LS1 report: A hot summer

Work is progressing well on the new access and safety system being deployed across the accelerator chain

A new access and safety system is being installed across the whole injector chain. This work is progressing according to plan and should be completed by the end of the year.

At the PS Booster, the replacement of the beam-absorber is about to start and teams are clearing the area for work to proceed. This is part of the upgrade programme aimed at increasing the beam performance of the PSB.

In the LHC, the cabling campaign is proceeding at a steady rate, with a third of the cables now in place. The replacement of the water-cooled cable ducts at Point 8 has also been completed.

On the civil engineering side, drilling work at Point 5 is progressing, with the second of the four 40-cm diameter, 14-m long holes having been successfully completed. At Point 7, teams have just finished demolishing a wall in the access galleries, thereby creating enough space for racks to be installed a good distance away from the accelerator, reducing the risk of radiation-induced malfunctions.

The Superconducting Magnets and Circuits Consolidation (SMACC) project is also going along nicely. Next week should see the opening of the W-bellows in the 4th sector (8-1), and the “train” has already started its work in three other sectors (5-6, 6-7 and 7-8). The first vacuum tests should start on schedule, before the end of July.

The teams responsible for repairing the faulty interconnections have had to be strengthened. Although initial tests indicated that some 15% of the interconnections would need to be completely redone, a more recent analysis has revealed new irregularities and estimates have thus had to be reviewed upwards. In sector 5-6, for example, 25% of the interconnections will have to be redone and some 30% in sector 6-7.

Last but not least, we need to address the problem of the LHC lifts. On average, two of the LHC’s 14 lifts break down every week. In most cases, these malfunctions are due to doors getting jolted during the transport of equipment. Each time, it means calling out repair crews and much inconvenience to all. This can be avoided. Everyone working in the LHC is therefore kindly invited to handle the lifts with care.    

* Please note that Goward road has now re-opened to traffic *