Implementation of a Control System Environment for Validating ITER Remote Handling Operations

Due to the hazardous environment within the vacuum vessel of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), maintenance of core components, during long maintenance shifts between ITER experiments, cannot be performed by human operators or standard equipment. Instead, a remote handling (RH) system, with radiation-hardened equipment controlled remotely by operators, is utilized. Over the past few years, the engineering design of the RH control systems operated from a dedicated remote-control room has progressed, featuring an innovative maintenance strategy. From an operational standpoint, the RH systems are operated from distant control rooms by operations and maintenance teams. All RH operations must be coordinated. Furthermore, the independently procured RH systems must be incorporated into a common infrastructure covering networks and communication protocols. In the control room, multiple flexible work cells are used to remotely operate the robots and manipulators in the ITER hostile environment achieving complex and heavy-load tasks. This paper describes an implementation of the control system and operator applications.