Project R-14973

Development of a prototype continuous beam pipe production machine for the Einstein Telescope (BeamPipes4ET) (Research)

The Einstein Telescope (ET) is a large European research infrastructure project adopted by the ESFRI roadmap in 2021. It will be installed in an underground tunnel complex, with a geometry of an equilateral triangle with sides of 10km. It will host a new generation of gravitational wave telescopes for the study of transient events in the whole universe. In the tunnels, laser light will shine back and forth between mirrors suspended in each of the triangle corners. The international scientific community has formed a large consortium of 234 institutes spread over Europe to realize ET in Europe. It will be 10 times more powerful than existing facilities and will allow scientists to probe the universe to the earliest stages of its birth. There are currently two candidate host regions for the facility, the island of Sardinia and the Meuse- Rhine region. The decision on the construction site will be taken in 2025. Although designed to perform fundamental physics research on the nature of gravity and the evolution of our universe, ET is a technology driving project, requiring interdisciplinary innovations at the level of civil engineering, precision mechanics, optics, material science, seismometry, electronics and control systems, cryogenics and vacuum. The socio-economic impact, as assessed by several studies will be large due to the creation of ~1500 direct and indirect jobs and economical return factors of more than 130% with respect to the initial investment. To strengthen the site-bid of the Interreg Meuse-Rhine (IMR) to host ET, we need to demonstrate the local industrial know-how and production capability for some of the most critical components of the facility. Together with academic and industrial partners in the program area we propose to develop an automated on-site continuous beam pipe production facility for the vacuum system of the Einstein Telescope. We will demonstrate the specific academic and industrial expertise located in the cross-border region that can be bundled to develop key systems of the ET facility. The work plan is set up in four major stages, with specific deliverables: 1. Development of a complete 3D CAD model of the robot; 2. Development of an automated laser welding system, including automated and continuous quality inspection; and 3. Construction and 4. Testing of a fully integrated prototype.

01 July 2024 - 30 June 2027