890 metres of beam vacuum piping dismantled for HiLumi LHC

In August and September, CERN’s Beam Vacuum Operation team carried out the complete dismantling of all beam vacuum lines in sections of the LHC tunnel by the ATLAS and CMS experiments, to make space for the new HiLumi LHC. The teams used huge pliers to cut the piping into smaller pieces to allow for the removal, handling and sorting of the various components.

This was done in close coordination with CERN’s Fire Brigade, particularly for the safe cutting and sorting of the approximately 7 m-long copper beam pipes. In parallel, close support was provided by the Transport team for the removal and transportation of 32 vacuum chambers, each approximately 116 kg and 6 m long. The teams dismantled more than 1,300 components, corresponding to a length of approximately 890 metres of beam vacuum piping!

The removal of the complete vacuum system in these sections of the tunnel – including the beam vacuum piping but also its associated parts, like the connecting modules, support system, instrumentation and valves – forms part of the Vacuum group’s wider mission for the HiLumi LHC, which involves everything from ensuring an intact beam and insulation vacuum to carbon coating of many sections in contact with the beam.