Accelerator
Drift Tube Linac 5, installed in the ESS Normal Conducting Linac a month ago, has been connected and is subject to vacuum leak tests.
Radio-frequency power systems and the distribution system is under testing in the gallery building.
All 13 double-cavity spoke cryomodules are now in place in the superconducting part of the linac. Alignment, welding, installation of doorknobs and water manifolds, cable connections and labelling – this is all part of a busy installation scope.
The first medium beta cryomodule as part of the elliptical series installation is in place, with welding of the pipes to the valvebox completed.
Linac Warm Units will be installed in-between all cryomodules, using a cleanroom tent for particle-free installations.
Cooldown tests of elliptical cryomodules delivered from French In-Kind Partner CEA continue in the on-site test stand.
All 26 radio-frequency power stations for the spoke section are in place and have been tested with low power in the Gallery building. Soak testing, over a longer period of time, is under way.
Target
The 24/7 rotation tests of the Target Wheel are under way, with the goal of accumulating 1,000 hours of test data. The helium rotary unit, installed on top of the shaft, is part of this test cycle. Final cleaning and measurements will prepare the wheel and part of the shaft for installation into the Monolith vessel later this year.
The temporary 65-ton high bay overhead crane has been dismantled and disposed of. The L3 special crane now services the entire Target high bay.
The Proton Beam Window, separating the Accelerator ultra-high vacuum environment to the rough vacuum of the Target Monolith, has been successfully cleaned, pre-tested and sent off to University West in Trollhättan, Sweden, for luminescent coating. Pressure tests will be performed before the component is sent back to the supplier in Spain for final assembly.
The Light Shutter System, installed for the 15 active beam ports and the Test Beamline, has been tested and approved. The next step will be to install the Bridge Beam Guide, including optics for the first part of the neutron extraction system.
Cryogenic Moderator System
Preparations to start the next round of commissioning of the Cryogenic Moderator System are under way. This will include performance tests at various temperatures to verify that all equipment works as intended. The first part of the test will be done with Nitrogen, and in the second part cooldown to 17K using helium from the Target Moderator Cryoplant (TMCP) is planned.
The system, including the hydrogen transfer line and distribution valvebox in Tom’s Room, will be pressurized to be able to run the tests. Circulation will however only involve the CMS cryostat and jumper spool box.
The CMS cryostat consist of a hydrogen and a helium loop. Cold hydrogen, cooled by the helium loop, will be circulated via a transfer line to the Target Moderator System. Cryogenic piping from the distribution valvebox to the connection cell is yet to be completed.
Instruments
ESTIA
The on-site construction of the control hutch for ESTIA is now under way.
SKADI
The sample environment cave walls are in place, with painting in progress. The SKADI heavy shutter was received and placed inside the bunker.
LOKI
30 detector modules have been installed into the front and middle detector frames, inside the LOKI detector vessel.
The detector modules were designed, manufactured and tested by UK in-kind partner STFC/ISIS. Prior to the installation, they were pre-tested at the Source Testing Facility at Lund University.
Read more about the first neutron detectors arriving at ESS.
BIFROST
Motion control tests of a cryogenic tank on the BIFROST sample stage, has started. This cryo tank, which will contain the sample, can be rotated and tilted.
NMX
The installation of the 160-metre-long neutron guide system, from the Target to the sample position, is under way for NMX.
