Helium flow and temperatures in a heated sample of a final ITER TF cable-in-conduit conductor

The quest for a detailed understanding of the thermo-hydraulic behaviour of the helium flow in the dual-channel cable-in-conduit conductor (CICC) for the ITER toroidal-field coils led to a series of experiments in the SULTAN test facility on a dedicated sample made according to the final conductor design. With helium flowing through the conductor as expected during ITER operation, the sample was heated by eddy-current losses induced in the strands by an applied AC magnetic field as well as by foil heaters mounted on the outside of the conductor jacket. Temperature sensors mounted on the jacket surface, in the central channel and at different radii in the sub-cable region showed the longitudinal as well as radial temperature distribution at different mass flow rates and heat loads. Spot heaters in the bundle and the central channel created small heated helium regions, which were detected downstream by a series of temperature sensors. With a time-of-flight method the helium velocity could thus be determined independently of any flow model. The temperature and velocity distributions in bundle and central channel under different mass-flow and heat load conditions thus led to a detailed picture of the helium flow in the final ITER TF CICCs.