Toroidal field copper dummy ready in Europe

The Italian Consortium for Applied Superconductivity (ENEA, Tratos Cavi, Criotec) has completed the commissioning of the jacketing line and the equipment needed for the manufacturing of conductors for ITER and JT-60SA in less than one year.

 

In the fields of Chivasso, 20 km outside Turin, a manufacturing facility has been erected to fabricate and carry out the rigorous qualification process for the conductors. Outside the facility, a platform measuring 800 metres has been assembled to guide the 10-tonne, 760-metre-long toroidal field copper dummy conductor into the facility. 

 

The jacketing was completed after assembling all the sub-components provided by contractors. Tratos Cavi produced the cable which was then handed over to Criotec to be inserted into stainless steel tube composed of 58 individual sections welded together. Subsequently, the dummy conductor was compacted and spooled.

 

Following the successful validation process, the conductor was packed into a 100-cubic-metre box for shipment to a facility in La Spezia (Italy), where the consortium responsible for the fabrication of the toroidal field winding packs will carry out trials. 

 

As part of the toroidal field conductor qualification, the Italian Consortium for Applied Superconductivity (ICAS) is expected to produce three toroidal field dummy conductors. After the successful completion of the copper conductor, two superconducting dummies will be fabricated within the first semester of this year. Once the qualification process is completed, ICAS will have to deliver 27 production lengths for the ITER toroidal field coils.