Assessment of cracks in lateral supports of the magnet system of Wendelstein 7-X

The superconducting coils of the magnet system of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) are bolted onto a central support ring and interconnected with five so-called lateral support elements (LSEs) per half module. After welding of the LSE hollow boxes to the coil cases cracks were found in the vicinity of the welds that could potentially limit the allowed number N of electromagnetic (EM) load cycles of the machine.In response to the appearance of first cracks during assembly, the stress intensity factor (SIF) of theoretical cracks of various sizes in potentially critical position and orientation were predicted in a fast approach. For each crack size, N was based on the SIF, derived from beam theory, and on Paris' law parameters determined in fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) tests, thus leading to tolerable maximal crack sizes and distances between cracks. It was proved that the actual crack dimensions remained below these values or turned out to be only superficial. Afterwards, (extended) finite element method (XFEM and FEM) and boundary element method (BEM) models were developed to project the SIF of most critical tolerated cracks, considering new FCGR tests and the local stress state in more detail. N appeared highly sensitive to the assumptions which were therefore critically reviewed.Finally, the limit for load combinations of different amplitudes was determined using Miner's rule. As a result it was shown that the predefined number of W7-X operation cycles is not jeopardized by any of the detected cracks. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.