The journey had begun some 9,000 kilometres from the ITER site in the port city of Ulsan, Korea. The load had travelled by container ship, barge, trailer, and there it was: a large box of dull-grey steel, 20 metres long, 3.35 metres wide, 5 metres high and weighing close to 90 tonnes. For a "Highly Exceptional Load" it was a relatively small item. But it was the very first in a long series of large and heavy components that will be delivered to ITER in the seven or eight years to come. With the symbolic importance of a "first," it was greeted on the ITER site with joy and emotion.   Procured by the US, manufactured in Korea, transported by the ITER Organization's global logistics partner DAHER, and placed—for the last leg of its journey—under the responsibility of France (and financed by Europe), the high voltage transformer was a potent symbol of the international cooperation for ITER.   A few hours after its arrival at 4:30 a.m. on 14 January, under a sky that was still pitch black, the ITER family assembled for a warm welcome. All had risen early: ITER senior management, the directors of several ITER Domestic Agencies, members of the ITER Electrical Engineering Division, and representatives of Agence Iter France and DAHER.   ITER Director-General nominee Bernard Bigot was also present.   All had risen early: ITER senior management, the directors of several ITER Domestic Agencies, members of the ITER Electrical Engineering Division, and representatives of Agence Iter France and DAHER. "I want to thank you all for your contribution to today's operation," said the ITER Director-General Osamu Motojima. "ITER success depends on all of you who designed, procured, manufactured and safely transported and delivered this component."   In the afternoon, the transformer was moved from the trailer to sit on concrete blocks in the storage area. Along with three similar components due to arrive in the coming months, it will be connected to the 400 kV switchyard. Bringing down the voltage to 22 kV, it will to dispatch power to the various plant systems of the installation.   The photo gallery from the SSEN Transformer journey can be viewed here.   Click to read the press release in English or French.

Two levels out of five and the pillars already stand tall on the platform. As the Assembly Building's steel skeleton is progressively bolted into place, the massive size of the construction becomes more and more evident.     Work on the structure began in September 2014. In April, when columns on both side of the slab have reached half their nominal height, workers will begin assembling the roof on the ground.   Once the roof has been fully assembled and the columns have reached their full height (approximately 60 metres), the frame of the roof can be lifted and bolted to the structure.   The installation of the crane rails will follow. The delivery of the supersized cranes designed to handle the heaviest ITER components is planned for the end of the year.  

Building 61, standing alongside the Assembly Hall, won't be the largest, most complex or most spectacular building on the ITER platform. However despite its rather unassuming full name, the Site Services Building will be strategic for the whole installation. The 80 metre-long building will accommodate and distribute a large number of industrial support services and systems that are indispensable for operating the ITER installation. The 80 metre-long building will accommodate and distribute a large number of industrial support services and systems that are indispensable for operating the ITER installation. It will host one of the installation's "chiller plants," connected to a four-kilometre network of piping that will feed cooling water to buildings (for air conditioning) and equipment throughout the site.

Think of ITER's cryoplant as a massive fridge that will produce and distribute the cooling power in the machine through different networks. The most advanced cryogenic technologies will be deployed to generate the extremely low temperatures needed for the ITER magnets, thermal shields and cryopumps.   Procurement of the ITER cryoplant will be shared by Europe (liquid nitrogen plant), the ITER Organization (helium plant) and India (cryolines and cryodistribution components).   The liquid nitrogen plant and auxiliary systems will cool down, process, store, transfer and recover the cryogenic fluids of the machine. Two nitrogen refrigerators will be delivered along with two 80 K helium loop boxes, warm and cold helium storage tanks, dryers, heaters and the helium purification system.   A preliminary design phase was completed in mid-2014. In order to comply with the rigorous technical specifications and fabrication, safety, quality and project management requirements, the European Domestic Agency has structured a design review process for its share of cryoplant components that relies on two main entities: the design review steering committee and the design review panel.   The two bodies bring together more than 13 highly qualified experts from the European Domestic Agency, ITER Organization and external organizations, willing to share their knowledge and meticulously examine the technical details that will feed into the final specifications and lead towards the purchase of long-lead items such as compressors, heat exchangers, turbines, tanks and cold circulators.   In October the steering committee, based on the observations of the design review panel, commended the quality and the comprehensiveness of the studies performed by the European Domestic Agency, the ITER Organization and supplier Air Liquide. The system was deemed to be at a level of sufficient maturity to move to the next stage—the final design of the system and the purchase of the heat exchangers, compressors, turbines and tanks which have to be ordered prior to the next design review.   Read the original article here.

Like a new passenger jet or power plant, the National Spherical Torus Upgrade (NSTX-U) must be certified safe to operate. At the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, the task of evaluating the safety of the $94 million upgrade belongs to the Activity Certification Committee (ACC), whose work remains ongoing. "This is a critical group," said Adam Cohen, deputy director for operations at the Laboratory. "When you have a complex activity like the upgrade you need a standing committee to guarantee that it will run safely."   For nearly two years the ACC has reviewed key components of the upgrade, which is scheduled for completion in March and will make the NSTX-U the most powerful spherical fusion facility on Earth. The group conducts hands-on inspections — or "walkdowns" — of all systems and subsystems and reviews training and pre-operational test procedures. "It's very vital and reassuring when the ACC says we're ready to go," said Mike Williams, director of engineering and infrastructure and associate director of the Laboratory.   Read the whole story on PPPL website.