The new ECRH heating system of WEST will inject 3 MW of ECRH at a frequency of 105 GHz. Three new gyrotrons were ordered from THALES, and the first one was received at the THALES workshops in October.
its transport case on the right
The tests carried out during this FAT (Factory Acceptance Test) include voltage withstand tests, leak tests and hydraulic circuits tests. This gyrotron weighs 788 kg and is 2.9 meters tall. (see photo 1 : the gyrotron on the left and its transport case on the right).
This first gyrotron has not yet produced its RF radiation, and a 3-months RF training is required to qualify it at its nominal power. For this, it will be shipped to Germany to be installed on the gyrotron test bench at KIT (Karlsrhue Institute of Technology), where its superconducting magnet provided by Cryomagnetics is already waiting for it (see photo 2 : magnet in place at KIT).
The first tests should run until the end of November, on a short-pulse calorimeter to validate the oscillation mode at 105 GHz and the gyrotron’s ability to generate 1MW of power. After a 1-month break, tests will resume in January 2024 to validate the RF design (1 MW/30 s target).
Once this milestone has been reached, the design will be formally validated and the manufacturing of gyrotrons 2 and 3 will be finalised.
The tests of gyrotron number 1 will continue until it reaches 1 MW/1000 seconds. It will then be sent back to the IRFM for integration into the ECRH platform. The first plasma on WEST with this first gyrotron is scheduled for the third quarter of 2024.