Switching devices for the ITER magnet power supply system

Abstract The task of creation of a new generation of switches was set forth in the ITER research and development programme. The set of switches consists of circuit breakers and making switches both for normal and protective mode of operation. In addition, there may arise a demand for a polarity reverser to change the output current polarity of the supply converter. All of these switches are to operate with steady state currents of about 40 kA and voltages of up to 20 kV. The required response time is not more than several milliseconds. In this paper the results of development and investigation of several multiaction mechanical switches for the ITER power supply and protection systems are described. An extensive test programme was carried out to check the design concepts of the switches and determine their real parameters. The results of the experimental study indicated that all of these switches can be used as the basis for the design of the ITER switches.