The flagpole has gone
3 Sep 2010
The Tokamak Pit seen from the east, with the concrete columns of the Poloidal Field Coils Winding Facility looming in the clear blue Provencal sky at the far end.
The flagpole that has been marking the future centre of the ITER Tokamak ever since the first site clearing works commenced in 2006 has finally been moved aside. The earth and concrete in which it stood over the last four years is gone. These days, huge dump trucks are removing the top soil and dynamite is taking care of the rocky rest. The excavation of the ITER Tokamak Pit is in full swing; the open heart surgery has begun.
For the Tokamak, the pit will have to be excavated down to a depth of 20 metres, whereas for the Hot Cell, which is directly adjacent, the shovels will have to dig down to at least 12 metres. From time to time, analytical measurements record the geological characteristics of the rock foundation.
The columns will soon carry the main crane beams of the Coils Winding Facility.
Just a hundred metres away from the pit, tall concrete columns of almost 10 metres in height loom into the clear blue Provencal sky, soon to carry the main crane beams of the winding facility for ITER's poloidal field coils.