Speaker
Description
Presently SINQ has a 16 month shutdown phase. The shutdown is used to realize the SINQ guide upgrade.
The official start of the SINQ guide upgrade project was launched by the PSI board in March 2017. In the course of the years 2017/2018 the focus of the project execution was on engineering and planning of the upcoming exchange of 340 m neutron guides.
The project hardware activities on site started with the disassembly of the MARS instrument and the laboratories above the existing workshop, which was completed already in June 2018.
In order to gain space for the installation of the new SANS instrument (PA20 will be transferred from Saclay, France) and related space for laboratories and storage, the SINQ hall was extended to provide a dedicated area for a magnet test stand. This extension was substantially completed in August 2018.
After the end of the SINQ operation period 2018 the dismantling of the components inside the bunker and in the neutron guide hall (guides, guide supports and shielding) started in January 2019. End of March 2019 the project moved into the next phase for the modification and preparation for the new guides and instruments. Inside the bunker the concrete structure needed substantial modification. By the end of April the two guide cassettes for the in-pile section were totally assembled by external companies and ready for the installation in Sector 10 (SINQ in-pile port). This installation was an important milestone of the project and was finished successfully in May 2019.
Presently installation of the first three neutron guides are ongoing and is expected to be finished by the end of October 2019. The four other guides will be installed from November 2019 until February 2020. SINQ operation is expected for May 2020.
