LHC Quadrupole Magnets MQ & MQY for CERN

In summer of the year 2000 CERN, Geneva, awarded contracts to former ACCEL Instruments GmbH comprising the fabrication and warm testing of 400 Main Quadrupoles MQ - 368 complete cold masses plus 32 magnets including the iron yoke . The total volume of the MQ contract was above 40 Mio. Euros. In 2004 ACCEL received an additional contract to assemble these 32 quadrupole magnets into 32 extra-long MQ-DS cold masses.

The magnets are of the " 2 in 1" configuration, i.e. each magnet is made up from 2 collared coils. The MQ two-layer coil conductor is identical to the 15 mm wide outer layer cable of the LHC main dipoles. The production of the magnets and cold masses started in 2001 in two totally refurbished fabrication halls of 4500 m² area. The production of the MQ-DS cold masses started in Feb. 2005. The two first main quadrupole magnets were delivered to CERN in summer 2002 for the acceptance test at cold conditions. 

All magnets showed excellent quench performance. The first completely assembled cold masses was shipped to CERN in January 2003 for acceptance tests at cold conditions. The tests at CERN confirmed the excellent performance of magnets and cold mass. All magnets and cold masses tested at CERN proved with splendid test results the correctness of the design and the precision of the fabrication. All MQ quadrupole magnets are installed in the LHC tunnel and allowed to guide the first proton beams along the 27 km circumference tunnel in late 2008.

In addition 22 pieces of the 4-layer MQY collared coils were built.