Remote operational trials with the ITER FDR divertor handling equipment

The ITER divertor test platform (DTP) located at ENEA's Research Centre in Brasimone, Italy is a full-scale mock-up of a 72° arc of the ITER 1998 vessel divertor region—the result of a major initiative over the period 1996–2000. Since the implementation of this facility, the design of the ITER vessel—and therefore much of the remote maintenance equipment—has changed substantially. However, the nature and principles of the remote handling equipment are still very similar, and hence many valuable lessons can yet be learned from the existing equipment for the future. In particular, true remote handling tests of the major maintenance subsystems were seen as an important step in determining their suitability for ITER. This paper describes and documents a series of three, discrete, remote-handling trials carried out using most of the major DTP subsystems, and presents an overview of the conclusions and suggestions for future development of ITER cassette remote handling equipment.