Last leg of a long journey
Japan delivers D-shaped coil
28 Apr 2020
What makes a component unique, beyond its size and weight, is the sum of work and the sophistication of the technologies that go into its fabrication. In this respect, the ITER D-shaped toroidal field coils are in a league of their own: standing 17 metres high, weighing close to 350 tonnes, they are among the largest superconducting magnets ever built and their production, from initial design to finalization, spanned three decades, involved more than one thousand people and mobilized 50 different companies and institutions.
The trailer prototype that was developed to transport the ITER D-shaped coils is both ultra-powerful (2,000 hp) and extremely manoeuverable (342 wheels). It is pictured here as it passes the village of Peyrolles-en-Provence, 17 kilometres to the west of the ITER site.
Such exceptional components, which form the core elements of the ITER Tokamak, require exceptional care in their handling and transport. Every movement, whether during loading and unloading operations, sea voyage, or land journey, must be anticipated and carefully planned.
The land journey along the 104-kilometre-long ITER Itinerary, between Marseille industrial harbour and the ITER site, is particularly challenging. Some of the country roads that the convoy travels are only a few centimetres wider than the steel frame that encases the coil; several turns are sharp; a few climbs are steep.
Hauling such heavy loads (600 tonnes between component and transport vehicle) requires more horsepower than regular trucks can provide, and more gently distributed. For the ITER toroidal field coils and the other ultra-heavy loads that will follow, the Dutch transporter Mammoet, operating as a contractor to ITER global logistics provider DAHER, developed a prototype trailer whose twin "power packs" deliver the horsepower equivalent of six conventional truck tractors.
It is close to 2:00 a.m. and the journey from the other side of the world is almost over. Framed against the backdrop of the Tokamak Complex, the convoy will now take the heavy-haul road to the construction platform.
The prototype trailer made his first outing on 13 April to transport the first of the ITER D-shaped coils (TF#9), procured by Europe, from Marseille industrial harbour at Fos-sur-Mer to the ITER site. Having delivered the load on 17 April, it was back at Fos-sur-Mer the following day to load a second coil (TF#12) that had arrived from Japan ten days earlier.
TF#12 travelled the last leg of its journey from the other side of the world during the night of Friday 24 to Saturday 25 April (see gallery below).
By then, both coils were safely "home" on the ITER site—TF#9 stored in a dedicated workshop; TF#12 being moved to temporary storage in the recently vacated Cryostat Workshop.
A towering presence in their respective storage places, both coils will soon enter into "mechanical preparatory activities" such as welding cooling pipes, attaching clamps, and welding interfaces) prior to being integrated into the assembly process.
There will be several more occasions to be impressed by the sight of a D-shaped coil convoy snaking along narrow country roads and passing sleeping villages in a flurry of rotating light. There are still 17 such loads to be delivered to ITER over the next three years. The next in line, TF #13, left the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries facility in Futami, Japan, on 26 April.
Click here to view a video of TF #12 delivery and the move into temporary storage.
The convoy crosses a purpose-built bridge outside the village of Peyrolles-en-Provence. Almost eight weeks after it was loaded on board the "UHL Fusion" in Kobe, Japan, toroidal field coil #12 is transported along the ITER Itinerary to the ITER site.
The component travelled on a 342-wheel modular transporter, propelled by a pair of 1,000 hp "power packs." The fourth and final night of the transport operation (17 km) took three and a half hours. All ITER convoys travel at night to minimize disturbance to the local community.
A safety and security "bubble" is formed around every ITER convoy, stretching at least 100 metres along the road and involving 120 people (French gendarmes, technicians, representatives of logistics service provider DAHER, Agence Iter France, and ITER Organization). The convoy is seen here passing the village of Saint-Paul-lez-Durance.
Close to the Bridge of Mirabeau, the convoy passes a monument made from the remnants of a previous bridge, which symbolizes the four neighbouring departments: Bouches-du-Rhône, Vaucluse, Var and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.
Halfway to ITER, the convoy travels along a short section of the thruway A51, which connects the city of Marseille to the Alps, before halting for a 45-minute regulatory break.
The pause on the thruway is the occasion for an informal mid-journey debriefing. Keeping safe distances and wearing masks because of COVID-19, Pierre-Marie Delplanque, managing director of Agence Iter France (right) discusses different aspects of the operation with DAHER's expert Frédéric Urcun (left) and collaborators.
The hour hand had just passed 2:00 when the convoy reached the ITER worksite. This is the second major delivery in seven days. (Another D-shaped magnet coil, TF09 from Europe, reached ITER on 17 April.)
Gathered around the "Certificate of Acknowledgement of Acceptance" are (left to right): Qiao Yanchun, Logistics Contract Manager; Chang Ho Choi, head of the Sector Modules Delivery & Assembly Division; Sebastien Koczorowski, Magnets Responsible Officer; Liao Min, Quality Responsible Officer; Eisuke Tada, Deputy of the Director-General; Hemmi Tsutomu, Technical Responsible Officer; ITER Director-General Bernard Bigot; and Sato Kazuyoshi, representative of ITER Japan.
TF#12 enters the Cryostat Workshop, where it will be stored until its move into the Assembly Hall. ITER construction teams have mechanical preparatory activities to carry out such as welding cooling pipes and cable trays, attaching clamps to support other coils, and welding interfaces.
TF#12 is removed from the self-propelled modular transporter to temporary supports. Two completed cryostat sections were removed from the Cryostat Workshop in April, leaving plenty of storage space for the moment. Assembly activities on the cryostat top lid will begin this summer.
Pride, project wide. This first-of-a-kind delivery from Japan is a major accomplishment, representing 12 years of industrial effort, from early manufacturing design and qualification activities to the final factory acceptance activities in January 2020. For the ITER magnets group, too, the milestone is the culmination of a decade of successful collaboration with colleagues in Japan.