CERN has launched the Inner Triplet String, a 95-meter test facility. This bench replicates a complete segment of the future High-Luminosity LHC (HiLumi LHC). Its function is to validate the integration of magnets, cryogenic systems, and power supply under real conditions, before installation in the tunnel. The goal of HiLumi is to multiply the LHC's luminosity by ten.
Cryogenic validation and system integration 🧪
The main test consists of cooling the entire 95-meter chain to 1.9 Kelvin (-271.3°C), the definitive operating temperature. This allows verifying the joint behavior of the superconductors, electrical connections, and cryogenics under thermal and electromagnetic stress. It is a necessary step to confirm that the design is robust and avoid setbacks during the underground installation phase.
Testing extreme cold to avoid a headache 🔥
With this, the engineers ensure that everything works when buried at 100 meters. It's better to discover a problem now, with the system accessible on the surface, than to have to heat a tunnel segment, dismantle it, and bring it up. This avoids work that, literally, would generate more heat than the proton collisions themselves. It's pure cryogenic common sense.