Study for TFcoil preparation on MHI frame

Since 2012 Simic is one of the main contractor of the ITER project, involved in building the largest tokamak ever conceived, a machine that will demonstrate that fusion can be used as a large-scale, non-CO2 emitting energy source to produce electricity. As part of a consortium called DYNAMIC, Simic is in charge of the TAC-2 (Tokamak Assembly Contract) operations, more specifically it is in charge of the production of 10 of the 18 TF coils needed for the assembly of the Tokamak. They are produced in a workshop based in Marghera (Italy) and then delivered to the site in Cadarache, where they arrive on top of transportation frames. The TF coil, as it arrives in the ITER workshop, is not ready for installation but it has to undergo a certain number of mechanical workings to install secondary components needed for cooling and installation. All this operations are carried out here on site by Simic and/or DYNAMIC. As it was said before only 10 out of 18 TF coils are produced by Simic, while the remaining 8 are produced in Japan by two different entities. This 8 components are shipped to the ITER site where they arrive on a different frame which doesn’t allow to follow the same procedures to conduct the mechanical workings. To solve this problem, until now, the planning was to lift the TF coil and switch the frame below in order to continue with the same procedure developed for the standard frame. Unfortunately given the weight and the dimensions of the TF (16,5x9,2x3,7 (m) and 312 tons) this time-consuming switch requires expensive tools and trucks, and it also exposes the component to an high risk of damages. Moreover, the number of standard frames available is not sufficient to continue with this procedure, without exposing the production to an high risk of delays. To avoid all this problems, Simic was assigned the task of studying a new procedure which, with some modifications to the transportation frame, will enable all mechanical operations to be completed while the TF is on the non-standard frame.