Large-Block Assembly of Booster for SRF “SKIF” Began

Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics began assembly of the first segments of synchrotron-booster for the Shared Research Facility “Siberian Circular Photon Source” (SRF “SKIF”). The synchrotron consists of hundreds of components — magnets, vacuum pumps, elements of beam diagnostics, etc., — placed on a special plate with precision of several tens of micrometers (human hair thickness) as regards to the calculated position. It is long, ineffective, and inconvenient to assembly the booster in the accelerator tunnel. So the elements of accelerator are assembled into large blocks in laboratories equipped with modern measuring tools and then a relative small number of such segments are brought into the tunnel and joined together.

The booster synchrotron of SRF “SKIF” is an intermediary circular accelerator 158 m in perimeter that “boosts” the electron beam from energy of 200 MeV to 3000 MeV. It consists of a large number of complex electrophysical and vacuum equipment that must be assembled, joined and placed with high precision. The mistakes in exposition may lead to a loss of beam quality and even its peril.

Today BINP proceeds at full pace with the series manufacturing of the booster equipment. Special girders are used for its placement and assembly of large-block segments, that AO “Votkinski zavod” produces on BINP commission. The seating surface of the girders are made with high precision and are equipped with precision mechanisms for regulating position of the elements of accelerator and their fixation. To warrant the stability of the construction in time, the girders must be annealed to remove the inner stress in metal. AO “Votkinski zavod” features all necessary equipment including the annealing furnaces, machine tools for polishing the four-meter items with 20 micron precision, etc.

“For booster synchrotron we need 43 girders. By today we received first 13 ones. The rest will be brought to the Institute in parties before September, 2022. The length of the girders varies, and depending on the equipment supposed to be placed on them makes from 2 to 4 meters. The weight of a girder is about one ton, and with equipment, more than three tons”, commented Sergei Gurov, Assistant to Director BINP for SKIF Realization.

Sextupole magnet lenses for booster synchrotron for the Shared Research Facility “Siberian Circular Photon Source” (SRF “SKIF”). Photo: Boreskov Institute of Catalysis

“To determine the construction we need to provide the strict requirements to the parameters (margin to 50 micron) necessary for equipment placement. The technological services of the plant issued a number of suggestions approved by BINP for changes in the construction considering the specific character of our manufacture, without making the item characteristics worse, and sometimes even improving them. The introduced changes proved their value by the results of the commissioning of the first girders of the booster”, said Denis Plekhov, the Head of the Group of the Department of General Constructor for Industrial Items of AO “Votkinski zavod”.

Upon their arrival to the Institute the quality of all girders is checked by laser-tracker, a device that determined the spatial coordinated with precision better than 20 micron on the base of 4 meters. The use of such devices gives the possibility to the BINP surveyors to place the booster elements on the girders with root mean square accuracy better than 50 micron as regards to the project position.

At this moment the assembly of girders began in the Institute. The first segment in assembled, and the mounting showed that all equipment is made by BINP and AO “Votkinski zavod” with necessary quality and precision. With further production of the accelerator elements and girders new segments of the plant will be assembled. This will allow fast and efficient assemble of the whole synchrotron like a constructor from ready blocks by the end of 2023, when the building for injection complex will be ready.

The Shared Research Facility “SKIF” is the source of synchrotron radiation of the 4+ generation. The plant is constructed in Novosibirsk region within the framework of “Nauka i Universitety” (Science and Universities) National Project and in compliance with the Decree by President of Russia of July 25, 2019.

The Federal Research Center Boreskov Institute of Catalysis is the Customer and Developer of the project. The only provider for manufacturing and launching of the technologically sophisticated equipment for SRF “SKIF” is Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics.

Source: Press-service of Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics