Progress of R&D and design of blanket remote handling equipment for ITER

The design of in-vessel transporter (IVT) including vehicle manipulator has been updated according to the design changes such as blanket segmentation and structure, taking account of the interface between modules and vehicle manipulator. In particular, the updated design of the vehicle manipulator and rail has been carried out because of collision avoidance between modules and vehicle manipulator. According to the updated design, the vehicle manipulator has been reduced by about 30% in weight, compared with the reference design. In parallel with design activities, the R&D to clarify the specifications of the IVT design in detail is also performed, i.e., simulation system to provide the visual information during maintenance, dry lubricant to prevent the lubricant oil from spreading in the vacuum vessel (VV). The rail connection and cable handling in the transfer cask, which are critical issues for IVT system, are under preparation of the demonstration tests to finalize the design of the IVT system. Connection of the rail joint and cable handling test facilities are planned and under fabrication now. These test facility will be installed by the end of March 2008, and the performance tests will be carried out from April 2008.