Fabrication of the helical field coil components for the advanced toroidal facility
The fabrication techniques used to manufacture the major components of the helical field (HF) coil segments for the Advanced Toroidal Facility (ATF) are described. The major components of an HF coil segment are 14 water-cooled, copper conductors and a T-shaped stainless steel support member (or ''tee''). Twenty-four of these segments were used in the fabrication of two coils for the ATF experiment. The helical shape, accurate position requirements, large size, and potential for high cost required unique approaches to the fabrication of these components. One method of fabrication was to use 44-mm-thick (standard size) plate to form the base and leg of the tee and to join the sections by welding. Because of the tolerance requirements, a thicker plate (70 mm) was used and then contour machined to the final shape. The second approach, conducted in parallel with the first, was to cast the tee as a single piece. The first attempts were to make the casting larger than required, then machine it to final size and shape. The cost of machining either the welded tee or the cast tee was extremely high, so several prototypes were fabricated until a cast tee that required no contour machining was produced. The shape and positional requirements were also the major problems in fabricating the copper conductors, or turns. The approach taken was to make an accurate fixture and position the turns in the fixture, then anneal to remove residual stresses and form the copper turns to the shape of the fixture. The lessons learned in pursuing these fabrication methods are presented. 5 refs., 3 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN (USA); CBI Services, Inc., Birmingham, AL (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 6949462
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-871007-101; ON: DE88015228; TRN: 88-031778
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 12. symposium on fusion engineering, Monterey, CA, USA, 12 Oct 1987; Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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