Manufacture and testing of the CTB&SBB thermal shield for the ITER magnet feeder system

Abstract

The system of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) feeders is responsible for the power, helium cooling, and instrumentation of the magnets of the coil terminal box and S-bend box (CTB&SBB) thermal shield outside the cryostat.An 80-K rectangular Al thermal shield is hung inside the CTB&SBB to reduce the thermal radiation heat loads of 4.5-K helium. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) will supply all the 31 sets of feeders for ITER. A manufactured prototype of CTB&SBB thermal shield is first quality-tested before the commencement of the series production.First, a detailed configuration of the rectangular Al thermal shield is presented in this article. The paper also presents more information on the manufacturing process of the thermal shield, especially the welding process, the procedure for ensuring good weld quality, and the use of a specially designed tool to ensure <5-mm deformation on such a 7.3-m-long thermal shield during welding. In addition, the cold test and results, including the cooling process with 13-bar and 17.5-g/s 80-K He gas, and the temperature distribution on different panels of the thermal shield are presented. The whole process of manufacture and testing lays a good foundation for the series production of the thermal shield.