Thermo-structural development of the ITER ICRF strap housing module

Since March 2010 the preliminary design of the ITER ICRF Antennas have been developed by CYCLE, a consortium consisting of IPP (Garching), CCFE (Culham), CEA (Cadarache), Politecnico di Torino (Torino) and LPPERM/KMS (Brussels). This paper describes the steps taken to develop the present geometry of the triplet pair Strap Housing Module from a thermal and structural perspective, and shows the critical areas of the structure. Key issues are the manufacturability, (achieved by HIPing - Hot Isostatic Pressing), the ability to handle the radiating plasma thermal flux of 0.35 MW/m2, the RF losses and the neutronic radiation. HIPing is necessary to achieve the complicated system of cooling channels inside the structure, which divides the coolant equally in order to supply each strap in the triplet with 1 l/s of water. The components have also to withstand the strong mechanical forces generated by plasma disruptions affecting all internal structures and the elevated design cooling water pressure of 5MPa. In orde...