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     

The Interconnections of the LHC Cryomagnets at CERN: Strategy Applied and First Results of the Industrialization Process

The final interconnections of the LHC superconducting magnets in the underground tunnel are performed by a contractor on a result-oriented basis. A consortium of firms was awarded the contract after competitive tendering based on a technical and commercial specification. The implementation of the specific technologies and tooling developed and qualified by CERN has required an important effort to transfer the know-how and implement the follow-up of the contractor. This paper summarizes the start-up phase and the difficulties encountered. The organization and management tools put in place during the ramping-up phase are presented. In addition to contractual adaptations of the workforce, several configuration changes to the workflows were necessary to reach production rates compatible with the overall schedule and with the different constraints: availability of magnets, co-activities with magnets transport and alignment, handling of non-conformities, etc. Also the QA procedures underwent many changes to reach the high level of quality mandatory to ensure the LHC performance. The specificities of this worksite are underlined and first figures of merit of the learning process are presented.     

FEM computations concerning the effect of friction in two LHC maindipole structures

The mechanical behaviour of a dipole structure is considered when also friction is taken into account, studying its effect on different components and in different conditions. In particular the difference in behavior between a structure with aluminium collars and one with austenitic steel ones was studied     

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     

Selection of the cross-section design for the LHC main dipole

With the aim of selecting the most suitable design for the series production of the LHC main dipoles, several possible configurations were analysed with respect to admissible component tolerances and structural stability, field level, field quality, number and weight of parts. Two alternatives designs, featuring common collars made out of aluminium alloy and austenitic steel, respectively, were finally compared in detail, Although both designs are almost equivalent at nominal conditions, the austenitic steel collar structure turned out to be far less sensitive to components dimensional variations. This paper reports the main results of the above evaluations, which lead to the choice of austenitic steel collars for the LHC main dipoles