Status of the short dipole model program for the LHC

The model program for the LHC main dipoles is dedicated to the study and validation of design variants and assembly parameters to achieve reproducible performance and optimise components and assembly costs. The topics investigated in the last year include the material of the coil end spacers, the use of polyimide films from different manufacturers, the definition of optimum azimuthal and longitudinal coil pre-stress values, shimming of coil ends, collaring around the “cold bore” and different layouts of the yoke ends. This paper presents the main characteristics of such recent models, the results obtained during cold tests and the plans for the final phase of the model program for the LHC dipoles     

Superconducting magnets for the LHC main lattice

The main lattice of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) employs about 1600 main magnets and more than 4000 corrector magnets. All superconducting and working in pressurized superfluid helium bath, these impressive line of magnets fills more than 20 km of the underground tunnel. With almost 70 main dipoles already delivered and 10 main quadrupoles almost completed, we passed the 5% of the production and now all manufacturers have fully entered into series production. In this paper the most critical issues encountered in the ramping up in such a real large scale fabrication is addressed; uniformity of the coil size and of prestress, special welding technique, tolerances on curvature (dipoles) or straightness (quadrupoles) and of the cold mass extremities, harmonic content and, most important, the integrated field uniformity among magnets. The actual limits and the solution for improvements are discussed. Finally a realistic schedule based on actual achievements is presented.     

Measurement and analysis of axial end forces in a full-lengthprototype of LHC main dipole magnets

A full-length, twin aperture prototype (MBP2N1) dipole magnet for the LHC project was assembled at CERN with collared coils delivered by industry. The design of this prototype is close to that foreseen for the dipole series manufacture as far the coil geometry and that of the yoke components are concerned. The bolts that transfer the axial magnetic forces from the coil ends to the cold mass end plates were instrumented to verify the axial coil support. These axial forces were initially measured after partial assembly, during a standard and an accelerated cool down introduction to 1.9 K, and during magnet excitation up to 9.2 T. High force levels were observed, triggering a comparison with analytical models and measurements routinely made on 1-m single aperture dipole models. The prototype magnet was re-assembled with lower initial axial force settings and with additional instrumentation, to monitor these forces during the entire assembly process, and re-tested, to possibly correlate axial forces with training behaviour. This paper reports about the experimental observation and provides models towards their understanding     

The LHC pre-series dipole cold mass geometry

In order to provide the necessary mechanical aperture for the LHC beam, the main dipole cold masses have to match precisely the nominal circular trajectory of the particles beam. The requirements on the dipole cold mass geometry are dictated by the LHC beam optics and by the allowed limits of mechanical deformation of the interconnection bellows. Keeping the tight tolerances that are imposed necessitates a well controlled bending process and the use of a high accuracy 3D measuring instrument for checking the geometry of the cold mass throughout many manufacturing stages up to the final inspection. The dipole cold mass pre-series production started in 2000. It is almost completed at the three sites. In this paper, we report on the problems encountered to shape correctly the cold masses, their effect on interconnection of the dipole cold masses and on the mechanical aperture. On one side measures to improve the production process in terms of accuracy and reproducibility were taken, on the other side the assembly tolerances could be relaxed following a thorough review of the machine requirements. The summary of the encountered problems, corrective actions and results obtained on the pre-series cold masses are presented and discussed.     

Statistical analysis of conductor motion in LHC superconducting dipole magnets

Premature training quenches are usually caused by the transient energy release within the magnet coil as it is energized. The dominant disturbances originate in cable motion and produce observable rapid variation in voltage signals called spikes. The experimental set up and the raw data treatment to detect these phenomena are briefly recalled. The statistical properties of different features of spikes are presented like for instance the maximal amplitude, the energy, the duration and the time correlation between events. The parameterization of the mechanical activity of magnets is addressed. The mechanical activity of full-scale prototype and first preseries LHC dipole magnets is analyzed and correlations with magnet manufacturing procedures and quench performance are established. The predictability of the quench occurrence is discussed and examples presented.     

Accurate calculation of fringe fields in the LHC main dipoles

The ROXIE program developed at CERN for the design and optimization of the superconducting LHC magnets has been recently extended in a collaboration with the University of Stuttgart, Germany, with a field computation method based on the coupling between the boundary element (BEM) and the finite element (FEM) technique. This avoids the meshing of the coils and the air regions, and avoids the artificial far field boundary conditions. The method is therefore specially suited for the accurate calculation of fields in the superconducting magnets in which the field is dominated by the coil. We will present the fringe field calculations in both 2d and 3d geometries to evaluate the effect of connections and the cryostat on the field quality and the flux density to which auxiliary bus-bars are exposed     

Statistical studies of the robustness of the LHC main dipolemechanical structure

This paper describes two methods used to study the effect of the tolerances of the components on the structure of the LHC main dipole. The first method, called semi-statistical, is useful for the determination of the acceptable variance of the dimensions of magnet components. The second one, fully statistical, allows the study of the combined effect of many parameters. The use of these two methods allowed to evaluate with good confidence the robustness of two different dipole cross-section designs, featuring austenitic and aluminium alloy collars, respectively     

Speckle interferometry measurements of the conductor displacementsin the CERN-LHC main dipole

Magnetic field quality in superconducting magnets strongly depends on conductor position in operational conditions. Simulations based on finite-element models (FEM) provide the field of stresses and displacements inside the magnet. Due to the complex mechanical behavior of the coil and to the different materials composing the magnet, it is not trivial to build a reliable mechanical model. We present an experimental method based on optical measurements to validate the accuracy of the FEM in evaluating differential displacements at room temperature. A short sample of dipole coils is loaded through a small press and speckle interferometry measurements detect differential displacements with an accuracy of 1.5 μm. Comparison with the numerical results allows the testing of the most critical features of the model, i.e., a pressure-dependent coil elasticity and the interfaces between different materials. A good agreement between measurements and deformed geometry foreseen by the FEM is found     

Results of 3-dimensional structural FE-modeling of the coilend-regions of the LHC main dipoles

The transition region between the straight part and the ends of the coils of the LHC model and prototype dipole magnets are often identified as the origin of training quenches. In order to study how the discontinuities in the material properties of these regions affect coil pre-stress and possibly gain more insight in the quench behavior, a program was set up at CERN to analyze by 3D-FEM these particular regions. The ACCEL team, who performed a similar analysis for the main quadrupoles of the Superconducting Supercollider SSC, is entrusted with this program. In this paper we report on the results of 3D-modeling and analysis of the coil return end region, including the complete coil mass, of a 1-m single bore model magnet. This magnet represents all relevant features of the “two-in-one” LHC main dipole design concerning the winding configuration, the collar pack, the yoke, and the outer shell representing the He-vessel. The transition region between coil ends and straight section is modeled by slicing the magnet down to individual collar laminations per elementary level. The two-layer winding pack is represented with all individual conductor blocks, wedges, end spacers, and the interlayer spacer. Results will be presented for load cases with pre-stress after assembly at room temperature, after cool-down, and under operation at maximum current. Critical stress locations were identified in the transition into the pole free section of the magnet and in the bent part. Shimming of the coils, as well as impact from material choices and suitable alternatives are discussed     

Industrialization of LHC main quadrupole cold masses up to series production

Whereas the prototypes of the main quadrupoles had been pursued at CEA Saclay under contract with CERN, the contract to build all MQ magnets and the complete cold masses had been placed with ACCEL Instruments GmbH. After careful evaluation of design concepts and fabrication processes some revisions have been introduced to ease an industrial fabrication of the 400 MQ magnets and cold masses to be delivered to CERN. First batches of magnets were successfully cold tested. We report about the upgrading of the fabrication facility including the MQ specific layout of all machinery, the upgrading and qualifying of personnel resources and processes, the technical performance of the products and main activities and experiences on the way to series production.     

Production follow-up of the LHC main dipoles through magnetic measurements at room temperature

In this paper, we review the tools used for controlling the production of the LHC main dipoles through warm magnetic measurements. For the collared coil measurements, control limits are based on the statistics relative to the pre-series production. For the cold mass, the difference between collared coil and cold mass is considered, allowing a very stringent test. In both cases, measurements are split in straight part average, variations and coil ends contributions. Two different alarm levels exist in case the measured field is out of limits. The analysis can be carried out at the manufacturer and allows detection of anomalies in the measured magnetic field. These can be either due to wrong measurements or caused by assembly defects. Techniques used to work out information on the magnet assembly from the field harmonics are outlined. We summarize the experience gathered on about 180 collared coils and 120 cold masses, pointing out the bad cases and investigating the reliability of the measurements.     

Comments on the design of log-periodic dipole antennas

The design procedure of the log-periodic dipole (LPD) antennas is discussed. The results of the calculations carried out by the use of the more recent and accurate methods of the analysis for the arrays of unequal dipoles, are compared with those already available in the literature. The calculations refer to the gain of LPD antenna as a function ofZ_{0}, the characteristic impedance of the exciting transmission line, ofh/a, the ratio between the half-length and the radius of dipoles, oftauandsigma, two parameters which describe the geometry of the LPD antenna. The values of gain are lower than those given by earlier calculations. The degradation of the gain is more consistent, when the values either ofZ_{0}orh/aare increased with respect toZ_{0} = 100 Omegaandh/a = 125, which are parameters often used in the literature. The many diagrams included in this paper for different values oftau, sigma, Z_{0}, andh/acan be useful in a more accurate design of an LPD antenna. Confirmation of the computer data has been obtained by the tests performed on various scale models and on a full scale antenna.     

Comparison of fitness landscapes for evolutionary design of dipole antennas

Evolutionary algorithms are powerful optimization and design tools, and the design of fitness function is their crucial phase. The ruggedness of a fitness function landscape has a profound effect on optimization speed. The choice of objectives and penalty coefficients are important problems for evolutionary antenna design, because these parameters influence the ruggedness of the fitness function landscape. In this paper, we analyze several fitness function landscapes for evolutionary design of dipole antennas using the method of basin evaluation. Our approach makes it possible to compare different fitness functions and thus define proper fitness functions for evolutionary antenna design.     

On scattering cross-section calculation accuracy of nonspherical particles of rain precipitation using the dipole scattering approximation

Comparative relationships of the numerical simulation results of the scattering cross-section (SCS) of raindrops have been presented using the approximate method of dipole scattering and the rigorous method of moments. The scope of applicability of the dipole scattering were also determined with due regard for the calculation accuracy of nonspherical drop SCS.     

车载电话用双频共面振子天线的设计

设计了一个用于车载电话的双频共面振子天线.为获得在同轴馈电时天线振子的平衡馈电,该设计使用了共面波导馈电结构.仿真计算结果给出了天线振子双臂的电流分布,并显示设计的共面振子天线在两个不同的频率上工作.实际设计天线的测试结果表明,在两个频带824MHz～896MHz和1850MHz～1990MHz内,设计天线的驻波比都小于2,而在水平面内的平均增益都大于指标值.     

Mechanical design of a second generation LHC IR quadrupole

One of the proposed options to increase the LHC luminosity is the replacement of the existing inner triplets at the interaction regions with new low-beta larger aperture quadrupoles operating at the same gradient. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is carrying out preliminary studies of a large-bore Nb/sub 3/Sn quadrupole. The mechanical design presents a support structure based on the use of keys and bladders without self-supporting collars. This technology has been proven effective in several successful common coil Nb/sub 3/Sn dipoles built at LBNL, and it is for the first time applied to a cos(2/spl thetav/) design. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of the quadrupole mechanical behavior, demonstrating the possibility of delivering, through this method, well-controlled coil pre-compression during assembly, cool-down and excitation. The study has been performed with the finite element program ANSYS.     

Further comments on the design of log-periodic dipole antennas

The design procedure for the log-periodic dipole (LPD) antenna is discussed, by extending the results presented in a previous paper by the authors. The results of gain calculations, already published, are summarized and extended to cases of very thick dipoles. The gain analysis is completed with a discussion of the optimum antenna input feed lineZ_{0}'the achievable VSWR, the voltage gradient, and the effects of the presence of the ground. All the results of calculations given here are presented as a function ofZ_{0}(the characteristic impedance of the transmission line feeder),h/a(the ratio between the half-length and the radius of the dipoles),tau(the logarithmic decrement of the geometrical configuration), andsigma(the spacing ratio of dipoles), i.e., the parameters, which usually describe the geometry of an LPD array. The results of calculations are presented in many diagrams, for different values oftau,sigma, Z_{0}andh/a, which can be useful for accurate design of LPD antennas including those for high-power applications. Measurements of VSWR performed on antenna models have confirmed the computed results.     

Diode-loaded dipole antenna modeling and design

A circuit model for a diode-loaded dipole electric field measurement probe which is valid for frequencies below 10 GHz is presented. Assumptions are made to allow linear analysis based on the Laplace transform method. Optimized design criteria for the probe are then developed, with the major considerations being large bandwidth, independence of temperature, and maximum output. Experimental measurements on a probe designed for operation between 1 and 1000 MHz and comparison with the theoretical results are presented     

Steering field quality in the main dipole magnets of the Large Hadron Collider

More than 10% of the collared coils of the main LHC dipoles have been produced. In this paper, we compare the measured field quality to beam dynamics targets using correlations to measurements at 1.9 K. The present status of field quality is given and corrective actions carried out to center field quality on optimal values are presented. Differences among the three manufacturers are analyzed, and the main results that concern correlation between cold and warm measurements are outlined. Present trends in the production and open points are discussed.