Structural analysis of ITER multi-purpose deployer

Abstract The Multi-Purpose Deployer (MPD) is a general purpose ITER in-vessel remote handling (RH) system. The main handling equipment, known as the MPD Transporter, consists of a series of linked bodies, which provide anchoring to the vacuum vessel port and an articulated multi-degree of freedom motion to perform various in-vessel maintenance tasks. During the in-vessel operations, the structural integrity of the system should be guaranteed against various operational and seismic loads. This paper presents the structural analysis results of the concept design of the MPD Transporter considering the seismic events. Static structural, modal and frequency response spectrum analyses have been performed to verify the structural integrity of the system, and to provide reaction forces to the interfacing systems such as vacuum vessel and cask. Iterative analyses and design updates are carried out based on the reference design of the system to improve the structural behavior of the system. The frequency responses of the system in various kinematics and payloads are assessed.