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Abstract:
In the frame of the W7X stellerator project, a cooperation agreement between the Max-Planck-Institut fur Plasma-physik and CEA has been set-up in order to perform the acceptance tests of all the 70 superconducting coils that compose the W7X magnet system. The main purpose of these tests is to demonstrate that each coil can work at nominal operating conditions, with enough margin to ensure the coil safety during the stellerator operations. For that purpose, CEA has built a new test facility at Saclay. This paper presents a general overview of the test facility. It is mainly composed of two large cryostats (useful space of 5 m diameter and 4.2 m height), a cryogenic source to produce super-critical helium at 4.5 K and 6 bar with a power rating of 200 W, and an electrical power supply of 25 kA. Each cryostat can contain two coils. It is then possible to cool down two coils at the same time, and to warm up two others. But only one coil can be energized at the same time. As the assembly of the facility is now nearly completed, the first cryogenic tests with the prototype coil (DEMO) have started. The first conclusions of these tests and the facility performances will also be discussed in this paper.
