Accelerator
Linac
The fifth and final Drift Tube Linac tank has been installed: Installation of DTL5 completes the ESS Normal Conducting Linac.
The installation of cryomodules is ongoing in the Superconducting part of the Linac. To date, 11 out of 13 spoke and two medium beta elliptical cryomodules are in place. Each module is aligned and welded to the Cryogenic Distribution System, which will feed the cavities of each cryomdoule with liquid helium.
At the end of the Linac, in the Accelerator to Target (A2T) building, installation of vacuum vessels and magnets are ongoing along the dumpline to the tuning beam dump.
Klystron Gallery
In the Spoke and medium beta sections, all 26 RF power stations as well as klystrons and modulators are in place, with power tests ongoing.
In the high beta section three high beta modulators are in place and energisation in progress.
Testing and cooldown of high beta cryomodules is in progress in the test stand bunker.
Target
Piping from the Monolith cooling blocks to the connection ring is ongoing. Connections to the primary water cooling system in the Utility building will follow.
A drip plate has been installed and sealed to the outer shielding plates and supports for casks are in place.
The Moderator/Reflector Plug has been subject to cleaning, with measurements and vacuum tests following.
The Helium Rotary Unit has been fitted on top of the Target Wheel shaft, and final 24/7 component tests are about to start in the Target Mock-Up and Test Stand. This will prepare for the installation of the Target Wheel and Moderator into the Monolith vessel before the end of this year.
In the Active Cells, training for the remote handling of the Telbot robotic system has started. The robotic arms in the process cell are controlled using a manipulator in a local control room. When in operations, all operations in the Active Cells will be performed remotely.
Installation of the Cryogenic Moderator System (CMS) is completed in the Hydrogen Room on the top floor of the A2T building. Commissioning, including pressure tests, is following. The CMS is an in-kind contribution from German partner Jülich.
Instruments
LOKI
Detector rails are installed inside the vessel and infrastructure installations, including detector electronics, are under way.
The detector carriages will be rolled into the vessel from the rear of the tank. The detector banks, which can be moved with a motion control chain, will be installed onto these carriages.
ESTIA
The ESTIA cave has been equipped with a roof, handrails and a staircase. The structure has been painted. This will be followed by steel shielding plates and a heavy door from roof level with rails and a drive train.
NMX
Installation of a neutron guide system, from bunker to cave, is about to start.
Infrastructure & Utilities
Four sections of false floors for installations and utilities have been installed around the neutron shielding bunker.
Utility and electrical installations are in progress, around the caves of DREAM and LOKI, as well as inside the shielding bunker.
Integrated Control System
Lab timing system
Following the commissioning of the timing system for the ESS Accelerator, the first microTCA crate for the lab timing system has been connected. All ESS labs can now connect to this system for testing purposes.
The ESS timing system provides high-precision synchronisation and coordinated operation of all systems for the ESS neutron factory. It records operational data, time stamps and trigger events to a number of systems simultaneously with a deterministic nano-second accuracy.
The timing details will be fed to the EPICS control system, which enables all systems to exchange data, providing the tools for operators to supervise, analyse and control all systems.
Plug and Play
A “Plug and Play” demo for sample environment equipment has been successfully completed – "Plug and Play" Integration of Sample Environment Equipment Successfully Demonstrated.
