On 6 and 7 March ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima visited Moscow, a mission intended to inform the representatives of the Russian party first-hand about the status of the ITER project and to hear in exchange about progress in procurement and manufacturing in Russia. During this visit, the Procurement Arrangement for ITER's Neutral Particle Analyzer and the Arrangement on the Operation of the SULTAN Test Facility and Sample Manufacture were signed.

At the Domestic Agency (RF-DA) located on the premises of the Kurchatov Institute, the Director-General first met the Russian delegates to the ITER Council, delegation leader Igor Borovkov, former Council Chair Evgeny Velikhov; Contact Person Vladimir Vlasenkov, recently appointed ROSATOM Deputy Director-General Vyacheslav Persukov and the head of the Russian Domestic Agency, Anatoli Krasilnikov. Director Motojima briefly explained the status of the project including the current project schedule performance and the Members' budget situation.

In a second session with Anatoli Krasilnikov and ROSATOM representative Viacheslav Pershukov, technical issues concerning the ITER divertor were discussed as well as the recent visit of seven young Russian researchers to ITER Headquarters, a well-received initiative supported by ROSATOM.

Superconducting Cable Jacketed in Russia

Manufacturing the toroidal field conductors for the ITER magnet system is a sophisticated, multistage process that was pioneered in Russia in summer of 1997. Earlier this year, the specialists at JSC VNIIKP Podolsk produced a 760-metre cable made from 900 niobium-tin strands and 522 copper strands assembled in five stages around a central cooling spiral—the second product of this kind manufactured in Russia. In late February, at the brand-new jacketing line at the High Energy Physics Institute in Protvino, this cable was pulled through a stainless steel jacket assembly.

The successful cable pull-through process, which required the most advanced Russian technical know-how, was accomplished with representatives of the Russian Domestic Agency and the ITER Organization present. The jacket itself, reaching nearly one kilometre in length, is composed of more than 70 austenitic steel tubes, butt-welded by gas tungsten-arc welding technology. Each orbital weld was subjected to stringent quality control tests, including X-ray, local helium leak tests, and dye penetrant. This insertion stage was followed by the compaction and spooling of the conductor (cable plus jacket) on a four-metre-diameter solenoid. The product was then transported to the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow where it will undergo vacuum and hydraulic tests and await shipment to Italy, where the conductor will be wound.

AC/DC Converter Contracts in China

Following the signature in April 2011 of the Procurement Arrangement for ITER's AC/DC Converters and the Reactive Power Compensator and the Harmonic Filters, the Chinese Domestic Agency awarded contracts to two domestic suppliers for these systems. The first face-to-face meeting between responsible engineers from the ITER Organization, their counterparts from the Chinese Domestic Agency and suppliers ASIPP (for the AC/DC Converters) and Rongxin Power Electronic (for the Reactive Power Compensator and Harmonic Filters) was recently held at the ITER Headquarters. The Procurement Arrangement is based on a functional specification describing the technical requirements of the system; the challenge now is to jointly develop the detailed design. "The meeting was very successful and efficient," said Ashok Mankani, Power Converter Project Engineer. "It should be considered a good start on the road to developing a better understanding of the scope of this Procurement Arrangement, the interfaces and the next milestones that have to be achieved." The AC/DC converters components are essential for supplying DC power to ITER's poloidal field coil circuits with the operating requirements of 55 kA and 1.35 kV to 4 kV. The large capacity of 3x250 Mvar reactive power at 66 kV is essential for the stability and performance of ITER's power system.

Toroidal Field Conductor Shipped from China to Japan

An important milestone in the procurement of toroidal field conductor for ITER was recently achieved in China. On 26 February, 660 metres of completed toroidal field dummy conductor was lifted onto a truck in Hefei and taken to the port in Shanghai. From there it took to sea in the direction of Japan. The event was symbolic in two ways: this was the first ITER component completed in China, and—for the ITER project—it was the first shipment of completed component between ITER Members. On 10 March, the packaged toroidal field dummy conductor arrived in Fukuoka, Japan where it will be stored at the Wakamatsu site until further processing

Mr. Luo Delong, Deputy Director-General of the Chinese Domestic Agency, commented: "This milestone is a major step for the ITER project. It is a symbol of the commitment of China turned reality. Our goal is that all procurement items from China be supplied in accordance with the ITER schedule and with ITER quality requirements."

Jacketing Line Completed in Italy

The Italian Consortium for Applied Superconductivity (ENEA, Tratos Cavi, Criotec) has completed the commissioning of the jacketing line and the equipment needed for the manufacturing of conductors for ITER and JT60-SA in less than one year. In the fields of Chivasso, 20 km outside Turin, a manufacturing facility has been erected to fabricate and carry out the rigorous qualification process for the conductors. Outside the facility, a platform measuring 800 metres has been assembled to guide the 10-ton, 760-metre-long toroidal field copper dummy conductor into the facility. The jacketing was completed after assembling all the sub-components provided by contractors. Tratos Cavi produced the cable which was then handed over to Criotec to be inserted into stainless steel tube composed of 58 individual sections welded together. Subsequently, the dummy conductor was compacted and spooled. Following the successful validation process, the conductor was packed into a 100-cubic-metre box for shipment to a facility in La Spezia (Italy), where the consortium responsible for the fabrication of the toroidal field winding packs will carry out trials.

Conductor Progress

It's a tradition now. Twice a year, the ITER conductor family meets to review the status of strand production, cabling, and jacketing activities—all part of the global drive to produce state-of-the-art superconductors for ITER. Fifty participants convened in Cadarache on 21-23 March to compare progress notes and discuss technical issues during regular and breakout sessions.

"Production is rolling all over the world," began Arnaud Devred, leader of ITER's Superconductor Systems and Auxiliaries Section, in his presentation on the first day of the meeting. "We have produced nearly 300 tons of niobium-tin (Nb3Sn) superconducting strands, about two-thirds of the amount needed for ITER's toroidal field coils. I probably don't need to remind you that in the pre-ITER world, global production was 15 tons a year ..."

The news on the production of toroidal field conductor is good: All Domestic Agencies are in full production, having qualified Nb3Sn strand suppliers through the successful testing of Conductor Performance Qualification Samples (CPQSs). The 100-ton mark was passed in October 2010; in April, global production passed 300 tons, or approximately 63,000 kilometres of total wire length. Cabling activities for the toroidal field conductor are underway in five Domestic Agencies. "We have about six-months of lead time in strand production with regard to cabling, which is very good news indeed," explains Devred. Twenty-eight regular double pancakes and twelve side double pancakes have been cabled worldwide. Five Domestic Agencies have competed welding qualification/certification and jacketing line commissioning. Three jacket tube suppliers have been qualified and all Domestic Agencies have placed contracts. The Chinese and Russian Domestic Agencies are also in production mode for the niobium-titanium (Nb-Ti) strands for ITER's poloidal field conductor. Russia has entered nearly 50 tons of strand production into the Conductor Database and has delivered all Phase II cable unit lengths to Criotek (Italy) for jacketing. China has completed poloidal field tube and welding qualification and has manufactured an 800-metre copper dummy for testing.

The qualification tests are carried out on full-size conductor samples at the SULTAN test facility in Switzerland. To facilitate operation and ensure the suitable funding of SULTAN for ITER needs, the six conductor Domestic Agencies and the ITER Organization have agreed on a global SULTAN contract that will be handled by the ITER Organization. This first-of-a-kind contract may serve as a model on how the Domestic Agencies and the ITER Organization can join forces and create synergies for critical quality control steps. "Conductor production is well underway in all Domestic Agencies and for all Procurement Arrangements," summed up Devred. "This year we are switching from the process qualification phase to real production. We need to maintain momentum to meet ambitious goals for delivery."

ITER Cooling Water System Progress

The design of ITER's Cooling Water System is maturing. The system, consisting of the Tokamak Cooling Water System (TCWS), the Component Cooling Water System (CCWS), the Chilled Water System (CHWS) and the Heat Rejection System (HRS), is responsible for removing the enormous amounts of heat generated by the tokamak and its auxiliary systems, with an anticipated peak heat load of more than 1100 MW.

Over the course of the past year, some impressive progress has been made on many pending issues enabling the teams to take the design of these crucial components from their conceptual design to the next level. The formal preliminary design review for the Tokamak Cooling Water System (TCWS) was completed on 20-22 March in Cadarache with more than 20 participants from the US Domestic Agency and its contractor AREVA Federal Services LLC. The following week, the expert group for the Heat Rejection System (HRS), another essential part of ITER's cooling system that is supplied by the Indian Domestic Agency, moved in.

The TCWS preliminary design improved the operation and safety of the primary thermal management system. Pathways for the discharge of radioactively contaminated water to the environment were eliminated. Four separate cooling systems for the first wall/blanket and divertor were combined into a single system to improve operational flexibility and system availability. Significant progress was reported on the design of supporting systems such as the chemical and volume control, drying, and draining. "In fact, the TCWS design is now 65 percent complete and is documented in 116 reports and drawings, a comprehensive 3D Design Model with 56 work packages, and 44 interface sheets," states Jan Berry, US team leader of the Tokamak Cooling Water System. At this phase of TCWS design development, the expertise and advice from the power producing industry is crucial as the ITER Organization/US Domestic Agency/industry team comprised of more than 100 engineers and designers is responsible for developing the final design and ultimately the fabrication and delivery of the components.

"AREVA has designed and built many cooling water systems for reactors," Joe Stringer, vice president at AREVA Federal Services LLC replied when asked about the challenges the full-service nuclear provider faces working on the ITER fusion reactor. "However there are design features for the ITER project which make the design solution unique. The TCWS has more interfaces with other design organizations than any other system and at the same time the project requires completion of the design and delivery of the piping and components on a very aggressive schedule. But AREVA is very proud to be part of the ITER team and we are committed to meeting the significant challenges ahead."

"The cooling water systems interface with virtually all ITER systems and facilities and their successful design involves coordination as well as technical challenges. The outcome of the preliminary design reviews for TCWS and HRS give us confidence that these challenges are being met," concludes Giovanni Dell Orco, leader of the ITER Cooling Water System Section.

Sekhar Basu, chief executive at the Department of Atomic Energy in India and chairman of the Design Review, also expressed his confidence that the design for the ITER's Heat Rejection System provided enough flexibility for the varying load conditions. "We will resolve the remaining interface and environmental issues for this system judiciously in order to allow the project to move forward in a time- and cost-effective manner."

Europe to Manufacture 60 ITER Divertor Cassettes

The Procurement Arrangement for the Divertor Cassette and Assembly was signed on Tuesday, 19 April. It covers the manufacturing by Europe of 60 cassette bodies (54 cassettes plus 6 spares) and the integration of the components and diagnostics systems provided by other Domestic Agencies as part of different procurement packages. "The key challenges in this PA are: one, the manufacturing tolerance to meet the interfaces (on the order of a fraction of a millimetre); and two, the assembly sequence of the different divertor components," explains Mario Merola, head of the Internal Components Division. "Planning and coordination will be paramount." Following the production of a full-scale prototype for assembly trials, series production should begin in 2015. The present schedule plans for the installation of all 54 cassettes beginning in 2021 during the second phase of ITER assembly; the divertor will only be needed when hydrogen-helium operation begins in 2022.