prototype testing of THE Blanket shield module and Torus window assembly for the ITER ECH upper launcher
Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Association EURATOM-FZK, Karlsruhe, Germany
* Japanese Atomic Energy Association, 801-1
Mukoyama, Naka-shi, Japan
For MHD control in ITER plasmas, the ECH Upper
Launcher system has to provide a mm-wave system ensuring an intelligent antenna
for launching the EC waves to the target absorption zone in the plasma and a
structural system integrating the mm-wave system and ensuring thermal and
nuclear shielding. The paper describes the design and testing of prototypes of
the Blanket Shield Module (BSM) and the plasma facing component First Wall
Panel (FWP) as well as of the ITER torus window unit.
Along with the generic design validation based on
nuclear, thermohydraulic, electromagnetic and
thermo-mechanical analysis, prototype studies are being carried out to ensure
the feasibility of the design within an industrial manufacturing framework. As
first structural prototypes, a quarter of the BSM housing (corner prototype)
was produced by the three alternative routes (HIPping,
brazing, gun drilling), tested and analysed for their
thermo-hydraulic performance. Another part of the
prototyping studies addresses the torus window design based on CVD diamond
disks. To this goal, experiments with low power mm-waves were performed in a Fabry-Perot spherical resonator setup to determine
the dielectric losses and are being discussed in the context of results from
high power long pulse transmission studies, which were achieved in joint
experiments at the JAEA 1MW/170 GHz gyrotron facility [1]. Effects of
the microwave beam quality (mode composition) and the design of the window
housing will be discussed.
References
[1] T.A.
Scherer, R. Heidinger, A. Meier, K. Sakamoto, K. Takahashi, K. Kajiwara, M.
Henderson, R. Chavan, Proc. EC-15,
10-13 March 2008, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Parts of this work were
supported by the European Communities and carried out within the framework of
the European Fusion Development Agreement.