Giant Magnet for the World's Largest Fusion Reactor | Mega Transports | FD Engineering

a heavy load transport for the World of Tomorrow a 320 ton magnet for the world's largest nuclear fusion reactor a single movement excuse every wheel simultaneously too much movement changes the direction of the entire trailer over 100 kilometers through the south of France with a cargo worth millions it's very fragile and must not be damaged otherwise the custom-made product will be useless [Music] the bellata municipality in southern France the cargo has just arrived from Italy by sea from here the mega transport begins its Journey inland the cargo a 320-ton magnet plus an 80 ton transport frame 17.7 meters long 3.6 meters high and 9.2 meters wide and these are the men having to manage the transport Julian KMC and David gazina David garzena is supervising the main logistics company he has been in charge of transportation for the eater site since 2017. we've already transported similar components but it is not every day that there are 10 or 11 meters wide this one weighs 400 tons in total we're moving over 600 tons it's amazing to be able to transport components like this because there aren't many projects like it also eater is a great project a concept for future Generations we are very proud to be part of it foreign the magnet has a vital task the nuclear fusion reactor generates electricity from super hot plasma to keep the plasma in position requires a strong magnetic field this is the route the team has ahead of them in four legs over four nights the team has to complete 103 kilometers destination eater International thermonuclear experimental reactor is expected to become the largest nuclear fusion reactor in the world it will weigh an incredible 23 000 tons on the 180 hectare site 5 000 scientists and Personnel are working on the electricity of the future construction began in 2010 the first plasma is expected to flow in 2025. the vision bringing the power of the Sun to Earth High gravitational forces on the Sun cause hydrogen atoms to fuse this releases energy as light and heat this is fusion and this is precisely what is to happen here in the south of France to make it happen are people like Boris belizeia he manages and supervises all components from Europe and is aware of the magnitude of the project is I have mixed feelings about this project on the one hand it can change the future for Humanity it will change the world's geopolitical landscape we will no longer be dependent on oil production and where Oil comes from we will be able to generate clean energy what we are making is the first of its kind the first ever made 18 of these so-called toroidal field magnets are to generate a magnetic field within this magnetic field the hydrogen atoms fuse to form super hot plasma this means inspections needed to be carried out continuously during production this is relatively simple because the component is located in a factory but extra special care is going to be needed during the transport two impact indicators have therefore been mounted on the transport frame the white liquid turns red when subjected to excessive impact or vibration sensors are also located inside the packaging these measure humidity and temperature we're talking about high-tech here and it must be delivered in perfect condition so we have to be extremely careful when transporting it this means we use Engineers working in the back office to give us guidance on speed and the position of the load on the transporter along the Route the transport is taking place using an spmt a self-propelled modular transporter it has 18 axles and 288 Wheels the spmt's front and rear sections can be steered independently of each other to get the cargo moving there are two power packs each with 310 horsepower in addition to the two trucks the 600 horsepower trucks at the front and rear steer the spmt when things get tricky the SPM key can be steered by remote control the person doing this job sits in the front truck dexterity is required from the trailer operator they are after all steering 400 tons of cargo Julian KMC is responsible for things along the Route he and his team of 11 have been maneuvering convoys to the eater construction site since 2015. transports like this requires being prepared for new challenges every component is different every configuration every climate every trailer even every driver so every time you do these transport tasks you take on a new challenge the Convoy is 10 meters wide overall 6.2 meters high and 51 meters long trucks and cargo together weigh 635 tons it is the weight of the load that makes the transport difficult this becomes apparent on the first leg of the journey the easiest way would be over a bridge but it has a 150 ton weight limit the only option to detour across the freeway but the start and end points of the crossing are not directly opposite the mega transport will have to snake its way across the freeway 8 PM The Crossing starts in one and a half hours 60 plus police officers are on duty tonight before every start the staff go through a checklist the whole journey is meticulously planned supervisor David garzina briefs the team leaders about the crossing times road closures and speed the transport must be at the freeway by 12 50 am we plan it down to the minute the drivers get out and discuss the route before setting up we have 10 minutes to cross the freeway we aim to be off the freeway before Daybreak it's a public road after all we don't want to cause any inconvenience at 9 30 PM sharp it starts maneuvering the trailer requires considerable skill and caution using the remote control a single movement steers every wheel simultaneously too much movement changes the direction of the entire trailer just a few centimeters can have a huge impact on a transporter of this length the 635 ton transport slowly picks up speed assisting this Mega transport tonight are nearly 100 people in over 40 vehicles the destination tonight is three and a half hours away maximum concentration from the team is required to get there while police divert the traffic the assembly crew clears the way the individual teams work together like clockwork we've been planning convoys like this for years we've already done seven transports of this kind yeah and each time we get better and better the team's practice also during the daytime they walk the roads check the routes we really wanted to be perfect and no room for obstacles trees have been felled electricity pylons moved bridges built and detours put in place to get us to the eater site a huge effort but it's worthwhile for the many transports to be made the cargo components are unique specially built for the eater project and thus far too important to take any risks [Music] the most tense moment is finally arriving at the destination preparation is key I like the moment when it starts when the transport begins to roll but I also like the moment when we're feeling most proud when we finally reach the destination but to achieve that the team has to initially clear the first hurdle 12 45 AM the transport arrives at the freeway the easiest way would be over the bridge the load is way too heavy so we'll have to go straight across the lanes of the freeway the team has just 10 minutes to do this traffic is still flowing along the freeway before starting the spmt steering requires changing from here the back end will be steered manually counts now is the careful Judgment of hilaboomsur the clock starts running in 10 minutes the freeway is to be reopened under the watchful gaze of Jonathan and jean-papis La bear the mega transport starts to move the team slowly guides the 51 meter long and 10 meter wide vehicle through the narrow opening the changeover has made the spmt more agile but manual steering brings with it a high level of risk because one movement steers every wheel simultaneously a sudden move might jerk the entire trailer in the wrong direction foreign sport moves agonizingly slowly along the freeway [Music] ten minutes later the team has made it the last actions are taken and the freeway is reopened at 1am sharp the Convoy arrives at the park up for today's League of the journey last but not least the team ensures the load and the trailer are level at 400 tons the weight must be evenly distributed over the entire load-bearing surface if not the pressure on the road will increase in one place and damage will occur [Music] [Music] uh uh and we will do our very best again tomorrow we will resume in 19 hours with a second leg the team's first need to get a good night's sleep well the men are resting the eater construction site is busy working in just under 15 years of construction 75 of the reactor has now been completed over 5 000 scientists and Personnel from around the world are involved in the large-scale project 35 nations are participating and paying 20 billion euros to bring the power of the Sun to Earth to do this the reactor Heats hydrogen atoms to at least 150 million degrees Celsius but you can't do this without the magnets it is their power that causes the atoms to fuse which results in a gas called plasma the magnets also hold the plasma in position and away from the walls this is the tokomak nuclear fusion reactor nuclear fusion works like a thermal power plant is converted into electricity this energy source is inexhaustible produces no CO2 and has no long-term radioactive waste the project in the south of France aims to show that fusion plasma generates 10 times more output than input the target for the first trial run is 500 megawatts the idea is not new scientists around the world began researching Fusion Energy in the 1920s in 1950 the tokomak process was developed in the Soviet Union but so far input has been higher than output if the trial succeeds in 2025 it would be a turning point a revolution but for this to happen each component needs to get there safely the second leg is the longest of the four legs in the journey by 3 AM the team has to cover a distance of 29 kilometers the greatest challenge a 90 degree left turn for the 51 meter Convoy the turn cannot be done in a single maneuver to manage it the team needs to be clever but first lombesque the largest town on the route needs to be crossed foreign although the e-tier administrative Department gives out information about the transports the team still assumes that there will be many people parking illegally at 9 30 PM the mega transport starts moving shortly after the start the team faces its first challenge of the night the road has a four percent incline doesn't sound like much but it's huge for a 400 ton load without an extra tractor unit there is no way to manage it foreign with an additional 600 horsepower the journey continues slowly onwards but horsepower isn't everything at the next narrow point the Judgment of the two trailer operators and John Baptiste labair is called upon there will always be something unexpected that happens during a transport things never go perfect but our motto is getting better with every transport there's always something that could be done better nothing happens automatically as yet we've not developed a routine but it shouldn't become routine the aim is to get better sometimes there are minor issues but then that's what we're here for to fix them um foreign PM the Convoy is approaching lombesque the team has enough space here to prepare for the 90 degree left turn of lombastic this is where we rotate we uncouple the tractor units change them around and then continue it's going to be pretty tight the drivers have to be really careful Straight Ahead the 90 degree left turn awaits but the mega transport first continues around the traffic circle this is where we rotate the trucks the truck that has just been pulling becomes the one behind and pushes the truck that has been pushing takes over at the head of the Convoy the experienced team rearranges the Convoy within minutes but then there is a problem the wheels of the tractor unit spin 20 times the magnet weighs as much as a loaded Boeing 747-300 two power packs each with 310 horsepower and two trucks each with 600 horsepower a total of 1 820 horsepower strain against the weight but it's futile trailer operator hilaboomzur gets out to look for the problem according to the calculations the horsepower should easily be enough [Music] the Convoy then starts moving again but then stops the trucks are unable to move the load and the contrary the transport slowly rolls backwards pushing the rear truck aside like a toy [Music] A drivers slowly regain control of the Convoy [Music] it turns out to have been a simple mistake that can happen even to the best it was nothing serious the first truck wanted to move off but forgot that the trailer still had its brakes on that's essentially why the wheels were spinning it was like trying to drive a car with a handbrake on so all in all no big deal just a breakdown in Communications there is no time for the team to relax just ahead is the 90 degree left turn the solution the Convoy stops and the trucks return to their original positions the rear truck goes to the front and the front goes to the rear the team also hooks up an extra tractor unit the next traffic circle reveals how important the components are for eater wherever possible the route has been leveled like at the center of the traffic circle [Music] by 2025 250 heavy transports will have taken this route make an even costly Road modifications worthwhile [Music] by 3 AM leg 2 has been completed supervisor Tavi gazina is pleased with his team's performance it's been a long night and now it's three o'clock in the morning everything worked out perfectly drivers did a great job some of the sections along the Route were difficult we had to uncouple and rotate the truck several times I bet the team is pretty tired we're about halfway there we'll be back and ready tomorrow the Third Leg of the mega transport is the longest 32 kilometers the team will start in 17 hours 69 kilometers away construction work is in full swing [Music] one man is responsible for the 18-tor Wardle field magnets Sebastian kosorovski foreign as soon as the transport gets here we unpack the component we take over responsibility for the component from the manufacturers and fully check everything we carry out electrical tests vacuum tests and detailed measures and once we are done several assembly tasks are required to prepare the component for its later use the component in its final form would be too large and fragile to be transported so the final work is done here in the Assembly Hall two toroidal field magnets are joined together only then can sebastia kosorovsky and his team insert the component into the reactor [Music] for the tokomak reactor to start it all one million components [Music] and around 10 million individual parts are needed foreign the reactor is a magnetic cage on the outside are six colloidal magnets the heart is a superconducting magnet consisting of six modules it is 18 meters high and four and a half meters thick there are then 18 toy rodal magnets at 9.2 by 17.7 meters they are the largest components they are positioned around the vacuum chamber in which the plasma flows it is to be ready by 2025 as the Sun's gravity is much greater than the Earth's the hydrogen atoms need to get much hotter for them to fuse ten times hotter than on the Sun this means that 150 to 300 million degrees Celsius will be reached inside the reactor the construction work is on schedule but only because everything has been planned down to the smallest detail s since I've been here there have been only two unfortunate instances with the components in one case cargo was lost at sea during transport and had to be manufactured again unfortunately we got a replacement before installation began in the second incident involved a component from Europe which was also to be transported as the cargo was being loaded onto the ship it collided into the ship's side we then needed to test the component to ensure that it was still intact we tested everything and that actually took us several weeks one missing component can set the project back by years making a toyroidal field magnet takes up to five and a half years the third leg at 32 kilometers is the longest leg of the mega transport the team must again cross a freeway [Music] at 9 30 PM the Convoy starts the Convoy has a clear structure motorized police officers and the assembly team prepare the way ahead at the head of the Convoy is supervisor David garzina the goal is to get the component of the League's destination without any problems or delays this software helps us to know what to look out for on Route and what obstacles there are I can see the locations or places where we are permitted to move at a specific speed the drivers also receive this information so they know when where and how to maneuver The Transporter whether the magnet has survived the transport will only become clear at its destination four sensors on the load permanently measure bumps and vibrations this data is checked after arrival it will then be clear whether David garzina's team has done everything right driving directly behind the magnet are operator assistance and Jean-Baptiste label if it gets too tight they act as eyes for the drivers all under the watchful gaze of Julion Ki misi for this transport we are using two communication systems the first gives us info on the route for example what obstacles there are along the way the second is used to communicate with the team we can use it to inform each other on how far we are from each other and if there are any problems [Music] in his team of 11 work like clockwork each with precise tasks [Music] I've positioned myself here to oversee the transport I like the overview to see the transport and the team we're managing the Convoy from two sides this way we can then avoid obstacles on the route and I can react if we encounter difficulties and things don't go according to plan but it's possible because of where I am positioned I don't need to be further ahead of the Convoy from here I can see every aspect of the transport at 11 40 PM the Convoy reaches the freeway and the team also overcomes this obstacle without any problems at 1 15 am this leg of the journey is completed the third night went well we had no problems um I'm the team worked great together and the journey was very successful everything is only 20 kilometers to the Finish the final leg is the most challenging a nine percent incline awaits the team [Music] this rock face the cargo is 10 meters wide the roadway is only wider by a few centimeters and is twisty [Applause] half an hour prior to departure the team meets for the final time 83 of 103 kilometers have been completed so far without incident but the three night shifts have demanded energy this is the last night and we can see the end of the journey we're happy it's gone well so far but we have to remain alert because the final night is quite complicated the operations and drivers have been getting increasingly tired over the past few days it's 10 P.M the Convoy departs on its final leg to the eater construction site [Music] the eater project is a generational project every single component is crucial for the schedule the transport route has been planned down to the last meter the next Bridge can bear only 120 tons but the transporter and trucks weigh 635 tons the team moves to a specially built road with a gate the team carefully Maneuvers the transporter across the closed freeway operator assistance don't have time for a breather next up is passing the rock face the section past the rock face is only 450 meters long but there is a constant threat of Falling Rocks from above the rock face is past meter by meter after an intense 15 minutes the team has made it [Applause] but ahead of them is still 10 kilometers with a gradient of up to nine percent me I know yeah yeah we mainly need to stick to the certain schedules and we also need to stick to the route sections that we have planned for the transport but I would say that the most important thing of course is that the cargo arrives absolutely intact uh foreign the team will know this tomorrow when the data from the sensors has been analyzed the sensors are located on the cargo and measure every bump and vibration but the team now has to overcome the final obstacle the nine percent slope the team rotates the trucks and switches the convoys direction of travel the two trucks each have 600 horsepower and the two power packs each have 310 horsepower it's not enough the team attaches the extra tractor unit 2020 horsepower pull the 400 tons of cargo up the incline [Music] the last obstacle has now been overcome the team rotates the trucks one last time and Returns the Convoy to its original order within 20 minutes the transporter is ready to roll again very proud of proud of great job and everyone knows exactly what they have to do and it's absolutely essential for such transports when an obstacle arises everyone needs to work as quickly and efficiently as possible it's vital that everyone does their part to ensure that everything runs smoothly the magnet has come a long way over 500 kilometers from Italy across the sea to the coast of Southern France and from there to here in four nights to the largest construction site in the world Mega transport required almost 100 people to be up every night we have arrived at our destination there's been no problems at all thank you and to those back in the office working for years on planning the route and supporting us in everything [Music] the team checks the load one last time there is joy in the men's faces we'll celebrate this it's our passion [Music] I think we worked really really well together the route was actually at times complicated and pretty difficult but we're a super great team that works fantastically together I hope we'll do some great things even greater things than this Mission when there's a problem we work together we listen to each other and we move forward together the job is not yet done tomorrow the team will unload the magnet and the data from the sensors will be checked under the watchful eyes of Boris Belize and Sebastian kozorovski the magnet is a key component in the nuclear fusion reactor if everything works out well the electricity of the future will be born here if everything works out well because the spmt suddenly refuses to move along the final few meters things get tense for the team and that after four night shifts in a row [Applause] [Music] none of the team knows what the problem is we're just a few meters away from the unloading point and now there's one final small problem the steering controller is having trouble with the radio levels we'll see if we can fix it or if we need to move the spmt in the conventional way using the trucks maneuvering with trucks will be far more difficult but fortunately the team manages to repair the controller the team needs to unload the magnet together with its transport frame thank you agonizingly slowly they maneuver the load onto the uprights with 400 tons they cannot be Reckless the weight must be evenly distributed [Music] is a relief to see that the component has arrived without any problems after such a long journey we're very happy were you proud but now we take over responsibility from now on we are responsible for the component and for everything that happens to it the 410 cargo has been delivered the team has done its job and the next Mega transport is already waiting for them but the four sensors report is now critical they have been monitoring the transport from the very beginning they are now downloading to transport data the data informs us whether the cargo has been damaged or shaken during transportation accelerations and speed are also reported humidity and temperatures too moisture poses a resting risk if the limit value is exceeded a complex cleaning process will be needed final Deliverance open the document the magnets journey is not over yet it will now go into the Assembly Hall it will be worked on further before being installed in the nuclear fusion reactor [Music] today's delivery was very important it's a Year's End for European manufacturing we now enter a new phase that will take more than four years to assemble all TF magnets to complete the assembly phases in 2025 the nuclear fusion reactor is to be ready and the first plasma flowing it could Mark the beginning of a new age of electricity

Channel: Free Documentary - Engineering

Views: 452,798

Keywords: free documentary, free documentary engineering, engineering, engineering documentary, tech, tech documentary, constructions, constructions documentary, technology documentary, heavy transport, MegaTransports, mega transport, epic transport, most epic transport, giant magnet, gigantic magnet, Nuclear Fusion Reactor, nuclear fusion, nuclear fusion reactor, nuclear reactor, fusion energy, energy production, nuclear power, nuclear energy, renewable energy, power plant

Id: svPkkKZTdXc

Length: 48min 0sec (2880 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 09 2023