Construction of the New Prototype of Main Quadrupole Cold Masses for the Arc Short Straight Sections of LHC

Each cold mass of the short straight sections in the eight LHC arcs will contain a 3.25 m long twin aperture quadrupole of a nominal gradient of 223 T/m. This magnet will be aligned in a 5.3 m long inertia tube together with auxiliary magnets on each end. On the quadrupole connection end either a pair of 38 cm long octupole or trim quadrupole magnets will be mounted, on the other end there will be combined sextupole-dipole correctors with a yoke length of 1.26 m. The powering of the main quadrupoles will be assured by two pairs of copper stabilized superconducting bus-bars placed inside the cold mass next to the bus-bars for the main dipole magnets. Each of the two quadrupole apertures will be connected to its quench protection diode. The construction of three prototypes has been entrusted to the CEA/Saclay laboratory, in the frame of the special French contribution to the LHC project. The first cold mass prototype has been completed and warm-measured for its multipole content at CEA. The second cold mass is presently under completion. The paper will review the experience with the development of the quadrupole coils and cold mass construction and gives the results of the first warm magnetic measurements. An outlook for the series manufacture of the 400 arc quadrupole magnets and their cold masses for the LHC machine will complete the report

Status of the Cold Mass of the Short Straight Section for the LHC

In the framework of the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) R&D program, CERN and CEA-Saclay have collaborated to develop and construct two quadrupole magnet prototypes which have been successfully cold-teste d. This collaboration has been extended as part of French special contribution to the LHC project. The previous design has been adapted to meet the new LHC parameters and two new cold masses are being constructed. This paper describes the new cold masses, their assembly process and the foreseen organization for the industrial production of about 470 units

Performance of Series-Design Prototype Main Quadrupoles for the LHC

After the successful construction of two first-generation prototypes of the main quadrupoles for the LHC, three series-design prototypes have been further manufactured at CEA-Saclay. Together with the sextupole-dipole corrector magnets and tuning quadrupoles, these twin-aperture main quadrupoles are assembled into the cold masses of the so-called short straight sections. Already during their fabrication, the collared coils and later the completed cold masses undergo warm magnetic measurements. Two of the main quadrupole cold masses have been mounted into their definitive machine cryostats and submitted to training and magnetic measurements. This paper presents the results of these cold tests by describing the quench behaviour, the transfer function in each of the apertures and the multipole components found at different levels of excitation. The field quality results, in cold conditions, will be compared to those measured at room temperatur

The short straight sections for the LHC

During more than five years a close collaboration between CERN and CEA-Saclay led to the development and construction of two prototype quadrupole magnets and the integration of one of them into the short straight section of the LHC half-cell test string at CERN. In the frame of the special host country contribution to the LHC project this collaboration has been extended to the CNRS laboratory in Orsay and covers besides the quadrupole magnets the complete cold mass assembly (CEA) and the integration into the short straight section cryostat (CNRS). The short straight sections include not only the main lattice quadrupoles with their protection diodes, they also house different corrector magnets and the beam position monitors. Further, they provide the cryogenic feed units for a half-cell with all the magnet interconnections and the jumper connection to the separate cryo-line. The paper will show the general lay-out of these complex units and elaborate the different aspects of their assembly

Performance of Prototypes and Start up of Series Fabrication of the LHC Arc Quadrupoles

The construction of three prototype arc quadrupoles for the LHC machine has been concluded successfully. These magnets underwent warm and cold magnetic measurements as well as many other tests, both in CEA-Saclay's laboratory and at CERN. Their training qualifies them for use in the LHC machine and their measured field quality points to only very minor corrections. An excellent correlation is found between warm and cold magnetic measurements. The prototype quadrupole design has been fully retained for the series fabrication of the 400 magnets and their cold masses by industry. This paper describes the main tests and measurement results of all three prototypes. It further explains the logistics for the manufacturing of the series of cold masses. These cold masses contain not only the main quadrupole but also different combinations of corrector magnets. Thus, together with variants imposed by the cryogenic configuration of the machine, 40 different types of cold masses have to be fabricated by the firm, to which the contract has been adjudicated

Analysis of Warm Magnetic Measurements of the First Series-Design Prototypes of the LHC Main Quadrupoles

The room temperature magnetic measurements of the first series-design prototypes of the LHC main quadrupoles are analysed. Data relative to the collared coils and to the assembled cold mass are considered. The averages of the multipoles along the magnet axis are interpreted as the systematic components. The agreement with the nominal design is verified, and possible explanations for discrepancies with regard to the multipole allowed by symmetry are worked out. The standard deviations of the multipoles along the axis are interpreted as the random components. We show that the latter can be interpreted in terms of random movements of up to 25-35 µm of the coil blocks, because of components and assembly tolerances. A good correlation between measurements made on collared coil and the assembled cold mass is found. The influence on field quality of a systematic radial misalignment of the coil conductor is also evaluated

Launching of Series Fabrication of the LHC Main Quadrupoles

A collaboration agreement between CERN and CEA-Saclay resulted in the successful development and construction of prototypes of the LHC main superconducting quadrupole magnets and their assembly into cold masses. A call for tender was issued in October 1999 and led to the adjudication of a contract to ACCEL Instruments. A number of components will be provided by CERN to be used either directly by ACCEL for integration into the cold mass units or by sub-suppliers before delivery to ACCEL. During the series fabrication CEA's engineers and technicians, already experienced from their prototype work, will ensure the technology transfer and the technical follow up in the factory. ACCEL had to adapt two large fabrication halls to the needs of the magnet fabrication and the cold mass assembly. Procedures for a tight quality assurance and the logistics for the timely supply of components and a high production rate are being established in close collaboration by the three parties concerned

Test Results of the Third LHC Main Quadrupole Magnet Prototype at CEA/Saclay

The construction of the third second-generation main quadrupole magnet prototype for LHC has been completed at CEA/Saclay in November 2000. The magnet was tested at 1.9 K. Similarly to the two first ones, this prototype has exceeded the operating current in one training step and exhibited excellent training memory after a thermal cycle. This paper describes the quench performance and quench start localization determined by means of voltage-taps and a quench antenna system developed in collaboration with KEK. As this magnet was equipped with capacitive gauges, the stresses during cool-down and powering have been recorded and are in agreement with FE computations. The newly designed quench heaters have improved efficiency and reproducibility compared to those of the first generation. Magnetic measurements have been performed at various stages. The cold measurements show minor differences with those at room temperature and are similar to those of the two first magnets of this design. These results prove that the magnets are mechanically stable and confirm the design retained for the series production of the 400 LHC main quadrupoles

A Modular Design for the 56 Variants of the Short Straight Section in the Arcs of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC)

The 360 Short Straight Sections (SSS) necessary for the eight arcs of the LHC machine have to fulfil different requirements. Their main function is to house the lattice two-in-one superconducting quadrupole and various correction magnets, all operating at 1.9 K in a superfluid helium bath. The magnetic and powering schemes of the arcs and the fact that the two proton beams alternate between the inner and outer magnet channels impose 24 different combinations of magnet assemblies, all housed in an identical helium enclosure. The cryogenic architecture of the LHC machine is based on cryogenic loops spanning over one half-cell (53 m) for the 4.6-20 K circuit, over a full cell (107 m) for the 1.9 K circuits, up to the full arc (about 2.3 km) for the shield cooling line. This cryogenic layout, when superimposed to the magnetic scheme, further complicated by the cryostat insulation vacuum sectorisation every 2 cells, creates additional assembly variants, up to a total number of 56. The required flexibility in the manufacture and assembly, as well as economic considerations, have led to a modular design for the different SSS components and sub-assemblies. This modularity allows to "specialise" the SSS at the latest possible assembly step of the "just in time" production line. This paper presents the conceptual design considerations to achieve this modularity, the SSS design retained for the series manufacture, and the assembly procedures recently validated on a prototype program at CERN