ENGINEERING FEATURES, ASSEMBLY EQUIPMENT AND INSTALLATION PROCEDURES OF THE FTU MACHINE

The basic idea in the design of the FTU (Frascati Tokamak Upgrade) machine is to try to reach a range of plasma parameters of great thermonuclear interest within a reasonable financial effort. In FTU, the good energy confinement properties are combined with the strong plasma heating obtained injecting up to 8 MW of radiofrequency power in the lower hybrid electron mode (8 GHz). The main engineering features of the toroidal machine, the remote handling tools for cutting and welding the vacuum vessel and the machine assembly and installation procedures are illustrated.