Procurement for pre-compression rings starts
(Image courtesy of ITER Organization)
Pre-compression rings are attached to the top and bottom of the TF coils (2 TF coils shown). The rings hinder the TF coils from deforming when creating a magnetic field in the ITER machine.
The Procurement Arrangement (PA) between F4E and ITER IO for the delivery of 9 pre-compression rings, signed on 12 May, is the start signal for the commencement of the procurement process for these vital parts. An open call for tender with the expected worth of over 1 million EUR will be launched during this summer.
The pre-compression rings are the cornerstone of the ITER magnet system support structure. They hold the top and bottom of the Toroidal Field coils (conductor-windings that produce a magnetic field) intact, as the coils otherwise tend to deform from their D-shape when creating the magnetic field needed to keep the plasma in place in the ITER machine.
Based on research and development carried out at ENEA Frascati and in close cooperation with ITER IO, all aspects of the ring design have been studied, including detailed material properties and sub-scale ring testing. The pre-compression rings will be made of glass composite: small glass fibres “glued together”. The technology is very common in many large but light systems such as aircrafts, rockets, boats and wind mills. The glass fibres are very thin – about one-fifth of the diameter of a human hair – and each ring cross section contains about one billion fibres.
