Fabrication of the new poloidal field coils for DIII-D

The six new poloidal field coil assemblies manufactured by GA Technologies (GA) for DIII-D range in diameter from 3.4-5.3 m. Two of them are 55-turn field shaping coils. Each of the other four combines one turn of the ohmic heating coil and a 55-turn field shaping coil into a single unit encased in a stainless steel box beam. These four box beams, which provide support for the coils inside, are part of the overall coil and vacuum vessel support structure. They also serve as molds for vacuum impregnating the coils with epoxy. All coils are made of hollow, water-cooled copper conductor. The larger field shaping coils are designed for 20 kA, 3 sec rectangular current pulses with 400C temperature rise. The ohmic heating coil turns are capable of currents of up to 110 kA. The conductor is wrapped with Kapton and fiberglass tape; Kapton provides 1000 V/turn and 28 kV coil-to-ground insulation. The fiberglass acts as wick and reinforcement for the vacuum impregnated epoxy resin which bonds the coil together. The fabrication process is described in detail and illustrated. Tools and setups used for special operations such as induction brazing, conductor winding, conductor bending, and vacuum impregnation are presented. The quality control procedures followed to guarantee sound brazed joints are explained. The electrical tests performed at several stages of fabrication, especially the 1000 V/turn impulse tests conducted before potting to facilitate fault detection and repair, are described