Mechanical experiments about pendulum support of vacuum vessel W7-X

At the Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik (IPP) the new stellarator fusion experiment WENDELSTEIN 7-X (W7-X) is under construction. Its ultimate goal is to verify that stellarator magnetic confinement concept is a viable option for a demonstration fusion power-plant.Its toroidal plasma (major diameter of 11 m) is enclosed by a cryostat. The Outer Vessel (OV), ports and the vacuum vessel (VV) accumulate the cryostat together.The main functions of the VV supports (VVS) are to withstand and transfer all vertical forces from the VV to the machine base and to allow horizontal movements simultaneously. Therefore, pendulum support system was introduced. The paper will describe their design and the destinations and results of a test campaigns (scale 1:1) at the University of Rostock.