Evaluation of the Fretting Resistance of the High Voltage Insulation on the ITER Magnet Feeder Busbars

The high voltage (HV) insulation on the ITER magnet feeder superconducting busbars and current leads will be prepared from S-glass fabric, pre-impregnated with an epoxy resin, which is interleaved with polyimide film and wrapped onto the components and cured during feeder manufacture. The insulation architecture consists of nine half-lapped layers of glass/Kapton, which is then enveloped in a ground-screen, and two further half-lapped layers of glass pre-preg for mechanical protection. The integrity of the HV insulation is critical in order to inhibit electrical arcs within the feeders. The insulation over the entire length of the HV components (bus bar, current leads and joints) must provide a level of voltage isolation of 30 kV. In operation, the insulation on ITER busbars will be subjected to high mechanical loads, arising from Lorentz forces, and in addition will be subjected to fretting erosion against stainless steel clamps, as the pulsed nature of some magnets results in longitudinal movement of the busbar. This work was aimed at assessing the wear on, and the changes in, the electrical properties of the insulation when subjected to typical ITER operating conditions. High voltage tests demonstrated that the electrical isolation of the insulation was intact after the fretting test.