The remote replacement inside the vacuum-vessel of the Divertor components, including 60 cassettes, 16 cryopumps, diagnostics racks, blocks and mirror racks is a fundamental requirement for ITER. The basic cassette handling concept involving 120 cooling circuits, 2 in-vessel toroidal rails and 4 equi-spaced radial rails, has been described in previous papers. Here we present the related project status, similar to the one presented in the ITER Final Design Report, and including the latest design progress, some improvements, the first R&D results (scale one Divertor Test Platform) and the related integration in the design.

Prior to removal of the cassettes, preparation of the 4 divertor RH ports is required. The paper presents layouts related to the handling of the divertor primary closure plate and of the radial rail segment, the cooling pipes, and some of the diagnostics equipment (reflectometry, racks, etc.). Furthermore, in order to improve the reliability of the divertor cooling circuits, a solution is proposed to replace some of the alignment bellows of the previous design option by flexible supports. The paper also describes how the installation tolerances and support motions can be accommodated. In addition, the handling system through the duct must accommodate radial rail misalignments (in the order of ± 30 mm) brought about by variations in the relative resting position, from shut-down to shut-down, of the vacuum-vessel and cryostat. A novel solution based on a bridged radial rail involving an adequate compliance (articulation) is proposed.

The remote replacement of the 16 cryopumps is required (unscheduled maintenance). A layout of the handling scheme is described. In particular, this allows the maximisation of hands-on operations to disconnect and connect all the supply lines from outside the bio-shield. An end-effector including gripping, alignment and connecting features is proposed.