Welcome to the 6th issue!

June 2022

The sixth issue of the HL-LHC CB Newsletter reports on the project progress during a year that has been marked by the market perturbations caused by the COVID-19 restrictions and the conflict in Ukraine that started in the beginning of this year.

The postponement of the collaboration meeting in Uppsala in 2020 and 2021 has left us with mainly virtual interactions over the last two years. With many COVID-19 related restrictions coming to an end in 2022, the collaboration meeting in Uppsala can finally take place in-person this year.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you again in person in Uppsala in September this year.

Oliver Brüning, HL-LHC Project Leader

 

Update on the HL-LHC Project Status

The progress since the last collaboration meeting in October 2021 has been impressive and the project passed several key milestones for the project implementation in spite of the turbulences caused by Covid-19 and the crisis in Ukraine.

WP1 Project Management

Overview of collaboration status and situation with Russian in-kind

The HL-LHC Project is entering the series construction phase and therefore most of the collaboration agreements are now focused on the production of final elements that will have their destination in the LHC tunnel and in the set of operational spares.

WP1 Project Management

Advancements in MQXFA program and endurance test

In May 2022, HL-LHC AUP project successfully completed an endurance test on an individual magnet (MQXFA05) in vertical position.

WP3 IR Magnets

WP3 contribution

The magnet program has reached several milestones since the last annual meeting: in the following we summarize the main achievements of our collaborations.

WP3 IR Magnets
WP3 IR Magnets

Delivery of RFD CC to UK and cryostating

CERN, STFC Daresbury Laboratory (STFC-DL) and Lancaster University have collaboratively designed a pre-series cryomodule to house 2 “RF Dipole” type Crab Cavities, with the aim of assembling the module at Daresbury Laboratory and testing at CERN in 2023.

WP4 Crab Cavities & RF

Start of series production for RFD CC at Zanon

In the framework of HL-LHC AUP in the US, last year two prototype RF Dipole Crab Cavities manufactured in Italy by Zanon Research & Innovation were validated successfully at FNAL through cold tests at 2K.

WP4 Crab Cavities & RF

First beam commissioning of the new HL-LHC collimators at the LHC

The HL-LHC WP5 activities started in LS2 with some important upgrades in preparation to the full deployment of HL-LHC in LS3.

WP5 Collimation

The DFH Cold Boxes produced in a CERN–FREIA/Uppsala University collaboration involving the Swedish RFR industrial company

This collaboration concerns the cryostat devices that will house and connect the HTS REBCO current leads to the MgB2 Superconducting Links powering the HL-LHC magnets.

WP6A Cold Powering

BGC Collaboration Meeting at CERN

The 8th Beam Gas Curtain (BGC) Collaboration Meeting was held at CERN in early April.

WP13 Beam Instrumentation
WP13 Beam Instrumentation

The IT String making big leaps towards its operation

The HL-LHC IT String is a major, intermediate milestone for the HL-LHC project ahead of the installation of the first cold powering systems in the LHC tunnel during LS3.

WP16 IT String & Commissioning

Status of civil engineering works and technical infrastructures

The civil engineering works is progressing well. The underground works, including the metallic structures, have been fully completed at Point 1 in October 2021 and Point 5 in February 2022.

WP17 Infrastructure, Logistics & Civil Engineering
WP17 Infrastructure, Logistics & Civil Engineering

HL-LHC procurement and current market situation

The High-Luminosity Project is finalising the transition from the prototyping phase into full construction mode and most of the activities in view of the series production for the HL-LHC hardware have already started across all work-packages.

WP1 Project Management

Planning of annual meeting and CSR’22, including summary of CSR’21 outcome

Following a very successful exercise in 2021, CERNs Council has requested the Cost & schedule reviews of the HL-LHC project to be held annually, a lighter edition alternating every second year with a full project review.

WP1 Project Management