Performance tests of the ITER model pump

To study the pump performance of a sorption cryopump intended for use within the ITER fuel cycle, the test facility TIMO “Test facility for the ITER Model pump” was built at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe. After the successful acceptance tests of the model pump in 2000, new components were installed to improve the cooling performance. At the end of the reconstruction activities, the tests with the model pump were continued. During these new test series, all important aspects regarding the changed requirements of the new ITER design were to be checked, such as the pump behavior at high throughputs, the capacities achievable at temperatures higher than 5 K, and the possibility of using the torus cryopumps for the examination of small helium leaks.