Target
Roofing work is ongoing for the Target Building on top of the Monolith. The temporary crane is scheduled for installation by the end of the month, in order for the ESS Target Division to lower the Monolith vessel some time in February. The very first steel column has been erected for Experiment Hall 2.
Works are ongoing with the Dog Leg cover and retaining walls, with top fill to follow. Casting the ground floor slab for the entrance to Installation Galleries will commence next week, to make this area weather tight. The concrete section are also busy with weather protection activities, casting of hatch lids, and internal seals.
A steel shielding structure consisting of a 300 mm thick floor and a 300 mm thick wall, with a total weight of 164 tonnes, has been installed in Tom’s room (the triangular space on top of the beam line in the Drift to Target). The steel plates were lifted with magnetic lifting tools using an in-house designed crane, and slid into position on air cushions. The next step is to overmould the complete structure with concrete.
Experiment Halls
With the foundation base for the NMX cave structure complete, works have started on the plinths for the support structure. This is done by installing formwork and reinforcement in the outer and central parts of the cave, with two concrete castings completing this sequence over the next few weeks. This will then be followed by wall and roof elements, as well as epoxy painting of the surfaces. The NMX cave erection is scheduled for completion in April. Approximately 10 members of staff in the ESS Scientific Activities Division have moved out to the new office space in lab E3, Experiment Hall 3, to oversee and coordinate the fitting of the labs.
Accelerator
Installation of vertical section waveguides is now ongoing in the Accelerator Tunnel. These will be connected to the cryomodules, once installed, to provide RF power to the cavities through which protons will travel. Cable labelling and drawing through the stubs is ongoing - approximately 5 000 cables are to be installed, and this is just for the first 50 metres! Rack steel installations are continuing, providing the raceways with cabling (cooling etc).
