Accelerator Division Delivers Reliable NSLS Beams, Key NSLS-II Components

"We had 14 goals for the year and checked off 11, with 'in progress' noted on the balance. This achievement is a testament to the talent and hard work of the Accelerator Division staff, our vendors, and our supporters at Brookhaven and elsewhere." — Ferdinand Willeke Director, Accelerator Division

Photon Sciences' Accelerator Division had a full workload in 2010. While it was generally business as usual at NSLS, maintaining an older synchrotron at a high performance level is not easy. The NSLS-II Project placed increasing demands on the division, with 2010 seeing great growth in construction and design, and preparations ongoing for the eventual transition from NSLS to the new facility.

NSLS has been operating for more than 30 years, but Accelerator Division staff members are still finding ways to keep it running reliably, despite the extensive preventative maintenance the facility needs. This year, the division's efforts at NSLS involved aggressively maintaining the aged hardware system, replacing systems when necessary, providing spares for critical systems, and coming up with alternative solutions when replacing hardware didn't make sense considering the relatively short time until NSLS stops running.

NSLS-II storage ring magnets - a total of 826 - include quadrupoles (top) and dipoles (bottom). The magnets are being built by vendors in six countries: China, Denmark, New Zealand, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Among the many regular tasks involved are polishing exposed high-voltage parts, inspecting power supplies and electronics, cleaning heat exchangers and filters, and replacing fans and other parts that tend to wear out quickly. On the X-Ray Ring, activities continued for the ongoing upgrade of the radiofrequency power source. And in early 2010 the division completed a major job: the removal of a corroded water-cooling tower on the NSLS roof and the installation of a new one.

At NSLS-II, the Accelerator Division oversaw several production milestones. There was a great deal of progress in magnet production, beginning in February with a delivery of the first completed sextupole magnet. Several other “first article” magnets later arrived and staff began testing them for proper magnetic field quality and other key specifications. Magnet production and delivery was generally slower than expected, however, due to some initial manufacturing issues experienced by vendors.

The division awarded contracts for the NSLS-II linear accelerator and booster ring, and reviewed design and production schedules for both machines. There was also great progress in the production of girders, vacuum systems, power supplies, and electronic components. Staff began designing NSLS-II's many insertion devices and awarded a contract for the damping wiggler. They also awarded most of the contracts for the power supply components.