Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2021 - 20

RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

Bilfinger Noell Producing Superconductor Magnet Systems for Major Research
Projects
of 1m length with a diameter of 28cm, where the experimental
devices will be placed. The magnetic ﬁeld is created by a current
of almost 200A ﬂowing through niobium-titanium superconducting wires. The superconducting wires are maintained at cryogenic temperature of below 4K by two cryocooler heads without
the need of any liquid helium or nitrogen. The solenoid is actively
and passively shielded such that the residual ﬁeld drops to 3
Gauss in less than 2m away from the solenoid, keeping a low
magnetic ﬁeld environment for the surrounding instruments.

With groundbreaking new superconducting and fundamental
scientific projects underway at major research facilities, Bilfinger
Noell of Germany is playing a leading role in providing the sophisticated magnetics engineering and manufacturing expertise
that is needed for them. The latest is a unique magnetic bottle
for transporting antimatter that relies on a powerful cryogen-free
4-Tesla magnet, shown above during testing at the company's
plant in Wurzburg.
It is just one of several ongoing and recent projects in which the
company, a producer of superconducting magnets and functional
magnetic systems, has been involved recently. Another includes its progress on an order for 83 superconducting modules
destined to be part of FAIR, one of the world's largest research
projects. Still others include a superconducting 9T solenoid, a
large volume magnetic storage device for the PENeLOPE project
in Munich, and a superconducting insertion device for an expansion project at the Australian Synchrotron.

Magnetic bottle

In December, its magnetic bottle for antiprotons reached TU
Darmstadt where it will become a core device of the PUMA
(antiProton Unstable antiMatter Annihilation) project. Led by TU
Darmstadt, the project aims at storing and transporting antiprotons, the antiparticle of the proton, to be used as a new probe
for investigating the structure of radioactive nuclei at ISOLDE/
CERN. Gathering about 40 collaborators from 13 different
research institutes and universities, the project is currently being
evaluated to become a new CERN experiment.
Antiprotons will annihilate if they get in contact with matter. To
store antimatter particles and prevent them from annihilation,
they can be stored in an electromagnetic bottle called a Penning
trap. The main apparatus of the PUMA experiment is the superconducting solenoid which provides the strong magnetic ﬁeld to
conﬁne radially the charged particles. It is the first cryogen-free
magnet ever built to transport antimatter on the road. Weighing 4 metric tons, the superconducting magnet is designed to
be moved by crane and truck while operating. The solenoid and
its integration into a transportable frame were contracted to BN.
After successful factory testing, the solenoid was delivered to
TU Darmstadt and transported to the experimental hall at TU
Darmstadt.
The magnet provides a uniform 4T magnetic ﬁeld, about 100,000
times the strength of the earth's magnetic field, across a cylinder

Magnetics Business & Technology * May/June 2021

Testing the first of 83 QDM superconducting magnetic modules
The full experiment can be transported in operation with its
uninterruptible power supply and battery set providing 80 kW for
several minutes. The team of the group of Professor. Alexandre
Obertelli at the physics department of TU Darmstadt started the
research and development for PUMA. First experiments at CERN
are planned in 2022.

83 QDM superconducting magnetic
modules

Having successfully
passed an extensive
test program, the
first of 83 superconducting quadrupole
doublet module (QDM)
magnetic modules
FAIR construction site September 2020
was delivered to GSI
at GSI in Darmstadt
Helmholtzzentrum fur
Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, BN
reported in February. Besides the integration of the quadrupole
module, the company is also responsible for the manufacturing
of the cryostat vessel, the common girder, the thermal shield and
other parts.
They are part of a major contract from GSI for the construction
and delivery of 83 superconducting magnetic modules along with
twelve additional modules to be used in the SIS100 accelerator
ring at the Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR). FAIR
is one of the world's largest research projects with an investment
volume of more than €1 billion.
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Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2021

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