Test results and analysis of two European full-size conductor samples for ITER

Abstract

The European Home Team is responsible for the design, the fabrication and the test of the Toroidal Field Model Coil (TFMC) of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). Within this task, three full-size samples had to be fabricated by industry and to be tested in the SULTAN facility (Villigen, Switzerland). Each sample is composed of two parallel straight bars of full-size conductor, connected at bottom through a joint. This paper reports on the test results and analysis of the first two samples. We present the results of the critical current measurements performed on each conductor leg, the results of the measurements of the joint DC resistance and of the joint quench temperature, the results of joint loss and conductor loss measured under pulsed magnetic field. The results are analysed through comparisons with predictions given by theoretical models. Conclusions are drawn for the expected performances of the TFMC and of the ITER coils.