Taking the relay of the large Hadron collider (LHC) at CERN, ITER has become the largest project in applied superconductivity. In addition to its technical complexity, ITER is also a management challenge as it relies on an unprecedented collaboration of seven partners, representing more than half of the world population, who provide 90% of the components as in-kind contributions. The ITER magnet system is one of the most sophisticated superconducting magnet systems ever designed, with an enormous stored energy of 51?GJ. It involves six of the ITER partners. The coils are wound from cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) made up of superconducting and copper strands assembled into a multistage cable, inserted into a conduit of butt-welded austenitic steel tubes. The conductors for the toroidal field (TF) and central solenoid (CS) coils require about 600?t of Nb3Sn strands while the poloidal field (PF) and correction coil (CC) and busbar conductors need around 275?t of Nb?Ti strands. The required amount of Nb3Sn strands far exceeds pre-existing industrial capacity and has called for a significant worldwide production scale up. The TF conductors are the first ITER components to be mass produced and are more than 50% complete. During its life time, the CS coil will have to sustain several tens of thousands of electromagnetic (EM) cycles to high current and field conditions, way beyond anything a large Nb3Sn coil has ever experienced. Following a comprehensive R&D program, a technical solution has been found for the CS conductor, which ensures stable performance versus EM and thermal cycling. Productions of PF, CC and busbar conductors are also underway. After an introduction to the ITER project and magnet system, we describe the ITER conductor procurements and the quality assurance/quality control programs that have been implemented to ensure production uniformity across numerous suppliers. Then, we provide examples of technical challenges that have been encountered and we present the status of ITER conductor production worldwide.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0953-2048/27/4/044001/pdf

Challenges and status of ITER conductor production

Micro-powder injection moulding (µPIM) is a fast-developing micro-manufacturing technique for the production of metal and ceramic components. Shape complexity, dimensional accuracy, replication fidelity, material variety combined with high-volume capabilities are some of the key advantages of the technology. This review assesses the capabilities and limitations of µPIM as a micro-manufacturing technique by reviewing the latest developments in the area and by considering potential improvements. The basic elements of the process chain, variant processes and simulation attempts are discussed and evaluated. Challenges and research gaps are highlighted, and potential areas for improvement are presented.

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A review of micro-powder injection moulding as a microfabrication technique

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1741-4326/aad835/pdf

High temperature superconductors for fusion magnets

The ITER toroidal field model coil project

The next step in the Wendelstein stellarator line is the large superconducting device Wendelstein 7-X, currently under construction in Greifswald, Germany. Steady-state operation is an intrinsic feature of stellarators, and one key element of the Wendelstein 7-X mission is to demonstrate steady-state operation under plasma conditions relevant for a fusion power plant. Steady-state operation of a fusion device, on the one hand, requires the implementation of special technologies, giving rise to technical challenges during the design, fabrication and assembly of such a device. On the other hand, also the physics development of steady-state operation at high plasma performance poses a challenge and careful preparation. The electron cyclotron resonance heating system, diagnostics, experiment control and data acquisition are prepared for plasma operation lasting 30 min. This requires many new technological approaches for plasma heating and diagnostics as well as new concepts for experiment control and data acquisition.

/pdf/technical-challenges-in-the-construction-of-the-steady-state-1viqfkntc7.pdf

Technical challenges in the construction of the steady-state stellarator Wendelstein 7-X

In the frame of the European Fusion Technology Programme, the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and the CRPP Villigen have designed and built a 70 kA current lead for the ITER TF Coils using High Temperature Superconductors (HTS). At the beginning of 2004 the HTS current lead was installed and tested in the TOSKA facility of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The scope of the experiment was to characterize the current lead in steady state conditions and to explore the operation limits as well. For this, the temperature profile, the contact resistances, the heat load at 4.5 K, the required 50 K He mass flow rate, and the temperature margin were evaluated. The safety margin in case of a loss of He mass flow was studied, too. The paper describes the experimental results as well as the thermal and electrical models developed.

Experimental results of a 70 kA high temperature superconductor current lead demonstrator for the ITER magnet system

Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe has taken over the responsibility for the design, construction and testing of the High Temperature Superconductor (HTS) current leads for two fusion experiments, i.e. the stellarator WENDELSTEIN 7-X (W7-X) and the satellite tokamak JT-60SA. W7-X is presently under construction at the Greifswald branch of the Max-Planck-Institute for Plasma Physics and consists of 50 non-planar and 20 planar coils with a maximum conductor current of 17.6 kA. In total 14 current leads are required with a nominal current of 14 kA that are mounted upside down with the warm end at the bottom. In the frame of the Broader Approach Agreement between Japan and the EU and concomitantly to the ITER project, the satellite tokamak project JT-60SA has been agreed in 2006. The magnet system of JT-60SA consists of 18 toroidal field coils, 4 central solenoid modules and 7 poloidal field coils. In total 26 leads mounted in vertical, normal position are required. For W7-X and JT-60SA a common basic design will be used which will be adapted to the special needs of the machines. All current leads will be of the Cu-HTS binary type. The HTS part covers the range between 4.5 K and 60 K and is cooled by heat conduction from the 4.5 K end, only. The Cu heat exchanger is cooled with 50 K He and covers the range between 60 K and room temperature. The paper describes the status of the HTS current lead development for W7-X and JT-60SA.

Current Leads for Wendelstein 7-X and JT-60SA

High Temperature Superconductor Current Leads for WENDELSTEIN 7-X and JT-60SA

High temperature superconductor current leads for fusion machines

In the frame of the European Fusion Technology Programme, the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe and the Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, CRPP, Villigen, develop a 70 kA current lead to demonstrate the feasibility of the usage of High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) for the current leads of the ITER TF coils. Design and fabrication of the conventional heat exchanger that covers the temperature range from 65 K to room temperature is done at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The HTS module connects the current feeder terminal at 4.5 K with the conventional heat exchanger and is cooled only by heat conduction from the cold end. Its design and fabrication has been performed by American Superconductor, AMSC. This module consists of Bi-2223 Ag/Au tapes embedded in stainless steel carriers with copper end caps. It is highly instrumented with voltage taps, temperature sensors and Hall probes. The integration with the heat exchanger and the current feeder terminal is carried out at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. The current lead will be tested in the TOSKA facility in the first months of 2004. The paper describes the design, fabrication and results of pretests carried out at AMSC and Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe.

A. Kienzler

Papers

Experimental results of a 70 kA high temperature superconductor current lead demonstrator for the ITER magnet system

Current Leads for Wendelstein 7-X and JT-60SA

High Temperature Superconductor Current Leads for WENDELSTEIN 7-X and JT-60SA

High temperature superconductor current leads for fusion machines

Design and fabrication of a 70 kA current lead using Ag/Au stabilized Bi-2223 tapes as a demonstrator for the ITER TF-coil system