Large Hadron ColliderBY: DARSHAN MISTRY, ALEX GUMBRELL, CHRISTINE AUCIELLO, PATRICK DUNGOG

Summary Introduction

History

Cost

Timeline of Operations

Construction

Was it a success/failure?

Introduction The project spanned from the years 1984-2008, a 24 year process

The LHC is the world’s largest particle accelerator

The cost of the LHC is estimated to be about 10 billion Swiss Francs (4.4 Billion Pounds)

The purpose of the LHC is to collide particles together at very high speeds

Created by the European Centre for Nuclear Research, CERN

LHC Sectors ATLAS – A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS-45 m long, 25 m in diameter, weighs about 7,000 tons-This experiment involved roughly 3,000 scientists from 38 countries CMS – Compact Muon Solenoid-25 m long, 15 m in diameter, weighs about 12,500 tons-Approx. 3,800 scientists involved from 42 countries LHCb – LHC Beauty-Approx. 840 from 60 institutes were involved from 16 countries-A specialized b-physics experiment ALICE – A Large Ion Collider Experiment -Optimized to study heavy ion collisions

History The Large Hadron Collider took over 20 years to plan and complete. Here are some of the major events in its design and construction:

80’s and Early 90’s 1984 is considered to be the official start of the collider project. Physicists from all around the world worked together to consider the aspects of physics that could be studied with such a machine.

After ten years of planning, the project was officially approved by CERN in 1994.

Mid-to-Late 90’s In 1996, two detectors for the LHC, CMS (Compact Muon Spectrometer) and ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC ApparatuS) were approved.   

In 1997, the US announced it would provide the superconducting magnets used for controlling the particle beam. The first prototype of these magnets was made.

Mid-to-Late 90’s Switzerland and France approved the plan in 1998 and the engineering work, involving tunneling under both countries, began. LHCb (Large Hadron Collider Beauty project) was approved.

In 1999, the tunnel-boring machine arrived onsite. Parts began to arrive, including a muon chamber from Greece and a calorimeter from Russia.

Early 2000s The Large Electron-Positron collider, a previous project, was shut down in 2000 so that the LHC could be constructed in its tunnel. The first of the main magnets was delivered.

In 2001, the European DataGrid, a massive computer network infrastructure for scientific research, was launched. The first parts of ATLAS were completed and assembly of ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) commenced. The SPS (Super Proto Synchrotron) accelerator tunnel was completed.

Early 2000s In 2002, the final pieces of the old LEP were removed and major components of ALICE and ATLAS arrived. The ATLAS cavern was completed, as was the CMS magnet. LHCb's installation commenced.

In 2003, the transfer lines were installed and the accelerator was tested successfully. Underground installation of ATLAS commenced. The last refrigeration unit was delivered.

Mid 2000s In 2004, the magnet test facility was completed, with 12 test benches to test the massive magnets. ATLAS and the transfer line were successfully tested as some of ATLAS’s magnets were installed.

In 2005, civil engineering work completed as the last of the tunnels was finished. The CMS solenoid magnet was installed and was able to detect cosmic rays. The injector was successfully tested with its first beam.

Almost complete… For the first time in 2006, the CMS was cooled to its incredibly cold operating temperature of -271.3 ˚C with the use of liquid helium. ALICE proves functional as it detects particles from space. Installation of CMS in its cavern commenced.

In 2007, ALICE was completed in its cavern. The last magnet was installed. The first beam of ions was extracted in transfer line.

Finally, in 2008… CMS and ATLAS installs were finally completed in 2008. When they closed the beampipes, the LHC ring was complete. In November, the first particles circulated in the LHC.

Cost Estimated Budget: € 2.6 Billion -- $4.2 Billion

Collider Cost: € 2.1 Billion -- $3.4 Billion

Detectors Cost: € 575 Million -- $9.3 Million

Actual Cost: € 4.6 billion – $6.4 Billion

Cost Cont. Unexpected costs

◦ £ 1.43 billion total – $2.3 CAD

◦ The UK contributes an extra £34 million every year.◦ Roughly $54.8 Million CAD

◦ Over $15 million of equipment experienced problems.

◦ Post-build expenses: $90,000 solely for the work done to repair 29 defective magnets

Cost Cont. The total cost is shared by 20 of CERN’s member states and 6 observer nations.

Contributions made last year total 1.1 billion CHF – $1.2 Billion.

Electricity is another major cost. It takes 120 Megawatts to run the LHC.

Cost of energy is around €19 million per year – $26.3 Million

Tunneling/Boring

Used existing tunnel that housed the LEP(Large Electron-Positron Collider). It had to be dismantled before installing the LHC.

Tunneling/Boring This was done at a depth of 50-100m underground

Caverns dug for each of the major detectors

Between 1998 and 2005, 250,000 m3 of rock and soil removed

In the case of the ATLAS detector, it took 2 years to burrow a cavern big enough to house the 7,000 tonne, 12-story detector.

Fabrication Fabricating the components for the accelerators and detectors was the responsibility of many countries around the world

In the case of the 12,500-tonne CMS detector, its construction started in Finland and travelled to factories in Grenoble, Neuchatel and Genoa. They then traveled to Marseille and Macon before arriving at CERN.

Assembly ATLAS – 45m long, 25m high and weighed 7,000 tonnes

Lowered in pieces and assembled underground

The CMS detector was largely assembled above ground in several large pieces

The largest piece, weighing in at 2,000 tonnes, took 10 hours to lower down a 100m wide shaft with only 20cm of clearance.

Magnets 1,232 dipole magnets

392 quadrupole magnets

These were used to keep the particle beams on their path and focus it at the intersection points

96 tonnes of liquid nitrogen used to keep them at -271.3˚ C

Problems with the magnets caused delays. Right before startup 24 dipole and 5 quadrupole magnets experienced problems.

Computer Systems The LHC and LHC-related simulations produce approximately 15 petabytes of data per year

The LHC computing grid was created to handle this volume of data

• Includes fiber optic links and portions of the public internet• Transfers data from CERN to many academic institutions worldwide

Construction Accidents and Delays

October 2005 – A technician was killed in the LHC when a component being transported landed on him.

March 2007 – Magnet support broke during pressure testing. This delayed the startup date.

September 2008 – Electrical fault between magnets caused 6 tonnes of liquid helium to leak. This delayed the operation by 6 months.

ConclusionBased on our findings as a project management team, we have found that from a project management perspective, the LHC experiment was a failure. However, from a scientific point of view, the LHC was a success.