Fusion Engineering and Design 86 (2011) 2382–2385 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Fusion Engineering and Design journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/fusengdes Current status of the engineering design of the test module interface heads in the IFMIF target and test cell Kuo Tian a,* , Frederik Arbeiter a , Dirk Eilert b , Volker Heinzel a , Tobias Heupel a , Axel Klix a , Martin Kubaschewski b , Martin Mittwollen b , Anton Möslang c , Nicola Scheel a a Institut für Neutronenphysik und Reaktortechnik, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), Campus Nord, Karlsruhe, Germany b Institut für Fördertechnik und Logistiksysteme, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Campus Süd, Karlsruhe, Germany c Institut für Material- und Festkörperforschung, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT), Campus Nord, Karlsruhe, Germany article info Article history: Available online 24 February 2011 Keywords: IFMIF EVEDA Target and test cell Test module interface head Engineering design abstract The current design status of the test module interface heads (TMIHs) in the target and test cell (TTC) of the international fusion material irradiation facility (IFMIF) is described with the emphasis on new progresses in the design of cable/pipe connections and one irradiation shielding plate. A summary of the pipes and cables that will penetrate the TMIHs is outlined. In order to increase the convenience of the remote handling (RH) tools and to reduce time consumption of RH operations, piping optimization in the TMIHs is performed and industrial solutions on quick multi-pipe coupling systems for the cables and pipes are investigated. The number of pipe connections to be handled by RH tools is reduced by approximately 40%, comparing to the number of pipes that are connected to the test modules. A market available multi-pin plug/connector system is proposed to house electric power and signal lines, while a preliminary concept on multi-pipe coupling system is also introduced. In addition, a shielding plate made of lead is proposed to be installed between the pipe/cable connections and primary radiation sources to extend life spans of electric insulation materials. © 2011 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction As the heart of the international fusion material irradiation facil- ity (IFMIF), the target and test cell (TTC) is the convergent area of the primary IFMIF components and systems [1–3]. During the current engineering validation and engineering design activities (EVEDA) phase of the IFMIF project, the development of an optimized design of the TTC is of major interest. Based on the reference concept in the IFMIF comprehensive design report [1] and other design proposals, a modular test cell (MTC) concept has been introduced [4,5] and considered as an improved concept to be developed. Comparing to the reference design in [1] the MTC design separates the test modules (TMs) with the top shielding plugs, allows active control on in-cell environ- ment, offers flexible and accurate positioning of the test modules, and provides convenient accessibility of remote handling (RH) tools. * Corresponding author at: Institut für Neutronenphysik und Reaktortechnik, Karlsruhe Institute for Technology, Campus Nord, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany. Tel.: +49 7247 82 4026; fax: +49 7247 82 3718. E-mail address: kuo.tian@kit.edu (K. Tian). In the MTC design, each TM is integrated with a corresponding test module interface head (TMIH), which holds the respective TM on the positioning system and houses all of the cable and pipe pen- etrations that connect the test modules to the test facility auxiliary systems, as shown in Fig. 1. The TMIHs represent the first interface between the test modules and the IFMIF infra-structure. Accord- ing to the requirements of the TMs, a high multiplicity of cooling gas pipes, electrical power and signal lines have to be conducted across the sealed and shielded surfaces. All of the connections are required to withstand high radiation dose accumulated during one irradiation campaign (approximately one year) in the fast neutron and gamma radiation field of the IFMIF source. Considering that all of the connections have to be handled remotely, reducing the number of pipe/cable connections that are involved in RH proce- dures and developing quick detaching/attaching mechanisms for the connections are required to reduce cost and time consumption during maintenance periods. For the electric cables, the TTC design team proposes to apply market available multi-pin coupling systems to integrate multi power/signal connections to enable rapid handling. Technical requirements on such plug systems are discussed in this paper and a candidate multi-pin connection system has been investigated. For the gas pipes, combination of some of the pipes using manifolds is proposed to reduce the number of pipe connections. According to the preliminary requirements of the TMs, around 0920-3796/$ – see front matter © 2011 Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.fusengdes.2011.01.010