Russian Scientists to Check Reliability of ITER International Reactor Components
Researchers at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) will develop programmes for the non-destructive testing of welded joints in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), which is recognised as the largest international energy project, the university’s press service said.
ITER is an international experimental thermonuclear reactor project, whose assembly started in late July in southern France. The project is aimed at demonstrating the possibility of generating energy with controlled thermonuclear fusion. The new energy source will be more environmentally friendly and safer than hydrocarbons and uranium.
Specialists from Russia, the EU, the US, China, India, Japan, and South Korea are working on ITER. Russia develops and supplies equipment for ITER’s key systems.
The Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INP SB RAS) is engaged in developing a number of devices to diagnose plasma parameters in the reactor. These devices’ components are welded; according to scientists, in order to use them in a reactor, the quality and reliability of the seams should be checked with the highest accuracy.
The winding facility of the ITER ( the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), in the CEN of Cadarache, is pictured in Saint-Paul-Lez-Durance, southern France, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017
TPU specialists will develop methods to control them.
The devices and parts, which are to be checked using TPU’s methods, are large in size, which makes other non-destructive testing methods such as X-ray extremely inconvenient, the researchers said.
Ultrasound capabilities allow working with large objects. Ultrasonic waves pass through the object, interacting with its internal structure; these interactions are reflected in the backward wave. Based on them, experts can see hidden defects in a seam and their characteristics.
Construction of the structure in which the tokamak will be installed.
The previous project demonstrated to international experts that the instruments and methods for control offered by TPU are applicable to ITER and provide the required level of quality control, Dmitry Sednev believes.
TPU is to present its methods and programmes for ultrasonic testing in November 2020.
Sourse: sputniknews.com