Image of the week
Shiny steel and sharp edges
30 Jun 2020
All shiny steel, sharp edges and perfectly machined penetrations and grooves, two toroidal field coils are being prepared for the pre-assembly process.
Two coils—TF9 (Europe) and TF12 (Japan)—are now on temporary stands in a coil preparatory building not far from the Assembly Hall for pre-assembly operations.
The spectacular D-shaped casings of TF9 (from Europe) and TF12 (from Japan) hide and protect a technological jewel: layer upon layer of spiralled conductor made of the exotic compound niobium-tin and adjusted with submillimetric tolerance.
The ITER Tokamak will include 18 such coils, each as tall as a four-storey building and as heavy as a fully loaded Boeing 747 . Procurement of these massive components is shared between Europe (10) and Japan (8 plus one spare).
The ITER Tokamak will include 18 such coils, each as tall as a four-storey building and as heavy as a fully loaded Boeing 747 . Procurement of these massive components is shared between Europe (10) and Japan (8 plus one spare).