Normal conducting linac – progress towards commissioning
Testing and commissioning of Material and Personnel Access Stations is ongoing in the Front End Building. Fences in the tunnel and A Temporary Shielding Wall separating the Normal Conducting Linac and the Spoke section are also being prepared for commissioning.
Tests, including bead pulling, continues inside the DTL workshop – now with remote supervision from INFN in Italy who are unable to be on site right now. The first DTL tank is projected to be ready to be moved to its permanent position in the tunnel in January. Installation of the DTL water skid is ongoing on the ground floor of the Front End building.
Other notable progress include first-time energisation of the RFQ modulator in the Normal Conducting Gallery and testing of the RFQ water skid.
Meanwhile, cable pulling, terminations and rack population continue upstream, both in the Gallery and Linac.
Facades, doors and internal finishes for the Waste Treatment Facility
The last door for the Waste Treatment Facility has been installed at the front of the building and metal facades are substantially completed. Internal finishes continue inside the building and outside on the courtyard reinforcement is ongoing for lids that are to cover the opening down to a process pit on basement level.
Construction and installation in the buildings surrounding the Target station
The lab building to Experimental Hall 2 has been equipped with a curtain wall, i.e. glass facades both on the east front and north side of the building. Internal finishes, including gypsum walls and in-wall installations, are ongoing inside the building.
Interior works are also progressing inside the Target Entrance building. This includes cabling, piping, gypsum works, painting etc. On the first floor, the ESS Main Control Room will be found.
Hatches for the Target building subject to test lifts
Installation of the cast-on-site hatches for the Target building openings is ongoing. 18 out of the total 36 lids have already been lifted in place (including the 4 cast-in-place hatches for Tom’s Room) and in the coming week the rest of the hatches will be placed at their designated destination.
The Monolith lid, made up of nine pieces, the heaviest weighting 85 tonnes (total weight: 510 tonnes!) was fitted and dimension confirmed over the weekend. This will cover opening over the connection cell, where the Target Monolith is located, once in operation.
Cranes, cranes, cranes
Whilst the overhead crane in Experimental Hall 2 is commissioned, fully operational and currently used by ESS to lift the bunker shielding blocks in place, the 50,5-metres-span overhead crane for Experimental Hall 1 has just been delivered. It will be installed during December. Inside a protective tent structure in Experimental Hall 1, welding of consoles is ongoing for the bunker crane.
The bunker crane girder in Experimental Hall 2 will be installed during December.
