Ultrasound Technique to Test Welding Seams of ITER Components

A new technique to test ultrasonically welding seams of key components of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is about to be developed by specialists in non-destructive testing of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU), Russia.

Specialists from the EU, UK, China, India, Japan, Korea, Russia, and US are working on the ITER construction.

As member of this megaproject, Russia develops and supplies high-tech equipment for the key ITER systems.

R&D is in part carried out by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP).

In particular, its team develops devices for identifying plasma parameters in the reactor. The components of these devices are welded and to use them in a reactor, the quality of the seams should be tested with the highest accuracy.

So, the TPU team should develop an appropriate testing technique and ultrasounds are the most reliable tool chosen by specialists.

Read more in TPU’s Press Release.

————————————-

The ITER, the world’s largest nuclear fusion project began its five-year assembly phase on Tuesday, 28th July 2020.

Assembly in Cadarache is expected to be over in late 2025.

The €20bn ITER project will replicate the reactions that power the sun and is intended to demonstrate fusion power can be generated on a commercial scale.

The steel and concrete superstructures nestled in the hills of southern France will house a 23,000-tonne machine, known as a tokamak, capable of creating what is essentially an earthbound star.