Critical Design Issues of Wendelstein 7-X

The main parameters of W7-X are shown in table 1 [2,3]. The magnet system consists of 50 superconducting Non-Planar-Coils (NPC), 20 superconducting Planar Coils (PC) and the mechanical structure, which is based on the Central Ring and the intercoil support structure. The NPC and the PC are supported by the Central Ring through the Central Support (CS) elements, two for each coil (Fig.1). The Narrow Supports (NS) and the Lateral Supports (LS) connecting adjacent NPC casings in the inner and outer region of the machine respectively (Fig.1) and the Planar Supports connecting the PC to the NPC are the elements of the intercoil support structure. The coils are arranged toroidally in five equal modules, each one consisting of two flip symmetric semi-modules. One semi-module includes 5 differently shaped NPCs and 2 PCs. The Plasma Vessel (PV) has to closely follow the twisted shape of the plasma and it is