Final design and mock-up of an ITER sector sub-assembly tool

The assembly and installation tools for the ITER Tokamak machine are special tools which are used to assemble and install ITER Tokamak machine components such as magnets, vessels and thermal shields. The sector sub-assembly tool, requiring six adjustable motions capable of movements in three directions and three-axis rotations for fine and precise alignments of the components of these tools, is a major and very large assembly tool with which to assemble vacuum vessels, thermal shields and two toroidal field coils in a 40° sector that forms the basic unit for the ITER Tokamak machine. To complete the 40° sector, the tool must maintain a sufficient degree of stiffness to support and handle heavy components which weigh up to 1200 tonnes. To meet the tooling requirements, the feasibility of the alignment system with regard to component adjustments in the sector sub-assembly tool was reviewed and verified in a mock-up test. In addition, a structural analysis using ANSYS to verify the structural stability levels under various analysis conditions was also carried out considering the safety factors and seismic load conditions according to the load specifications and codes. The sector sub-assembly sequence and the final design considering the results of the mock-up test and the structural analysis are presented.