Shake, rattle and... qualify!

Making sure the ITER tokamak will be safe in the event of an earthquake means components such as flanges, pumps, and valves for the vacuum system will not be affected by the accelerations and vibrations generated by a seismic event, however extreme. Within the scope of a public-private partnership with Element, one of the world leaders for testing and certification, and the University of Bristol, which has one of the most suitable shaker tables facilities in Europe, ITER was able to test components in earthquake-like high-intensity conditions. This video shows the high-level seismic test of a large scroll vacuum pump, which was proven to maintain its safety and operational functions after the shake test.