Progress on the ITER TBM port plug design

In three of the ITER equatorial ports, tritium breeding blanket concepts will be validated and tested using mock-up breeding blankets called test blanket modules (TBM). In these ports, two TBM-Sets are mechanically attached in a TBM Frame to form a TBM port plug (TBM PP). The ITER Organization is responsible for the design and manufacture of both this TBM Frame and the Dummy TBMs which will fill them. As a part of this development, in 2013, a conceptual design review (CDR) of TBM PP with two dummy TBMs revealed the need for improvement of design performance, interfaces and maintainability. This paper presents the main design improvements after the CDR as well as associated feasibility analysis of the improved design focusing on the attachment. Finally the work plan for the Preliminary Design phase is summarized. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.