Analytical study of cover plate welding deformation of the radial plate of the ITER toroidal field coil

The winding pack (WP) of the Toroidal Field (TF) coil of ITER consists of 7 double-pancakes (DPs). In the DP, the conductor is embedded in a groove of a radial plate (RP), and cover plates (CP) are welded to the RP teeth to fix the conductors in the RP groove. The dimensions of the DP are 15 m in height and 9 m in width while the tolerances of the DP are very severe, such as a flatness of 2 mm and an in-plane deviation of a few millimeters. It is therefore required to reduce the deformation of the DP by CP welding. In order to estimate welding deformation, the authors apply an analytical method in which the CP welding deformation of the DP can be calculated using inherent strain evaluated from welding deformation measured using a RP mock-up. Calculated results indicate that out-of-plane distortion can be kept to within required tolerances, but in-plane deformation is larger than allowed when welding thickness is 2.5 mm. The in-plane deformation is mainly caused by the bending of the curved RP region. Therefore, reducing the welding thickness at the curved region emerges as the most promising solution of this issue. Calculated results assuming a welding thickness of 1 mm at the curved region show that the in-plane deformation conforms to required tolerances. Furthermore, since the maximum out-of-plane deformation is within tolerances but marginal, an alternative design in which the number of welding lines is half that of the reference design, is proposed not only to improve the out-of-plane distortion but also to simplify the manufacture of the DP. It is found that the alternative design is effective in reducing welding distortion. (author)