force behind the continuation of a second project, known as DEMO because it is a demonstration project, which is already underway. In the following 15–20 years, DEMO is expected to lead to the accomplishment of the first real industrial plant for the generation of electricity from nuclear fusion.
Contained by a Magnetic Field
As one of the possible solutions to accomplish a nuclear fusion system, ITER is based on the magnetic confinement of the reaction. The core of the fusion is plasma, a state of mat- ter that in the ITER reactor is achieved when it is heated up at temperatures higher than 150,000,000°C. The move- ment of pairs of plasma atoms as they come together up to their point of fusion is made possible by a mas- sive thrust from a magnetic field. When the atomic par- ticles have been fused so that they have only a single nucleus, the latter takes on a mass lower than the sum of the original particles, leading to the emission of huge quantities of energy. After the reaction, the magnetic system continues to operate, confining the plasma in a space that enables the use of this heat energy and limits the forces acting on the containment room wall. In La Spezia, Italy, overlooking the Ligurian Sea between Liguria and Tuscany, is the headquarters of ASG Superconductors, one of the Italian companies in charge of manufacturing some of the main components of ITER. At its facilities in Genoa and La Spezia, ASG manufactures magnets of all sizes—superconductive and traditional magnets, used to make innovative MRIs, and machines for the controlled bombardment of tumor cells, and for experimental high-energy physics. The company has supplied part of the magnets forming the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the particle accelerator at CERN in Geneva, as well as for nuclear fusion. Alberto Barutti is the quality manager of ASG, and Bruno Caserza is the general manager of the La Spezia facility. “The making of a toroidal magnet like the one for ITER,” said Barutti, “requires the application of extremely advanced and complex technologies. The coil sizes are huge and the magnetic field required is so big that to produce it in compliance with the overall system efficiency, superconductive materials have to be used, which is one of our areas of expertise. So we have set up a plant here in La Spezia focused only on the construction of the coils
that will form the reactor confinement magnet. All stages of the construction and inspection of the gigantic compo- nents take place in this plant and each individual operation is inspected by extremely strict quality and dimensional checks. Every component manufactured is unique and will prove its performance and actual operation only when the reactor is fully assembled and put into service. As a result, no mistakes can be afforded. Everything must be perfectly compliant to the theoretical specifications to avoid the failure of an experiment unique in its importance, and the costs incurred.”
Artist’s cutaway rendering of the reactor in its final assembly.
The various components of the magnet include 18 main D-shaped windings (the winding pack), which are about 13-m long and over 8-m wide. Every winding is formed in turn of seven double windings, known as ‘double pan- cakes’, that are sandwiched together to form the winding pack. The cable that the coils are made from is a frame formed of a central spiral conduit in which cooling liquid helium for cooling will flow (at a temperature close to ab- solute zero to allow superconductivity), a concentric matrix of copper conductors in which superconductive filaments are embedded, and finally a metallic containment coating.
31 — Energy Manufacturing 2016
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