Design and R&D results of the joints for the ITER conductor

In the scope of the Engineering Design Activity (EDA) for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), a R&D task has been launched in 1993 for development, manufacturing and testing of subsize and full size joints, to be used in the layer-to-layer and pancake-to-pancake connections of the ITER coils. A set of design criteria and manufacturing choices is initially agreed as a common basis for the work carried out in parallel by the four ITER parties (Japan, European Union, United States, Russian Federation). The staged work includes variations of layout parameters in subsize samples, technological investigations for manufacturing methods and performance analysis. As a last stage of the task, full size joint samples, manufactured from sections of the ITER conductors, are tested in the PTF and SULTAN test facilities under ITER relevant operating conditions.