The ITER neutral beam front end components integration

Abstract The neutral beam (NB) system for ITER is composed of two heating neutral beam injectors (HNBs) and a diagnostic neutral beam injector (DNB). A third HNB can be installed as a future up-grade. This paper will present the design development of the components between the injectors and the tokamak; the so-called ‘front end components’: the drift duct consists of the NB bellows and the drift duct liner, the vacuum vessel pressure suppression system box (VVPSS box), the absolute valve, and the fast shutter. These components represent the key links between the ITER tokamak and the vessels of the NB injectors. The design of these components is demanding due to the different loads that these components will have to stand. The paper will describe the different design solutions which have to be implemented regarding the primary vacuum confinement, the power handling capability and the remote maintenance operations. The sizes of the components are determined by the large cross section of the neutral beam. The power handling capability is driven by the anticipated re-ionization of the neutral beam and the electromagnetic fields in this region. The drift duct bellows (with an inner diameter of 2.5 m) shall guarantee a leak tight vacuum enclosure during the vertical and radial displacements of the ITER vacuum vessel. The conductance of the VVPSS box must be maximized in the available space. The absolute valve remains a challenging development. The total leak rate through the valve must be ≤1 × 10 −8  Pa m 3 /s when the valve is closed. Due to the radiation environment, the seals of the gate valve will be metallic. An R&D program has been launched to develop a suitable metallic seal solution with the required dimensions. The maximum allowed closing time for the fast shutter shall be less than 1 s. For all these components the leak tightness will be guaranteed by a welded lip seal and the mechanical stability by bolted structures.