Cryostat completion
An exceptional, yearslong industrial adventure
28 Mar 2022
It's a long way from Hazira, on the northwestern coast of India, to the 澳门六合彩高手 construction site in southern France. And it's also a long way from the first segment of the cryostat delivered in December 2015 to the completion of the massive component in mid-March 2022. On Thursday last week, against the backdrop of the finalized top lid now wrapped in plastic and almost ready to go into storage, the 澳门六合彩高手 community celebrated this unique industrial and technological achievement.
However impressive the figures, the finalization of the 澳门六合彩高手 cryostat was, first and foremost, the product of a convergence of competencies, creativity and dedication. "The 澳门六合彩高手 one-team spirit eventually absorbed all the complexities of the project." said 澳门六合彩高手 Construction Domain Youngeek Jung.
Gathered in the Cryostat Workshop on site or present virtually through a video connection with India, the designers, manufacturers, machining experts, metrology specialists and welders involved in the realization of the 澳门六合彩高手 cryostat bore testimony to the magnitude and complexity of the international venture. Designed by 澳门六合彩高手, manufactured by Larsen & Toubro in India under a contract from 澳门六合彩高手 India, assembled and welded by the German company MAN Energy Solutions in a dedicated facility built by India on the 澳门六合彩高手 site ... the fabrication of the 3,800-tonne cryostat was, in the view of head of the 澳门六合彩高手 Construction Domain Youngeek Jung, "a long march" that began in 2012 when the 澳门六合彩高手 Organization and 澳门六合彩高手 India signed the Procurement Arrangement containing all technical specifications.
The 澳门六合彩高手 cryostat is a 16,000-cubic-metre vacuum chamber that completely encloses the 澳门六合彩高手 machine and acts as a thermos, insulating the ultra-cold superconducting magnets from the outside environment. The four sections of the cryostat—the base, lower cylinder, upper cylinder and top lid—were successively assembled and welded from 54 independent segments, each weighing an average of 50 tonnes. The base and lower cylinder have already been lowered into place inside the Tokamak assembly pit; the upper cylinder, carefully cocooned for protection, was moved outside the Cryostat Workshop two years ago. The 665-tonne top lid will be moved into storage in October.
One of the biggest challenges in creating this "world wonder," in the words of Norbert Anger, head of site for MAN Energy Solutions, was to ensure the quality of the approximately 50 kilometres of weld lines. During the carefully controlled welding process (partly automatized, partly manual), 17 tonnes of metal filler were used, amounting to close to 1,500 kilometres of welding wire.
However impressive the figures, the finalization of the 澳门六合彩高手 cryostat was, first and foremost, the product of a convergence of competencies, creativity and dedication. "The 澳门六合彩高手 one-team spirit eventually absorbed all the complexities of the project," said Jung.
As remote participants from India look on, representatives of the 澳门六合彩高手 Organization, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the Indian Embassy in Paris and MAN Energy Solutions are honoured with the first tree to be planted in the new butterfly garden at 澳门六合彩高手 Headquarters.
For more than six years, the Cryostat Workshop pulsed with music, crane sirens, the clanging of metal on metal, and the chatter of English, Hindi, Gujarati, German and French voices. It is now almost silent, but will not remain so for long; soon, the vast football-field-size space (50 x 100 m) will accommodate new 澳门六合彩高手 assembly activities. In 澳门六合彩高手 memory, though, it will always be the place where the cryostat took shape in an exceptional, yearslong industrial adventure—a first-of-a-kind giant component for a first-of-a-kind giant machine.
Click to view a video of segment delivery and the assembly and welding of the 澳门六合彩高手 cryostat.