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Triplet Test : Cool-down of LHC sector 8-1
:: 27 June, 2007
Last Friday a repaired Fermilab triplet magnet underwent a simulated pressure test at CERN, using a hydraulic “push” to verify the strength of the modified support system. It passed with flying colors, being completely elastic to an axial force of 15 tons. The next step will be to install the triplet repairs in all sectors and be ready for the cool-down of LHC sector 8-1 that will take place in August. Not until a triplet magnet has been cooled and fully powered will we be able to declare success. Of course there won’t be real success for any of us until the full LHC is up and running. It is a formidable task that our colleagues at CERN are carrying out with energy and determination. So far, even without the triplets, no sector has been cooled down and fully powered, pointing out the stunning amount of commissioning work yet to be completed before the LHC can begin operations.
The analysis of the triplet failure, the design of a solution to the support problem that could be installed in situ, the fabrication of the parts and the repair of the first magnet have been done in close collaboration with CERN. Everyone in the Fermilab and CERN teams rolled up their sleeves and worked closely together to solve the problem. We also received assistance from other US laboratories. It has been a great lesson in teamwork.
Other lessons for us will come out of the root-cause analysis now underway that will help us prevent similar occurrences in the future. In the long run, this experience with the triplet problem and repair will strengthen Fermilab. Now we are a collaborator delivering components, but this experience will also provide lessons for future international projects in which we will be the host, and must deliver on the responsibility of being a system integrator for components provided by our partners.
It should be a very exciting year as all sectors of the machine come alive and we come closer to realizing the dreams of the physics to come. We will continue to give the highest priority in the laboratory to the completion of the repairs of the triplets and then to assisting CERN as much as possible in the overall commissioning of the LHC.
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LHC Sector Test with Beam -
Depending on the evolution of the schedule, a sector test in 2007 might still be a possibility (possible schedule here). Motivations for, and the impact of, test in 2007 discussed here.
The sector test was first approved in September 2003. The test will involve injection of beam down TI8, into LHC at the injection point right of point 8. The beam would them pass though IP8 (LHCb) and then through sector 8-7 to be dumped on the collimators installed to the right of the warm insertion of point 7. A second option would be to take the beam in through IR 7 and sector 6-7 to the beam dump at point 6. Around 2 weeks beam time is foreseen for the test.
While there are many good arguments for performing this test, there are also numerous consequences .For the latest overview see the most recent talk in presentations. The sector test was discussed in detail at Chamonix 2006.
"Having considered the disturbance to LHC installation and the resources needed to carry out the injection test in sector 7-8, the LHC Project Management have decided that this test must be carried out as an important milestone on the way to final commissioning of the LHC. The test must be limited to a two week period..."
In The Image-
1.Pier Oddone
2.LHC sector 8-1,-Snapshot of work progress
(number of operations achieved in total with respect to the total number of operations needed
3.LHC Sector Test with Beam
Release link: http://www.fnal.gov/pub/today/
Tags: LHC sector 8-1 , Triplet Test , Fermilab , cool-down , energy , CERN , ,
