Iter transformer in place as materials tests continue

摘要

As the first of three Chinese-supplied electrical transformers is installed at the Iter fusion project in France, researchers in the Netherlands are testing the resistance to neutron radiation of materials that will shield the fusion reactor's core. Dutch radioisotope producer NRG announced in October that material to be used in Iter's "first wall" will be irradiated in its high flux reactor (HFR) at Petten over the coming months. The first wall will be made of beryllium tiles welded onto a subsurface of copper-chrome-zirconium alloy, contained in a stainless steel construction. Scale models, using the same tiles, will be placed in the core of the HFR, which is used to produce radioisotopes, to simulate the environment and temperatures that will be found in Iter.