TL & HVD for F4E

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Transmission Line (TL) and High Voltage Deck (HVD) for Fusion for Energy (F4E)

COELME, within the framework of the ITER project (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) aiming at demonstrating the scientific and technical feasibility of the use of nuclear fusion as a source of primary energy, was entrusted by the European Agency “Fusion for Energy” with the design, manufacturing, installation and testing of important components for the execution of the SPIDER experiment (Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from RF Plasma).

The goal of said experiment, which will be performed in Padua (Italy) in the Consorzio RFX area, is checking and optimizing the operation of the ion source (IS), at reduced levels of energy (100 keV, instead of 1 MeV of ITER).

COELME’s scope of supply includes:

A Faraday cage (HVD: High Voltage Deck), intended to contain the equipment of the ion source power supplies;
A Transmission Line (TL), intended to connect the above-mentioned power supply equipment (installed inside the HVD) with the ion source and transmit the energy required for neutral beam acceleration.

These components are schematically represented in figure no.1.

Figure no. 1.

The HVD is a parallelepiped-shaped, metallic structure with rounded corners.

The dimensions of its base are 10x15m and it is 5m high.

It is totally cladded with an EMI screen (to reduce the electromagnetic interference) and is mounted on porcelain post insulators, which ensures a withstand voltage of -100 kVdc to ground.

The TL, which is about 28m long, is a complex connection system, whose main components are:

The Inner Conductor (IC), consisting of a cylindrical screen (500mm diameter), containing all power, measuring and control conductors coming from the HVD;
The Outer Conductor (OC), consisting of two, concentric, square-section EMI screens (outer dimensions 1200x1200mm), separated by an insulating layer;
The Core Snubbers (CSB), consisting of an inductor wound around a ferromagnetic core, with the purpose of reducing the effects of breakdowns, which normally occur during system operation, both in terms of arc current and electromagnetic interferences.

A typical section of the TL is represented in figure no. 2.

Figura no. 2.

The manufacturing of the Transmission Line is made possible also by the contribution of the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) of the Veneto Region.