Research & Development of Welding & Inspection technologies applicable for use in the ITER HNB Cell.

This report is a first step to select the relevant welding and NDT techniques for the ITER HNB components. The two weld configurations investigated are pipe welding and lip welding. The first objective of this report is to provide a comparative study of the welding techniques and NDT techniques applicable to these two types of welds, based on literature review, CCFE experts, external experts and general internet search. The second objective is to propose a feasible inspection tool design of the selected NDT. Indeed, during the maintenance operations, welded pipes and lip seals will be cut, to get access to the HNB components to maintain. As these joints will be re‐welded and require a high quality because they are the ultra high vacuum boundaries, they must be inspected.