During the week of 6 October, the 12th
Conductor Meeting took place in Kokura, Japan near the Wakamatsu ITER factory,
where jacketing activities for ITER's toroidal field conductors and central
solenoid conductors have been underway since 2010. The Conductor Meeting is held semi-annually
to reunite the actors involved in the procurement of conductors—from the ITER
Organization, the six producing Domestic Agencies, and industrial
manufacturers—for a review of progress. Over 95 percent of toroidal field
superconducting strand lengths and approximately 75 percent of toroidal field
conductor unit lengths have been fabricated. As the procurement of toroidal
field conductors nears completion, the focus of magnet activities is shifting
to the next phase: the fabrication of 19 toroidal field coils (18 plus one
spare). Three toroidal field conductors have been wound and heat treated in
Japan and Europe. Progress was also reported on central
solenoid conductor procurement. Five central solenoid conductor unit lengths
(approximately 10 percent of total needs) were fabricated and transferred from
Japan to the USA in June 2014. These conductors will be wound for the lower module
of the central solenoid coil stack (CS3L) in California.
The Conductor
Meeting is held semi-annually to reunite the actors involved in the procurement
of conductors—from the ITER Organization, the six producing Domestic Agencies,
and industrial manufacturers—for a review of progress. Strand
and conductor production for the poloidal field coils is also steadily
advancing, with 18 unit lengths of poloidal field conductor manufactured to
date. Arnaud
Devred, head of ITER's Superconductor Systems & Auxiliaries Section, looks
back with satisfaction on seven years of collaboration on magnets. "We
have come a long way since the signature of the first magnet Procurement
Arrangement with Japan (for the toroidal field conductor) in November 2007. As
of today, more than 140 conductor unit lengths have been completed by China,
Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States and the ITER Organization
has cleared approximately 9,700 control points through the web-based ITER
conductor database." "In
spite of extraordinary tough project constraints, the ITER Organization and
Domestic Agency responsible officers have been able to build a strong
collaborative spirit and a good mutual understanding of the technical and
quality assurance/quality control requirements that have been instrumental in
overcoming difficulties and ensuring progress. The Conductor Meeting has been
an important and effective forum for exchanging information"
The
next Conductor Meeting will take place in March 2015 at the CRPP fusion
institute in Switzerland with the participation of the SULTAN working group for
ITER conductor tests. A final conductor meeting is foreseen in September 2015
at the ITER Organization.
Original Title: Conductor production keeps
progressing |
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