The LHC Cryomagnet Supports in Glass-Fiber Reinforced Epoxy: A Large Scale Industrial Production with High Reproducibility in Performance

The about 1700 LHC main ring super-conducting magnets are supported within their cryostats on 4700 low heat in leak column-type supports. The supports were designed to ensure a precise and stable positioning of the heavy dipole and quadrupole magnets while keeping thermal conduction heat loads within budget. A trade-off between mechanical and thermal properties, as well as cost considerations, led to the choice of glass fibre reinforced epoxy (GFRE). Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM), featuring a high level of automation and control, was the manufacturing process retained to ensure the reproducibility of the performance of the supports throughout the large production. The Spanish aerospace company EADS-CASA Espacio developed the specific RTM process, and produced the total quantity of supports between 2001 and 2004. This paper describes the development and the production of the supports, and presents the production experience and the achieved performance.