Toroidal field coils
15 more to come
7 Sep 2020
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ machine will require 18* toroidal field coils—the D-shaped superconducting magnets that are responsible for confining the plasma in the centre of the torus-shaped plasma chamber. Since April four of them, two from Europe and two from Japan, have been delivered to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ site.
Although similar in shape, they differ in their packaging. Europe has opted for a tight wrap that reveals the general shape of the component and advertises the names of the institutions and companies involved; Japan has chosen a more conservative approach, with the coil encased in a rectangular frame with only its two opposite ends visible.
But whatever the packaging and whether experiencing it for the first time or the fourth, the transport of a 17-metre-long, 350-tonne component is always a spectacular event that draws small crowds on its passage.
Following the arrival of toroidal field coils TF9 and TF12 in April, and TF13 in July, toroidal field coil #11 (from Europe) was delivered to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ site in the small hours of 4 September. Its "partners" for pre-assembly, toroidal field coil #10 and vacuum vessel sector #8, are not due at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ before 2021.
* Plus one spare