Results of ITER TF Coil Double Pancake Heat Treatment in Japan

In Japan, 9 ITER TF coils were manufactured for the ITER project. Each TF coil consists of seven Nb
₃
Sn conductor double pancakes (DPs). In DP manufacturing, heat treatment is one of the most important processes, because the insertion of a heat treated conductor into the radial plate groove (i.e., transfer) is complicated owing to the elongation of the conductor under heat treatment. A critical current distribution over the DP may also occur owing to the temperature distribution and disturbance in the heat treatment process. To address these issues, this study developed a procedure wherein the conductor length elongation caused by heat treatment is precisely considered, and transfer can be successfully achieved for all the DPs. In addition, strand witness samples were simultaneously heat treated with the DPs, and their critical current (I
_c
) was measured. Subsequently, it was confirmed that the average I
_c
is equivalent to those in the strand acceptance test while the standard deviation of I
_c
for the witness samples is approximately 4% larger than that for the strand acceptance test. It was also confirmed that the disturbance of the heat treatment was negligible. Related results are described herein.