The First Benchmarking of ITER BR Nb3Sn Strand of CNDA

According to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Procurement Arrangement (PA) of Cable-In-Conduit Conductor (CICC) unit lengths for the Toroidal Field (TF) and Poloidal Field (PF) magnet systems of ITER, at the start of process qualification, the Domestic Agency (DA) shall be required to conduct a benchmarking of the room and low temperature acceptance tests carried out at the Strand Suppliers and/or at its Reference Laboratories designated by the ITER Organization (IO). The first benchmarking was carried out successfully in 2009. Nineteen participants from six DAs (China, EU, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States) participated in the first benchmarking. Bronze-route (BR) Nb3Sn strand and samples prepared by the ITER reference lab (CERN) were sent out to each participant by CERN. In this paper, the test facility and test results of the first benchmarking by the Chinese DA (CNDA) are presented.