Mechanical tests of the ITER toroidal field model coil

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) toroidal field model coil (TFMC) was designed to allow an overall mechanical test representative of the ITER toroidal field (TF) coils design principles and features. The coil, manufactured by the European industry, was tested in two phases at the TOSKA facility of the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe up to its maximum current of 80 kA. In the single coil tests performed in 2001 the coil was submitted to in-plane loading only, whereas in the two coil tests performed in 2002 the coil experienced also out-of-plane loading, representative of the coil load conditions in the ITER tokamak TF magnet. The paper details the mechanical tests performed, compares them to model predictions and discusses the experience gained in the mechanical behavior of the ITER TF coils.