Redesign of gravity support system for ITER construction

In this article, we describe an alternative design for ITER gravity support, which use various connection bolts and shear keys to assemble all the parts, rather than welding them together. The finite element model (FEM) analysis of this structure shows that the maximum static stress intensity of all the components is within the stress limitation under ITER operation condition. No terrible stress concentration and large deformation would occur during normal operation and abnormal operation. The buckling analysis shows that the new designed structure is stable, and no destructive damage would occur. The fatigue simulation calculation shows that the fatigue life is up to 1,361,445 repetitions for normal operation, which is far larger than that of the ITER 30,000 times discharge requirement. Therefore, it can be concluded that the new designed structure is safe and can be utilized in the ITER construction.