Status of the ITER magnets

• Published in: Fusion engineering and design 2009-06, Vol.84 (2), p.113-121
• Main Authors: Mitchell, N., Bauer, P., Bessette, D., Devred, A., Gallix, R., Jong, C., Knaster, J., Libeyre, P., Lim, B., Sahu, A., Simon, F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Assessments; Coiling; Conductors (devices); Construction costs; Controled nuclear fusion plants; Decisions; Energy; Energy. Thermal use of fuels; Exact sciences and technology; Installations for energy generation and conversion: thermal and electrical energy; ITER; Launches; Magnets; Procurement contracts; Status; Superconducting magnets
• ISSN: 0920-3796; 1873-7196
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fusengdes.2009.01.006

The first 2 years of the ITER IO has seen substantial progress towards the construction of the magnets, in three main areas. Firstly, the design has been developed under the conflicting constraints to minimise construction costs and to maximise plasma physics performance. Building construction momentum while updating the design to take account of new physics assessments of the coil requirements has been challenging. Secondly, with a stabilising design, it has been possible for the Domestic Agencies to launch the first industrial procurement contracts. And thirdly, critical R&D to confirm the performance of the Nb3Sn cable in conduit design is proceeding successfully. The design consolidation has been accompanied by design reviews involving the international community. The reviews conducted by magnet experts have enabled a consensus to be built on choosing between some of the design options in the original ITER basic design in 2001. The major design decisions were to maintain the circular Nb 3Sn conductor embedded in radial plates for the toroidal field (TF) coils and to maintain NbTi-based conductors for the PF coils. Cold testing, at low current, is also being introduced for quality control purposes for all coils.