °C and another four at 650 °C.
Source: ITER Newsline
After spending months carefully winding the seven individual sections of the first central solenoid module, composed of over 100 tonnes of cable-in-conduit conductor, engineers and technicians have successfully completed the joining of the sections. That makes the module ready for the next step—heat treatment.
Source: ITER Newsline
Module fabrication for the "heartbeat of ITER"—the 1,000-tonne central solenoid at the centre of the ITER magnet system—is underway at the General Atomics Magnet Development Facility in Poway, California. General Atomics finished the insulation process earlier this month for the qualification coil. This coil serves to validate final manufacturing processes prior to their application during the production of the six coil modules that make up the stacked central magnet.
