TF coil structure in Alborz Tokamak, from design to mounting

The structures which support the coils and other devices play an essential role in the performance of Tokamaks. Since Toroidal Field (TF) coil movement results in the magnetic field variation and plasma fluctuation, a robust structure has to be designed to prevent excessive TF coil deformations. Other issues such as the selection of a non-ferromagnetic material should be obeyed in the structure design. In this paper, the design, analysis and manufacture of the support structure for TF coils of Alborz Tokamak have been reported. The TF coil support system was designed with regard to all the technical points. After designing the structure, the strength of the system was investigated, using the Abaqus software; and to determine the input electromagnetic loads, Comsol program was used. The result of the analysis indicated the appropriate strength of the system. Accordingly, the support structures were manufactured. The primary shapes of the structures were constructed via casting and then the structure shape was finalized by Computerized Numerical Control (CNC) machining. During manufacturing, attempts were made to maximize the dimensional precision. The detailed report of the mentioned steps has been presented in this paper.