Development of a React & Wind Conductor for the ITER Toroidal Field Coils

Author

Bruzzone, P. ; Bagnasco, M. ; Cau, F. ; Stepanov, B. ; Wesche, R.

Author_Institution

EPFL-CRPP, Fusion Technol., Villigen

Volume

18

Issue

2

fYear

2008

fDate

6/1/2008 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

467

Lastpage

470

Abstract

A 48 kA Nb₃Sn react & wind, forced flow conductor for ITER TF coils was developed and tested at CRPP. The same, excellent results are obtained with and without impregnating the strand bundle with a low melting point alloy. At ITER´s request, the react & wind conductor design has been updated to a 68 kA, i.e. the same size as the reference design. A TF winding pack, without radial plates, is designed using the baseline ITER coil case and the new 68 kA conductor. A performance assessment is done by mechanical and electro-magnetic analyses, as well as hydraulic calculation for pressure drop and heat removal capability. The joint region and the cooling circuit are investigated. The advantages of a react & wind conductor option for the ITER toroidal field coils are discussed, including heat treatment, electrical insulation, structural reinforcement and overall cost saving potential.

Keywords

Tokamak devices; fusion reactor design; fusion reactor materials; heat treatment; niobium alloys; plasma toroidal confinement; superconducting coils; tin alloys; CRPP; ITER toroidal field coils; Nb₃Sn; baseline ITER coil; cooling circuit; electrical insulation; electromagnetic analyses; forced flow conductor; heat removal; heat treatment; hydraulic calculation; mechanical analyses; melting point alloy; react & wind conductor design; structural reinforcement; $hbox{Nb}_{3}hbox{Sn}$ strand; Force flow; ITER; react & wind conductor;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Applied Superconductivity, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1051-8223

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TASC.2008.922260

Filename

4512943