International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Vacuum Vessel Research Articles

Influence of Noncondensable Gas–Dust Mixture on Direct Contact Condensation of Steam at Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract At the Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering (DICI) of the University of Pisa, an experimental research program, funded by International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Organization, concerning steam direct condensation in a flux containing also noncondensable gas and dust, was carried out. This mixture of fluids and dust is injected into the ITER pressure suppression tanks during a loss of coolant accident (LOCA) in the Vacuum Vessel. The aim of the research program is to determine the steam condensation efficiency in such conditions. Experimental tests were performed injecting this mixture in a tank partially filled with water. Alumina was used to simulate the actual dust present in the ITER Vacuum Vessel. Mass flow rates, temperature, and pressure of the different fluids involved were recorded during the tests. The steam condensation into the subcooled water pool at a temperature ranging between 318 and 369 K was investigated to determine the condensation regimes occurring during the mixture injection. The values of the fraction of the energy absorbed by water, dust, and metallic structures of the heat losses and of the average heat transfer coefficient were determined considering pure steam, steam-dust and steam-air–dust injection. The average heat transfer coefficient, determined calculating the steam jet surfaces by means of image elaboration, was compared with empirical correlations.

Evaluation of the functional acceptability of the ITER vacuum vessel

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV) is one of the critical components of the ITER tokamak fusion reactor. The first sector of the ITER VV was delivered to ITER Organization in 2020, and it is ready to assemble into the tokamak system. After manufacturing the ITER VV, an evaluation should ensure that the components are designed and manufactured to meet the functional requirements, such as vacuum leak tightness and structural integrity. The factory acceptance test (FAT) is essential for confirming acceptance in engineering and manufacturing. This paper introduces the engineering process and technical method of the FAT, which is applied explicitly to the first-of-a-kind ITER VV. We establish a visual inspection, pre-pumping assessment, pressure test, helium (vacuum) leak test, and final dimensional inspection for the FAT. The visual inspection revealed no blockages in the cooling channels of the double walls. The pre-pumping assessment conducted to check the vacuum level and residual gas condition, concluded that the inside of the VV was flawless and thus met the leak test requirements of 1 × 10−8 Pa m3 s−1. We confirmed no leakage or deformation through the pressure test under reduced pressure. The helium leak test demonstrated engineering soundness with leak tightness of 6.08 × 10−9 Pa m3 s−1, which is more stringent than the allowable limit. Furthermore, three-dimensional metrology was utilized to determine the as-built dimensions of the manufactured sector. Due to unavoidable weld deformation and tight tolerances, the as-built result does not perfectly meet the assigned tolerance level. Nevertheless, it can be considered as advanced information for assembly with in-vessel components and other sectors. Based on the conformance and suitability of the suggested FAT for the first ITER VV sector, we will determine the acceptability of the upcoming VV sectors, which will be manufactured and delivered by Korea shortly.

Deposition of ITER Vacuum Vessel Dust Inside the Pressure Suppression System During a Loss of Coolant Accident: Experimental and Numerical Analyses

Abstract This paper deals with an experimental and numerical analysis of the deposition of International thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) dust simulant inside a reduced scale vacuum vessel pressure suppression system (VVPSS) of ITER. This research, funded by the ITER organization, aims to analyze the dust deposition in a water container in a relevant configuration for the ITER VVPSS, the dust removal by means of robotized apparatuses and their decontamination efficiency. The experimental rig, built at the department of civil and industrial engineering (DICI) of the University of Pisa (Italy), is described and the results of a preliminary experimental test are illustrated. It was measured that two and 82% of the overall injected dust mass was strongly and lightly bound to the water container surfaces, respectively, and 16% were not deposited in the water tank. Furthermore, three numerical analyses were carried out implementing a model of the experimental rig in the Enel code for analysis of radionuclide transport (ECART) to determine the relevance of different parameters on the deposition, resuspension and removal of dust. The numerical simulations allowed to specify dust mass deposition on the different rig components, revealing a strong dust retention (about 66%) in the first part of the injection piping in case of coarse granulometry. Finest lognormal dust distribution was instead able to reach the water container (about 90%). Moreover, the numerical simulations permitted to define more precisely the test matrix and to analyze the experimental results.

Design assessment for manufacturability of supporting structures for IWS and ELM coil of ITER vacuum vessel

A vacuum vessel is one of the core facilities of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) and basically all-welded structure. Korea is responsible for the procurement of sector 1 and 6 of the main vessel. Accordingly, the design review for the fabrication is in progress by ITER Korea and Hyundai Heavy Industries. Due to anticipated manufacturing problems such as the welding distortion, the design of some components of main vessel, IWS (In-Wall Shield) supporting rib and ELM (Edge Localized Mode) coil support, needs to be modified. To release the risk of welding distortion, the welding method called “bridge type” is suggested and the shape of weld joint is adjusted to secure the manufacturability of the issued components. The elastic and limit analyses with fatigue evaluation have been performed under the most critical loading condition to verify the structural integrity of modified design. Analysis results show that the proposed designs meet the design criteria of RCC-MR. The design deviation requests have been submitted to ITER Organization and ANB (Agreed Notified Body) for approval and their verification is currently in progress.

STARDUST experimental campaign and numerical simulations: influence of obstacles and temperature on dust resuspension in a vacuum vessel under LOVA

Activated dust mobilization during a Loss of Vacuum Accident (LOVA) is one of the safety concerns for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Intense thermal loads in fusion devices occur during plasma disruptions, edge localized modes and vertical displacement events. They will result in macroscopic erosion of the plasma facing materials and consequent accumulation of activated dust into the ITER vacuum vessel (VV). These kinds of events can cause dust leakage outside the VV that represents a high radiological risk for the workers and the population. A small facility, Small Tank for Aerosol Removal and Dust (STARDUST), was set up at the ENEA Frascati laboratories to perform experiments concerning the dust mobilization in a volume with the initial conditions similar to those existing in ITER VV. The aim of this work was to reproduce a low pressurization rate (300 Pa s−1) LOVA event in a VV due to a small air leakage for two different positions of the leak, at the equatorial port level and at the divertor port level, in order to evaluate the influence of obstacles and walls temperature on dust resuspension during both maintenance (MC) and accident conditions (AC) (Twalls = 25 °C MC, 110 °C AC). The dusts used were tungsten (W), stainless steel 316 (SS316) and carbon (C), similar to those produced inside the vacuum chamber in a fusion reactor when the plasma facing materials vaporize due to the high energy deposition. The experimental campaign has been carried out by introducing inside STARDUST facility an obstacle to simulate the presence of objects, such as divertor. In the obstacle a slit was cut to simulate the limiter–divertor gap inside ITER VV. In this paper experimental campaign results are shown in order to investigate how the divertor and limiter–divertor gap influence dust mobilization into a VV. A two-dimensional (2D) modelling of STARDUST was made using the CFD commercial code FLUENT, in order to get a preliminary overview of the fluid dynamics behaviour during a LOVA event and to justify the mobilization data. In addition, a numerical model was developed to compare numerical results with experimental ones.

Experiments for the hydrogen combustion aspects of ITER LOVA scenarios

This work addresses the hydrogen safety issue of an International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in case of a loss of vacuum accident (LOVA) scenario. In this scenario, accidentally generated hydrogen mixed with injected air could be ignited at reduced, sub-atmospheric pressures. The general question is whether the induced combustion pressure could exceed the ITER vacuum vessel design pressure. The paper presents the results of large scale dynamic experiments on hydrogen ignition and combustion at reduced pressures in the presence of a turbulent air jet injected into the hydrogen atmosphere. Experiments have been performed in a cylindrical vessel with a volume of 8.8 m 3 filled with hydrogen at an initial pressure of 200 mbar. The orifice size of 6 mm i.d. was chosen to model in the same time scale the real leak through a 100 mm × 100 mm area into the ITER vacuum vessel with a volume of about 3000 m 3. The structure and dynamics of the air jet into the hydrogen atmosphere at different initial pressures were investigated using microscopic liquid droplets as markers. During the combustion tests, it was found that more distant ignition positions and stronger ignition energies lead to maximum combustion pressures that are lower than the design pressure of the ITER vacuum vessel.

Influence of Forming Residual Stresses on the Welding Distortions of Two Thick Plates

The manufacturing of the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) vacuum vessel involves the welding of thick deformed plates. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of forming residual stresses on the welding distortions of two thick plates. The plates are deformed using a three point rolling process. A first numerical simulation is performed to investigate the residual stresses induced by this process. The forming residual stresses are taken into account as initial conditions to perform the electron beam welding simulation of a deformed plate. This simulation first requires calibrating the heat source. Two welding simulations are then performed: the first one with residual stresses and the second one without. The comparison of the simulation results points out a low effect of the residual stresses on the electron beam welding distortions. As a result, in the next electron beam welding simulations of the vacuum vessel, no forming residual stresses will be taken into account.

Numerical Analysis on Neutron Shielding Structure of ITER Vacuum Vessel

The neutron shielding component of ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) vacuum vessel is a kind of structure resembling a wall in appearance. A FE (finite element) model is set up by using ANSYS code in terms of its structural features. Static analysis, thermal expansion analysis and dynamic analysis are performed. The static results show that the stress and displacement distribution are allowable, but the high stress appears in the junction between the upper and lower parts. The modal analysis indicates that the biggest deformation exists in the port area. Through modal superposition, the single-point response has been found with the lower rank frequency of the acceleration seismic response spectrum. But the deformation and the stress values are within the permissible limit. The analysis results would benefit the work in the next step and provide some reference for the implementation of the engineering plan in the future.

Mobile parallel robot for assembly and repair of ITER vacuum vessel

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to build up a parallel robot for assembling, machining and repairing of the vacuum vessel of the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER).Design/methodology/approachThe process of assembling and machining of the vacuum vessel need a special robot. By studying the structure of the vacuum vessel, a novel parallel robot is built, which has ten degrees of freedom driven by water hydraulic cylinders and electrical servo motors. Kinematic models for the redundant degree robot have been defined. A prototype has been built. Experiments for machine cutting and laser welding were carried out.FindingsThe parallel robot is capable of holding all necessary machining tools and welding end‐effectors in all positions accurately and stably inside the vacuum vessel sector. The kinematic models appeared to be complex because of the redundant structure of the robot, and an optimization algorithm ensuring the maximum stiffness during the robot motion helps to find the solution in the trajectory planning. The entire design and testing process of the robot appeared to be a very complex task due to the high specialization of the manufacturing technology needed in the ITER reactor, while the results demonstrate the applicability of the proposed solutions quite well.Originality/valueOffers not only a device but also a methodology for the assembling and repairing of ITER by means of a parallel robot.

Demonstration tests for manufacturing the ITER vacuum vessel

Demonstration tests for manufacturing and assembly of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel have been conducted to confirm manufacturing and assembly process of the vacuum vessel (VV). The full-scale partial mock-up fabrication was planned and is in progress. The results will be available in the near future. Field-joint assembly procedure has been demonstrated using a test stand. Due to limited accessibility to the outer shell at the field joint, some operations, including alignment of the splice plates, field-joint welding, and examination, were found to be very difficult. In addition, a demonstration test on the selected back-seal structures was performed. It was found that the tested structures have insufficient sealing capabilities and need further improvement. The applicability of ultrasonic testing methods has been investigated. Although side drilled holes of 2.4 mm in diameter were detected, detection of the slit-type defects and defect characterization were found to be difficult. Feasibility test of liquid penetrant testing has revealed that the selected liquid penetrant testing (LPT) solutions have sufficient low outgas rates and are applicable to the VV.

A mobile robot with parallel kinematics to meet the requirements for assembling and machining the ITER vacuum vessel

The present paper introduces a mobile parallel robot developed for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The task of the robot is to carry out welding and machining processes inside the ITER vacuum vessel. The kinematic design of the robot has been optimized for the ITER access. The kinematic analysis is given in the paper. A virtual prototype of the parallel robot is built. A dynamic behavior of the whole robot is studied by the multi-body system simulation (MBS).

Structural analysis for an upper port of the ITER vacuum vessel

The international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV) upper port has a trapezoidal/rectangular cross-section and consists of a port stub, a stub extension and a port extension with a connecting duct. To investigate the structural integrity and to increase the structural reliability of the VV and ports, the structural analyses of the upper port structure have been performed. Two advanced designs from the ITER international team have been deeply analyzed. To verify the strength of the reinforcing ribs for the connecting duct and of the fastening/sealing units, the local analyses utilizing the sub-modeling technique have been performed. The upper port flange based on the original design could withstand design loads, but the flange surface could be detached under the design condition. The advanced design using large superbolts is highly acceptable in the structural design point of view. The deflection of the plug for the other advanced design with a removable flange is relatively large since the stiffness of a port and a plug is reduced by the nut groove and the removable flange.

Simulation of cryogenic He spills as basis for planning of experimental campaign in the EVITA facility

Code validation activities have been promoted inside the European fusion development agreement (EFDA) to test the capability of codes in simulating accident phenomena in fusion facilities and, specifically, in the International thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER). This work includes a comparison between three different computer codes (CONSEN, MAGS and MELCOR) and one analytical model (ITER Model) in simulating cryogenic helium releases into the vacuum vessel (VV) which contains hot structures. The scope was the evaluation of the transient pressure inside the VV. The results will be used to design a vent duct (equivalent diameter, length and roughness) to allow pressure relief for the protection of the VV, which has a maximum design pressure of 200 kPa. The model geometry is a simplified scheme preserving the main features of the ITER design. Based on the results of the simulations, a matrix of experiments was developed to validate the calculated results and to design the vent duct for the ITER VV. The experiments are planned to be performed in the EVITA test facility, located in the CEA Cadarache research centre (France).

Design and Structural Analysis of Support Structure for ITER Vacuum Vessel

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV) is a safety component confining radioactive materials such as tritium and activated dust. An independent VV support structure with multiple flexible plates located at the bottom of VV lower port is proposed as a new concept, which is deferent from the current design, i.e., the VV support is directly connected to the toroidal coils (TF coils). This independent concept has two advantages comparing to the current one: (1) thermal load due to the temperature deference between VV and TF coils becomes lower and (2) the TF coils are categorized as non-safety components because of its independence from VV. Stress Analyses have been performed to assess the integrity of the VV support structure using a precisely modeled VV structure. As a result, (1) the maximum displacement of the VV corresponding to the relative displacement between VV and TF coils is found to be 15 mm, much less than the current design clearance of 100 mm, and (2) the stresses of the whole VV system including VV support are estimated to be less than the allowable ones defined by ASME Section III Subsection NF, respectively. Based on these assessments, the feasibility of the proposed independent VV support has been verified as a VV support.

Penetration of an oscillating magnetic field through the ITER double-walled vacuum vessel

The objective of this work is to investigate frequency-dependent characteristics for the process of external magnetic field penetration into the ITER vacuum vessel, in order to provide input for a preliminary study of the capability of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)[1] side correction coil (CC) to control the Resistive Wall instability Mode (RWM). The specific purpose of the work was to simulate the processes of oscillating magnetic field penetration through the ITER Vacuum Vessel (VV) at different frequencies.

Design and Structural Analysis of Support Structure for ITER Vacuum Vessel

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV) is a safety component confining radioactive materials such as tritium and activated dust. An independent VV support structure with multiple flexible plates located at the bottom of VV lower port is proposed as a new concept, which is deferent from the current design, i.e., the VV support is directly connected to the toroidal coils (TF coils). This independent concept has two advantages comparing to the current one: (1) thermal load due to the temperature deference between VV and TF coils becomes lower and (2) the TF coils are categorized as non-safety components because of its independence from VV. Stress Analyses have been performed to assess the integrity of the VV support structure using a precisely modeled VV structure. As a result, (1) the maximum displacement of the VV corresponding to the relative displacement between VV and TF coils is found to be 15 mm, much less than the current design clearance of 100 mm, and (2) the stresses of the whole VV system including VV support are estimated to be less than the allowable ones defined by ASME Section III Subsection NF, respectively. Based on these assessments, the feasibility of the proposed independent VV support has been verified as a VV support.

Towards advanced welding methods for the ITER vacuum vessel sectors

The problem of joining the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV) sectors, considering the tolerance requirements of the blanket attachments, and the time required for TIG welding, continues to stimulate EU R&D into power beam welding techniques which can yield fewer passes, less welding time and lower distortion. The previous work on reduced pressure e-beam welding showed that penetration varied with position, fit-up, distance and pressure and single-pass weld control was deemed to be not reliable enough so the work direction changed to an all-e-beam welding procedure where the root weld is carried out with rest-current-control and the fill passes by wire-fill. In addition, a novel method of increasing the possible single-pass weld thickness for overhead positions is investigated demonstrated and now patented. Another solution may be offered with wire-fill NdYAG laser welding, which has demonstrated useable and stable results and proved improved performance over TIG. Preliminary work has shown even further advantages with the introduction of hybrid MIG/Laser welding.

Numerical study on direct-contact condensation of vapor in cold water

Numerical analyses were carried out to predict quantitatively the condensation characteristics between the water and vapor inside a suppression tank in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The suppression tank is one of the ITER safety devices. The pressure rise in an ITER vacuum vessel during an ingress-of-coolant event (ICE) is suppressed by the effect of condensation of vapor in the suppression tank. The water–vapor two-phase flow characteristics with condensation under the ITER pressure conditions were clarified numerically. Moreover, flow visualization experiments were carried out to understand the condensation behavior under low pressure and cold water. The predicted flow configurations agreed well with the experimental results.

Manufacturing and maintenance technologies developed for a thick-wall structure of the ITER vacuum vessel

Development of welding, cutting and non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, and development of remotized systems have been carried out for on-site manufacturing and maintenance of the thick-wall structure of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) vacuum vessel (VV). Conventional techniques, including tungsten inert gas welding, plasma cutting, and ultrasonic inspection, have been improved and optimized for the application to thick austenitic stainless steel plates. In addition, advanced methods have been investigated, including reduced-pressure electron-beam and multi-pass neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (NdYAG) laser welding, NdYAG laser cutting, and electro-magnetic acoustic transducer inspection, to improve cost and technical performance. Two types of remotized systems with different payloads have been investigated and one of them has been fabricated and demonstrated in field joint welding, cutting, and NDT tests on test mockups and full-scale ITER VV sector models. The progress and results of this development to date provide a high level of confidence that the manufacturing and maintenance of the ITER VV is feasible.

Experimental and theoretical MHD performance of a round pipe with an NaK-compatible Al2O3 coating

Abstract A key feasibility issue for the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) vanadium/lithium breeding blanket is the question of insulator coatings. Design calculations show that an electrically insulating layer is necessary to maintain an acceptably low magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) pressure drop. To begin experimental investigations of the MHD performance of candidate insulator materials and the technology for putting them in place, a new test section was prepared. Aluminum oxide was chosen as the first candidate insulating material because it may be used in combination with NaK in the ITER vacuum vessel and/or the divertor and MHD performance tests could begin early in Argonne's liquid-metal experiment (ALEX) because NaK was already the working fluid in use. Details on the methods used to produce the aluminum oxide layer, as well as the microstructures of the coating and the aluminide sublayer, are presented and discussed. The overall MHD pressure drop, local MHD pressure gradient, local transverse MHD pressure difference and surface voltage distributions in both the circumferential and axial directions are reported and discussed. The overall MHD pressure drop, measured at 30 and 85°C, was higher than the perfectly insulating case, but many times lower than the bare-wall case. It was demonstrated that the increase in MHD pressure drop above the theoretical values is largely due to the presence of instrumentation penetrations in the test section walls, which provide current paths from the fluid to the walls of the pipe, resulting in local areas of near-bare-wall MHD pressure drop.