Thermal and mechanical analysis of Wendelstein 7-X thermal shield

Abstract

The thermal insulation of Wendelstein 7-X cryostat consists of multi-layer insulation (MLI) and a thermal shield. The shield is cooled by helium gas flowing in pipes which are attached to the shields via copper strips or braids. The paper presents the basic thermal and mechanical layout of the thermal shield. The design is strongly influenced by the tight design space. Main mechanical loads on the shield are electromagnetic forces resulting from rapid shut down of the magnet system and the self weight. Design and calculations were performed iteratively. Copper and brass were checked in combination with different electrical isolation variants. The induced eddy currents will be reduced if the upper and the lower half shells of the cryostat are electrically isolated against each other. The cryostat shield and the port shields are made of brass. The expected heat loads on the shield were estimated. The resulting temperature distribution was then calculated for brass and copper shield panels. The average shield temperature is below 85 K and fulfills the thermal requirements.