Scrutinizing AC/DC converter design

The Preliminary Engineering Design Review for ITER's AC/DC magnet power converters took place from 7-11 May at ITER Headquarters.
 
The Procurement Arrangement for AC/DC converters was signed by the Korean Domestic Agency on 14 March 2011. It includes the design, fabrication, delivery, assembly, and installation of the convertors; site acceptance testing and integration of the power converter units for the toroidal field coils, the central solenoid, vertical stabilization circuit 1, and correction coils; a master control system; and a dummy load for system testing and maintenance.

Since the signature, the Korean Domestic Agency has appointed its suppliers: an industry consortium comprising Dawonsys and Hyosung.

Following 10 months of work headed by Korean Domestic Agency (including prototype R&D) the design review—a key milestone of Procurement Arrangement execution—was concluded on time in accordance with the Strategic Management Plan. Almost 40 participants from Korea and China, including review panel experts, scrutinized and analyzed the preliminary design of the AC/DC power converters and their transformers, together with the instrumentation and control (I&C) and interlock systems.

The review assessed the proposed solution as generally meeting the design input requirements and as meeting the project requirements. It identified some issues requiring further work, but no showstoppers were found.
 
The meeting was a further example of very successful collaboration between the ITER Organization, the Korean Domestic Agency and industry.