—Next step: DOE Review November 22-24
Dan Cheng (l.) and Ahmet Pekedis work on tooling for an LHC quadrupole
A Fermilab Director’s CD-3 Review of the High-Luminosity LHC Accelerator Upgrade Project (AUP) was held (virtually) July 28-30, 2020. The review’s final report described it as “well managed” with “an experienced and talented management and technical team” that “has made very impressive progress since CD2/3b,” the previous step in the progression of Critical Decisions in a DOE project.
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN will begin a two-and-a-half-year upgrade around 2023, during their third long scheduled shutdown (LS3), to boost the beam’s luminosity and thus the rate of particle collisions. The expertise at the Berkeley Center for Magnet Technology is key to the US contributions to the AUP, an essential component of which is the design and construction of advanced and powerful focusing magnets.
Fully assembled HL-LHC AUP quadrupole magnet
Berkeley Lab’s contributions, through its Berkeley Center for Magnet Technology (BCMT), include 104 superconducting wire cables to be used in the magnets; the insulation of the cables; and the assembly of 25 four-meter-long quadrupole magnets designated (MQXFA) that will focus the LHC’s particle beams.
The AUP in total is delivering two of the complete inner-triplet cryoassemblies, designated Q1 and Q3, and 23 magnets in all, while CERN is completing the third cryoassembly, Q2a and b.
“Exemplary and a model for future projects”
The review found that “The AUP Project has made very impressive progress since CD2/3b.”
Managerial as well as technical excellence is essential to a program like the HL-LHC AUP, which involves five US national labs and a university, each bringing its particular strengths to the technical challenges — and whose products must mesh with the overall High-Luminosity Upgrade at CERN. The reviewers noted that “Integration of the project team across the participating laboratories is strong and we commend the project management group on the robustness of their approach and their commitment to the level of integration incorporated into their approach.”
They further found that “Project mechanics, including cost/schedule, ES&H and QA reporting, are in place and operating smoothly. The commitment to traceability of requirements, interface controls, configuration management and documented acceptance criteria is exemplary and a model for future projects.”
The Director’s Review Committee recommended proceeding to CD-3. The next step is a DOE CD-3 Review, scheduled for November 22-24.
