What’s New

5 January 2015

ITER news digest for the period of 29 December 2014 to 5 January 2015.

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Featured (3)

Of interest (4)

Featured

A twice in a lifetime opportunity

First ITER heavyweight reaches Fos-sur-Mer

ITER diagnostics poised to advance in the US

Collaboration with the Host Organization CEA

Since the early days of project implementation in Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France, ITER's closest neighbour and host—the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission, CEA (Cadarache site)—has provided a number of services to the ITER Organization.

These services are provided within the framework of the Site Support Agreement, which was signed in 2009 by the two entities as foreseen in the ITER Agreement and its Annex on Site Support. Regular meetings of the Site Liaison Committee, bringing together representatives from both organizations, are the occasion to discuss pending issues, exchange information and review actions underway.

On 10 December 2014, during the 10th Site Liaison Committee meeting, the ITER Organization and the CEA signed two agreements.

1. Agreement on organizational modalities in the event of emergency situations

Agreement which defines the information, support and response modalities between the CEA/Cadarache and the ITER Organization in the event of any emergency liable to trigger, or not, emergency action plans.

2. Agreement related to the management of environmental aspects on the ITER site

Agreement which defines the relations between the ITER Organization and Agence Iter France (the CEA agency created to manage the French contribution to the project) related to the environmental commitments undertaken by Agence Iter France, such as the definition of an environmental management plan for the 1,200 hectares on and around the ITER site.

This agreement entered into force on 10 December 2014 and is concluded for the duration of implementation of the environmental management plan (31 December 2032).

An aerial view of the CEA-Cadarache site.

5 Jan 2015

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=420

Korea awards contract for vacuum vessel gravity supports

The Korean Domestic Agency signed an important contract with Korean supplier Wonil Corp. for the ITER vacuum vessel gravity supports on 11 December 2014. Nine sets of gravity supports will be assembled under the lower ports to allow for the vacuum vessel's thermal expansion and to sustain loads in the radial, toroidal and vertical directions.

The supplier Wonil Corp. is a leading company in the heavy machining industry and has good experience with the ITER quality system through its participation in the procurement of the ITER blanket shield blocks and the assembly tooling. During the signing ceremony, the company strongly expressed its enthusiasm to carry out the mission and meet the demands of the vacuum vessel schedule and quality requirements for ITER.

- Ji-Min Song, ITER Korea

5 Jan 2015

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=419

Now on show: the ITER absolute valve

Visitors coming to the ITER site will from now on have one more attraction to discover: The mock-up of an ITER absolute valve seal and test rig, used to demonstrate the feasibility of the largest high pressure, all-metal valve, ever to be manufactured.

ITER will rely on two very powerful neutral beam injectors to heat the plasma to fusion temperatures. A third injector will also be installed—the diagnostic neutral beam injector—which is used as a diagnostic for the plasma.

Each injector contains a vacuum vessel which needs to be vented to atmospheric pressure independently from the torus vacuum vessel in case of an incident. An absolute valve has thus been developed by the Swiss company VAT to "absolutely" isolate the vacuum in the torus from the neutral beam vacuum systems.

The valve uses seals made of stainless steel with silver coating to ensure high vacuum tightness up to a pressure differential of 0.1 MPa across the plate while maintaining a leak rate of less than 1·10-8 Pa·m3/s 1, but can withstand up to 0.2 MPa without incurring damage. With a nominal bore dimension of 1600 mm this absolute valve will be the largest ever manufactured, approximately five times bigger than existing products.

5 Jan 2015

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=418

December 2014 issue of Fusion in Europe

The December 2014 issue of Fusion in Europe focuses on work underway—including novel types of simulations and materials research—to support the early design of DEMO, the machine that will come after ITER. The issue also covers the reorganization of fusion research in Europe under the banner of EUROfusion and brings news from some of the experiments planned in European fusion facilities in support of ITER.

You can read the latest Fusion in Europe here.

5 Jan 2015

Permalink : https://www.iter.org/of-interest?id=417

ITER Newsline: Past Issues

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What’s New

5 January 2015

A twice in a lifetime opportunity

First ITER heavyweight reaches Fos-sur-Mer

ITER diagnostics poised to advance in the US

Collaboration with the Host Organization CEA

Korea awards contract for vacuum vessel gravity supports

Now on show: the ITER absolute valve

December 2014 issue of Fusion in Europe

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