Image of the week
Full circle
2 Nov 2020
In the ITER Assembly Hall, the circle of the lower cryostat thermal shield is now complete. A lot of work remains to be done, however, before the silver-plated component is inserted into the assembly pit in about one month.
A relatively frail component (20 metres in diameter, 50 tonnes), the lower cryostat thermal shield will be inserted into the assembly pit in about one month.
"We need to check the alignment of the 18 panels, tighten the bolts, remove the internal supports, and install the instrumentation and piping," explains Germàn Perez Michel, the mechanical engineer who oversees the operation.
Soon, a dedicated circular lifting tool will be assembled to raise the relatively frail component (20 metres in diameter, 50 tonnes) and deliver it to its final position inside the cryostat base.
The lower cryostat thermal shield will fit inside the soup-dish-shaped depression of the cryostat base to form a heat barrier protecting the magnets at superconducting temperature.
The thin layer of silver (a low-emissivity material) that covers its entire surface raises an obstacle against the thermal radiation, in the form of electromagnetic waves, that a heat source generates.