Installation and Test Programme of the ITER Poloidal Field Conductor Insert (PFCI) in the ITER Test Facility at JAEA Naka

ITER PFCI has been manufactured in the Europe and installed into the ITER Test Facility in Naka, Japan. The conductor is NbTi cable-in-conduit conductor with thick square stainless steel jacket and almost identical with the design of the ITER PF coils. The main objective of this test is the characterization of the conductor and joints at the conditions relevant to the ITER PF coil operation. Intermediate joint is located in the winding at relatively high field to examine its performance. The main items in the PFCI test program are thermo-hydraulic test, DC mode test, cyclic test and pulse mode test. The PFCI and CSMC were successfully cooled down to cryogenic temperature within 450 hours. The test of the PFCI was performed from May to August 2008. The key technology of the installation, the test methods and procedures, and some preliminary results of cool-down are described in this paper.