A massive newcomer

Last week, one of the first mockups of the ITER machine arrived at Headquarters: a massive stainless-steel block representing blanket shield module BM 11. In total there will be 440 individual blanket modules on the inner surfaces of the vacuum vessel, each measuring 1 x 1.5 metres and weighing up to 4.5 tonnes.

The module prototype, procured by the European EFDA/F4E and manufactured by Areva, represents one of the most critical and technically challenging components in ITER. Together with the divertor, the blanket modules directly face the hot plasma. Their objective is to maintain a clean plasma during operation while shielding the vacuum vessel and superconducting coils from excessive heat and neutron fluxes. In later experiments some modules will be used to test tritium breeding concepts.