Vacuum vessel
Last phase for Europe's sector #5
1 Mar 2021
The first European vacuum vessel sector is entering an important and critical phase: the assembly and welding of four segments into the D-shaped sector. Under the supervision of the European Domestic Agency, the AMW consortium (Ansaldo Nucleare, Mangiarotti, Walter Tosto), supported by an extended network of sub-suppliers located in France, Germany and Spain, is ready for the challenge.
Final machining is underway on one segment for sector #5 at Walter Tosto (Chieti, Italy). Four segments (inboard, upper, equatorial and lower) will be assembled into the final D-shaped sector.
Four poloidal segments are assembled into the final 40-degree vacuum vessel sector.
Vacuum vessel sector #5 will be the first of five sectors delivered to °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¸ßÊÖ by the European Domestic Agency. It has been more than nine years in the making, leading the pack as the European AMW consortium carried out extensive R&D and prototyping, learned to organize manufacturing tasks among the consortium members, and pioneered advanced welding and inspection techniques. The double-wall structure of the vacuum vessel, complex geometry, French nuclear safety regulations, and new rules and restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic are some of the challenges highlighted by engineers in a by Fusion for Energy, the European Domestic Agency.
The four segments that make up Sector #5 are in the last stages of completion; only some final machining and non-destructive evaluation tests remain before the four segments will be positioned on a vast assembly platform and welded together. Four other sectors are in various stages of fabrication in Europe; Korea is also supplying four sectors. See more detail about European manufacturing in the gallery below.
See the original story on the Fusion for Energy .
- At Walter Tosto a number of assemblies are underway, including segment 2 (PS2) for vacuum vessel sector #4 (centre). European Domestic Agency project managers make sure information circulates so that good practices and lessons learned can be shared among manufacturing sites.
- Work is progressing on segment 3 (PS3, yellow in the diagram above) for sector #5 at Walter Tosto (Chieti, Italy). Every weld is verified through non-destructive examination.
- When all in-wall components are in place, an outer shell will be fitted and welded. Each vacuum vessel sector has more than 1 kilometre of welds. (Sector #3, poloidal segment 2 (PS2) at Belleli.)
- The upper segments (in dark blue, above) are called PS2 segments. This one, in fabrication at Belleli (Mantova, Italy), is destined for vacuum vessel sector #3. Note the complexity of the curvature, the opening reserved for the upper port, and the channels between the ribs that will be filled with in-wall shielding blocks for neutron shielding.