Page 75 - ILL Annual Report 2019

Endurance:from design to implementation and science, and more...
Because of complications in the manufacturing of the replacement H1-H2 beam tube, as well as the ILL’s commitment to minimising disruption to the provision of neutrons for science, the long H1-H2 shutdown is now planned for mid-2021 to mid-2022. This means that the installation work for the Endurance H24 and H15 package
of guides and instruments will also now begin at this time. The positive side to this delay is that it has given the Projects and Techniques Division (DPT) time to strengthen the feasibility and design phase of the complex H15 guide renewal
project. The project has now been simplified, with particular emphasis on the ‘trumpet’ section in which the main guide fans out into separate sub-guides. Neutronic simulations and detailed engineering studies of the future guide, its instruments and associated infrastructure have been performed. The engineering plans for this high-performance guide, covering factors such as instrument location, neutronic performance, have now been validated and a thorough assessment of the radioprotection, background and shielding requirements
has been completed. The use of simulation tools in this way is an enormous aid in optimising the performance of new instruments while reducing the potential radioprotection and background issues on new and existing instrumentation.
The executive phases of these instrument and infrastructure renewal programmes, however, remain a significant challenge for the ILL and in particular for the Projects and Techniques Division. The success of the H24 and H15 projects depends on our ability to manage significant civil engineering works, followed by the alignment of approximately 500 metres of new neutron guides and instrument installation, and all in parallel with replacement of the H1-H2 beam tube and other important maintenance work on the reactor.
The new timeframe has given us the opportunity to review the ILL’s project management framework and introduce ‘resource-loading’ and centralised co-ordination for all projects. The resources required are identified by project managers and interconnections between different projects identified at an earlier stage. This is a key aspect of our strategy for maintaining and modernising our highly efficient infrastructure. The DPT contributes its expertise in the state-of-the-art technology required for detectors, neutron guides, neutron optic components, sample environment equipment and innovative data acquisition and analysis, strongly supported by input from the Science Division.
MODERNISATION PROGRAMMES AND TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENTS
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The year 2019 saw good progress on the ILL’s instrument upgrade programmes. This includes, for example, the
start of commissioning of the new thermal time-of-flight spectrometer PANTHER and headway on the complex cryogenic work on SuperSUN, the ILL’s future ultra-cold neutron source which should be ready for commissioning
in 2020. A great many other projects continue in parallel, such as the construction of new detectors and innovative data acquisition and storage techniques. This work is crucial if the ILL’s instruments are to continue to be of the highest standards. One of the Division’s objectives is to develop technologies that are sufficiently flexible to adapt to a range of instrumentation. The prototype detector for XtremeD,
for example, has now been adapted for the detector replacement projects on D16 and D20.
The Projects and Techniques Division also has an important part to play in the day-to-day running of our research facility. This covers everything from maintaining and upgrading the ILL's non-scientific software applications to the renovation and improvement of our buildings,
roads and parkland. In 2019 the ILL launched its new Reinforcement of Physical Protection project, of which the DPT oversees the civil engineering component.
As new projects bring new expertise to the Division’s already considerable store of experience, we have become a reference point in the field of neutron infrastructure.
We feel it is important to share our experience with other centres, whether through European projects or through other initiatives such as LENS, for example, the new League of advanced European Neutron Sources.
Jérôme Estrade
Associate Director
Head of the Projects and Techniques Division
www.ill.eu