The ITER Magnet Systems: Progress on Construction

Full text: Construction of the ITER magnet systems has been started at the end of 2007 following the signature of the first Procurement Arrangements for the Toroidal Field (TF) conductors. Six ITER Parties are involved in the share of the ITER magnet components and, to date, more than 15 Procurement Arrangements between the ITER Organization and the Parties have been signed. Substantial progress towards full scale construction has been achieved with the placement of the first large manufacturing contracts, the production of several tens of tons of advanced Nb3Sn and NbTi strand, and the set-up of large cabling and jacketing facilities across six ITER Parties. In most cases, the detailed design of the coils and support structures has also been finalized and reviewed. The qualification of the fabrication processes for the Toroidal Field (TF) coils and Poloidal Field (PF) coils has been initiated. The preliminary design of the Central Solenoid (CS) and the detailed design of the Correction Coils (CCs) have been carried out, as well as for the TF gravity supports and clamps of the PF coils. The manufacture of prototypes of the feeder lines and current leads has been started, while ITER is in charge of the qualification and procurement of the required magnet instrumentation. (author)