Design of the helium gas transfer line for the Warm Regeneration System of the ITER fusion reactor

Abstract

The Warm Regeneration Lines are a system of about 500 meters of flexible cryogenic transfer lines for the Warm Regeneration System of the ITER fusion reactor. The lines have been designed to transfer helium gas in a temperature range 100K/500K and a pressure range 1.2MPa/1.8MPa, for the regeneration of the cryopumps in the Torus Vacuum Vessel, Cryostat and Neutral Beam injector's vessel and for the cryopumps cool-down/warmup from/to room temperature. The lines consist of an inner gas line in an outer vacuum jacket. In order to facilitate the installation in a congested plant environment, the WRL have been designed with custom flanged connections for the cryogenic process pipe and for the vacuum jacket. Many tests have been performed on the lines, among which a mechanical characterization for seismic qualification in nuclear environments, a pressure drop test and a pressure and temperature 100 cycles test to validate the leak tightness of the cryogenic flanged connections. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.