ITER ITA NEWSLETTER
No. 8, SEPTEMBER 2003

INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, VIENNA, AUSTRIAISSN 1727–9852

ROBERT AYMAR LEAVES ITER FOR CERNby Acad. E. Velikhov, former Chair of ITER EDA Council
As of 1 September 2003, Dr. Robert Aymar,
former ITER Director and subsequently Interim
Project Leader, has relinquished his leadership ofthe ITER Project. I am convinced that everyone
involved in the ITER activities will join me in
expressing our sincere appreciation of Dr. Aymar’s
enormous contribution to the success of the ITER
Project during the EDA and ITA phases.
Dr. Aymar was appointed Director of ITER by theITER Council in July 1994, after having served fornearly two years as a member of the ITER
Technical Advisory Committee.
Under his leadership, the results of 50 years offusion research crystallized into the engineering
project ready for practical implementation. The
successful results of the ITER activities helped toattract the new ITER Participants who joined in
2003, and the countries participating in ITER now
represent almost half of the world population.
After the many years of Dr. Aymar’s involvement inITER, one might ask what attributes of hischaracter allowed him to demonstrate thepractical success of ITER. Of course, the work heperformed required a broad scientific background,great experience and dedication, a creative mind and engineering intuition. In addition, however, a reallyunique attitude of Dr. Aymar was his human approach to the people working on the project under hisleadership. He never imposed his ideas on other people, even when there were no other scientific or technicalsolutions. With patience, he persuaded people to accept and to implement solutions as their own ideas. He
was able to organize work with the Participants’ Home Teams in a friendly and fruitful manner, thus rendering
the ITER Project truly international.
Dr. Aymar is leaving the ITER Project as its Leader for a new post as the Director General of CERN. We all
wish him every success in his new work and hope that in future we will be able to interact with him again ininternational projects.

ITER-RELATED ISSUES AT THE IAEA GENERAL CONFERENCE
Information from the Editor
The 47th General Conference of the IAEA was held at the Austria Center in Vienna from 15 to 19 September
2003. Academician E. Velikhov was one of the keynote speakers at a session on advances in the field ofnuclear science and technology, which featured presentations on nuclear power, nuclear medicine, safety
standards and safeguards technology. Please see below an extract from his presentation.

STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF NUCLEAR POWER
The advantages of nuclear power from fusion are inexhaustible fuel resources, ecological attractiveness,inherent safety, significantly lower level of radioactive wastes and the absence of the materials that could be
used for weapons. Since the 1950s, intensive work has resulted in a unique scientific and technological
database. In 1985 M. Gorbachev, F. Mitterand and R. Reagan suggested the creation of the first experimental
fusion reactor on an international basis. In 1988 an international team comprising specialists from the USSR,
the USA, the EC and Japan started activities on the design of a reactor, which was named ITER, under theauspices of and with active support from the IAEA. The engineering design of the 500 MW reactor wascompleted in 2001. Negotiations concerning ITER construction have been started. Canada, Japan, Franceand Spain have proposed construction sites. The USA, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic ofKorea have joined the countries that pioneered the project. ITER would have important socio-economical andpolitical implications for the world community. The time to create such a reactor has come.

ACTIVITY DURING THE ITA ON MATERIALS FOR VESSEL AND
IN-VESSEL COMPONENTSby Dr. V. Barabash, ITER International Team, Garching JWS
With the approaching construction of ITER, the materials activity is entering a new stage. During previousITER phases the main materials for various components were proposed and specific ITER requirements wereidentified. Materials for all ITER components were selected on the basis of their availability and wellestablished manufacturing technologies, while taking into account their physical and mechanical properties,
performance in the design and activated waste minimization. In some cases, improved materials weredeveloped, in particular for in-vessel components.
The results of the ITER materials R&D programme have indicated the feasibility of the selected materials andjoining technologies for providing the required operational lifetime and structural integrity. The list of selectedmaterials and specific grades is shown in the table on page 3.
During the ITA, the materials activity is concentrated on the following main areas:— preparing for the procurement of the materials for the vacuum vessel components;— consolidation of the materials properties database and preparation of reliable recommendations;— preparing for any licensing issues related to the use of vacuum vessel materials.
The following documents related to materials for the vacuum vessel and in-vessel components were prepared
during the ITER EDA:
1. ITER Materials Properties Handbook (MPH-IV1):
A collection of data on physical and mechanical properties of materials, including ITER reference grades(IG). This document gives the justification for the recommended properties used for the design analysis.
2. ITER Materials Assessment Report (MAR):A description of the rationales for the selection of the specific materials and grades for each ITER
component and assessment of the critical issues related to materials performance during operation.

1

2IV means vessel and in-vessel components.

Materials for Vacuum Vessel (VV) and In-vessel Components
Material
Beryllium
Tungsten
Carbon fibre
composite (CFC)Cu and Cu alloys

Material Grade
S-65C VHP (backup DShG-200)
Pure sintered W
SEP NB 31, NIC 01(back-up CX 2002U, SEP NS31)
CuCrZr-IG

Austenitic andprecipitation
hardened steels

CuAl25-IG
Nickel-aluminium bronze
Glidcop Al60
316L(N)-IG1 plates and forgings
316L(N)-IG2 plates and forgings
316L(N)-IG3 cast
316L(N)-IG4 tubes
316L(N)-IG5 tubes
316L(N)-IG6 powder HIPAISI 660 (A-286)
Steel 30467

Ni alloys

Inconel 718

Ti alloy
Ferritic steel
Ceramic

Ti-6Al-4V
SS 430
Al2O3 or MgAl2O4Components
Armour tiles for first wall and limiter
Armour tiles for divertor components
Armour tiles for divertor vertical target
Substrate for plasma-facing components (PFCs)
and for heating systems
Substrate for PFCs (first wall)Nuts, bearings and other friction parts
Compression collar of the flexible support bolts
Shield modules
Vacuum vessel, blanket cooling manifolds
Some vacuum vessel components andback-up material for divertor bodyThin walled tubes for first wall
In-vessel cooling pipes
Back-up material for shield modules
Fastening components for the port plugs(e.g. fixing wedges and bolts)
Borated steel for in-wall shielding
structures (plates)
Bolts for the flexible supports and electrical straps,
blanket cooling manifold support
Flexible cartridges for the module support
Ferromagnetic insert
Electrical insulators of module attachment andlimiter plates

3. Appendix A of the ITER Structural Design Criteria (SDC-IV):
A summary of properties and allowables for materials needed for structural analysis in accordance withITER Structural Design Criteria for in-vessel components.
4. Safety Analysis Data List (SADL) (in co-operation with the Safety Group):
A collection of safety-relevant properties.
During the CTA and the ITA so far, several new documents have been created that reflect the current needs:
5. ITER Materials Properties Database (MPDB):
A collection of raw experimental data with detailed information for the ITER reference materials. The
database maintains the data in an easily accessible form and is an important tool to maintain fulltraceability of the data, test details and data sources. This database is the main supporting document for
further recommendations.
6. Summary of Vacuum Vessel Materials Properties:
A document similar to App. A of SDC-IV, but including only vacuum vessel materials. This document isbased on ASME code requirements for materials properties. The main thermo-mechanical properties andallowables (Sm, etc.) are included in this document.
7. Specifications for the Supply of Materials for the Vacuum Vessel:
Prepared as a part of the Technical Specification Documents for the supply of the Vacuum Vessel, Portsand Blanket Manifolds.
8. Electronic Materials Library:
Collection of all references (R&D Task’s reports, papers, etc.) made by the above documents.

3In future, a special report on materials may be needed for licensing aspects of the vacuum vessel. This reportwill be prepared in close co-operation with licensing authorities and will be based on the specific hostrequirements of ITER licensing. This report will be based on the fully reliable, traceable data consolidated in
the ITER database and other supporting documents.
To discuss the ITER materials activity, the ITER Meeting “Evaluation of the data for vessel and in-vesselmaterials for ITER” was organized at the ITER Garching Joint Work Site on 10–11 April 2003. During themeeting all aspects of the materials activity were discussed:a) General organization of the data flow and materials activity. A simplified scheme showing the organizationof the data evaluation is shown in the figure below. The following procedure, which maintains the complete
traceability of the data and recommendations, was adopted for new ITER documents:— All data must be supported by references, available in the ITER Materials Library.
— Data used for recommendations have to be included in the ITER MPDB with an assessment of qualityand reliability.
— Recommendations have to be properly documented via ITER MPH files or separate reports/memos in the latter case, ITER MPH files have to be subsequently modified.
— Recommendations have to be prepared in accordance with unified procedures (for vacuum vesselmaterials in accordance with the ASME code).
— An Expert Working Group has to be established to prepare recommendations.

Organization of the materials data flow and materials activityb) Database activity. The key part of the activity during the CTA and ITA phases is the organization of theITER Materials Properties Database (MPDB) for collection of the raw data from ITER R&D and othersources. The database includes detailed information about materials, chemical composition, samplegeometry, test conditions, etc. The format is simple and flexible and can be modified for specific needs.
The raw data from the database can be presented on request to licensing authorities. The requirements
for the quality of the data were discussed. It was noted that the MPDB might include all relevant data, but
for design purposes only qualified data should be used. It was agreed that the reports of new R&D must
include the data in the MPDB format. Data in the MPDB have been collected by the IT with the help of theITER Parties and they are traceable and readily accessible for further analysis. Priority has been given to4

vacuum vessel materials, but the collection of the raw data for the in-vessel materials should be continued.
For the consolidation of new data being generated by the Parties, in particular for the Cu alloys, attention
should be given to their heat treatment during the component fabrication process.
c) Modification and improvement of the ITER documents. Reflecting the current project needs, giving priority
to vacuum vessel materials, the first step is modification of the ITER Materials Properties Handbook files
related to 316L(N)-IG austenitic steel, 304 austenitic steel, 660 precipitated hardened steel, 430 ferriticsteel, 304B7 borated steel and Inconel 718 superalloy. A good deal of the raw data have already been
introduced in the MPDB. The recommended properties have to be fully traceable and prepared inaccordance with internationally accepted procedures. The next step is the preparation of a separate
document (Summary of vacuum vessel materials properties), that summarizes all recommendations
needed for the design of the vacuum vessel components. This activity is planned to be completed in 2003.
The EU and RF Parties will support this activity through ITA Tasks on database consolidation.
d) R&D activity. In the RF and EU Parties this activity is included in the ITA Tasks. Currently, the main activities
in the EU Party are focused on investigation of the effect of the manufacturing cycle on CuCrZr andCuCrZr/SS joints, CuCrZr creep-fatigue and in-pile tests, low dose irradiation of Ti alloys and CFC
qualification at high temperature. The RF Party is studying CuCrZr irradiation creep, the effect of themanufacturing cycle on CuCrZr, DS Cu, and their joints, low dose irradiation of “functional” materials (bolts,pins in NiAl bronze, etc.) and in-pile bake-out of CuCrZr.
It was concluded that the meeting was very useful for clarifying the current materials issues. The meeting
participants expressed their satisfaction with the progress achieved during the CTA. The need for an Expert
Working Group for revision, modification and preparation of the ITER documents was underlined. It wasagreed to have the next meeting of the Working Group in October – early November 2003 to revise and modify
the documents related to vacuum vessel materials.
Participants in the Meeting:
EU:
JA:
RF:
IT:

W. Daenner, A. Peacock, P. Karditsas, J. Rensman, F. Gillemot, F. Tavassoli
T. Kuroda
S. Fabritsiev, G. Kalinin, A. Gervash, A. Kalashnikov
V. Barabash

5Printed by the IAEA in Austria
October 200303-75291

Items to be considered for inclusion in the ITER CTA Newsletter should be submitted to C. Basaldella, ITER Office, IAEA,
Wagramer Strasse 5, P.O. Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria, or Facsimile: +43 1 2633832, or e-mail: c.basaldella@iaea.org(phone +43 1 260026392).