The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) will be equipped with a lithium target assembly to produce the required neutron flux for the irradiation of candidate fusion materials up to a damage rate of 100 dpa (cumulated damage in five years). The present European target assembly design is based on the so called replaceable backplate bayonet concept that was developed with the objective to simplify the maintenance operations for its refurbishment/replacement and to reduce the material for disposal as well. To this purpose it was also conceived to be attached to the lithium pipes and to the beam line by means of remotely operated connections based on clamped flanges with sealing metal gaskets. Accordingly, a custom design of this remotely operated connection, named Fast Disconnecting System (FDS), has been developed for the inlet flanged connections of the European IFMIF target assembly system. So far similar systems, already commercially available, have been used for several types of applications including nuclear ones, although never used neither under the IFMIF-like operating conditions nor fully remotely. The FDS is based on a commercial chain, which provides the required tightening force for the sealing of the edge of the flanges, that can be locked/unlocked by means of a reduced number of screws. The designed FDS prototype is provided with several additional features, to satisfy the operational working condition foreseen for IFMIF in terms of functionalities, safety and maintainability, like: the lithium leakage system; the flanges detachment mechanism; the insulation system and the systems to open the chain or to release the FDS in case of failure. A prototype of the FDS has been manufactured and based on the preliminary tests carried out the suitability to remote handling of the system has been proved. In this paper a description of the design of the FDS together with the outcomes of the remote handling validation tests are given. © 2013 IEEE.
Design, manufacturing and testing of a fast disconnecting system for the European target assembly concept of IFMIF
Bernardi, D.;Micciche, G.
2013-01-01
Abstract
The International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) will be equipped with a lithium target assembly to produce the required neutron flux for the irradiation of candidate fusion materials up to a damage rate of 100 dpa (cumulated damage in five years). The present European target assembly design is based on the so called replaceable backplate bayonet concept that was developed with the objective to simplify the maintenance operations for its refurbishment/replacement and to reduce the material for disposal as well. To this purpose it was also conceived to be attached to the lithium pipes and to the beam line by means of remotely operated connections based on clamped flanges with sealing metal gaskets. Accordingly, a custom design of this remotely operated connection, named Fast Disconnecting System (FDS), has been developed for the inlet flanged connections of the European IFMIF target assembly system. So far similar systems, already commercially available, have been used for several types of applications including nuclear ones, although never used neither under the IFMIF-like operating conditions nor fully remotely. The FDS is based on a commercial chain, which provides the required tightening force for the sealing of the edge of the flanges, that can be locked/unlocked by means of a reduced number of screws. The designed FDS prototype is provided with several additional features, to satisfy the operational working condition foreseen for IFMIF in terms of functionalities, safety and maintainability, like: the lithium leakage system; the flanges detachment mechanism; the insulation system and the systems to open the chain or to release the FDS in case of failure. A prototype of the FDS has been manufactured and based on the preliminary tests carried out the suitability to remote handling of the system has been proved. In this paper a description of the design of the FDS together with the outcomes of the remote handling validation tests are given. © 2013 IEEE.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
