Design and construction of major underground infrastructure at CERN

T. Watson CERN ABSTRACT: CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research, is currently in the process of constructing a new particle accelerator termed the Large Hadron Collider or LHC. This new machine will allow head to head collisions of protons at unprecedented energies, allowing physicists to investigate still further the fundamental nature of matter. The LHC machine and associated detectors requires the extension of the existing CERN underground infrastructure. Four large new caverns are required, along with over six kilometres of new tunnels and seven new shafts at depths of up to 110 metres. This paper shall give an overview of these underground civil engineering works that will be 70% complete by the end of 2001. Some of the interesting and unique features of the two large cavern complexes shall be discussed and some of the results from the extensive instrumentation schemes shall be presented.

1 INTRODUCTION CERN is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, the world's largest particle physics centre. Founded in 1954, the laboratory was one of Europe's first joint ventures, and has become a successful example of international collaboration. From the original 12 signatories of the CERN convention, membership has grown to the present 20 Member States. CERN is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Laboratory, provides state-of-the-art scientific facilities for researchers studying the fundamental nature of matter. These are accelerators, which accelerate tiny particles to a fraction under the speed of light, and detectors to make the particles visible. In June 1994, the CERN member states approved the construction of the next generation particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). This machine will allow protons and ions into head-on collisions at higher energies than ever achieved before. This will allow scientists to penetrate still further into the structure of matter and recreate the conditions pre-

vailing in the early universe, just after the "Big Bang". Although use will be made of almost all the existing infrastructure at CERN, it will nonetheless be necessary to invest around 400 Million Swiss Francs (250 M $US) in new civil engineering infrastructure of which over 70% will be in underground shafts, caverns and tunnels. The LHC machine will utilize the existing 27-km long circular tunnel that, until its decommissioning in 2001, housed the Large Electron Positron Machine (LEP). 2 OVERVIEW OF CIVIL ENGINEERING FOR THE LHC PROJECT The new civil works required for the LHC project are illustrated in figure 1. The works consist of more than five kilometres of tunneling works, seven shafts, two large cavern complexes and many smaller caverns and galleries. The works are divided into four major works packages as defined below. 2.1 Package 01 underground works Package 01 contains all works required at Point 1 of the LHC ring (figure 2). Over 70% of the civil work to be carried out are located underground. The new infrastructure is mainly required to accommodate the ATLAS detector, one of the four large experiments dedicated to the LHC machine. This detector will be

radiation shield beams at the upper level. The third shaft is required for access to the service cavern. This third shaft had already been excavated some 15 years earlier and only required repair work and the installation of a new slipformed concrete lining. One cavern of 20 metre span required for the infrastructure necessary for the ATLAS detector. This cavern, termed the service cavern will house computers, ventilation equipment and all other services for the detector. This cavern will be accessible to personnel when the LHC machine is running. A second cavern, some 35 metres high and 30 metre span in which the ATLAS detector itself will be housed. This cavern will not be access ible to personnel whilst the LHC machine is running due to the high radiation levels that will be generated. This cavern is connected to the smaller service cavern by four galleries, two of which are for personnel access and two for the passage of cables, pipework etc.

2.2 Package 02 underground works Package 02 contains all works required at Point 5 of the LHC ring (figure 3). Once again about 70% of the civil works to be carried out are located underground. The new infrastructure is mainly required to accommodate the CMS detector, the second of the four large experiments dedicated to the LHC machine. The main underground civil engineering features of this package are: Two shafts up to 21 metres finished internal diameter, located at depths up to 110 metres below ground level. One of these shafts is required for the installation of the CMS detector whilst the other will be used for personnel and services access to the service cavern. Both shafts were excavated through up to 50 metres of water bearing ground for which ground freezing and grout injection was used.

Figure 2. Package 01 underground layout some 20 metres high and weigh around 7000 tonnes. The main underground civil engineering features of this package include the following. Three new shafts up to 18 metres finished internal diameter, excavated down to 100 metres below ground level. Two of these shafts are required for the installation of the ATLAS detector in the cavern below. These two shafts will be equipped with 2 metre thick reinforced concrete

Figure 3. Package 02 underground layout

Two large caverns required in order to house the CMS detector and its corresponding services. The CMS detector, although slightly smaller than the ATLAS detector shall weigh around 15000 tonnes. The Package 02 caverns are similar in dimension to those for package 01 although the construction process has been somewhat different in order to accommodate a different planning schedule and due to the different geological conditions at the two sites. These aspects are discussed later in the paper.

construction. The unusual shape of the capping slab is related to the installation of the LHC machine components and the requirement for removable radiation protection beams to be installed when the LHC machine is running. The most critical aspect of this package has been the large number of interfaces with the existing CERN structures. There are over 50 contractual milestone dates to be respected by the contractor and/or CERN. The construction planning has been closely linked to the planning for CERNs existing LEP and SPS accelerators as well as the installation schedule for the new LHC accelerator. Problems with planning led, one year into the works, to a review of the contract strategy. This is discussed later. 2.4 Package 03b underground works This work, originally part of the package 03 works, was split off in order that the work could be tendered to only Swiss firms, this being necessary as the financing was part of a special Swiss contribution to the LHC project. The works consist of a 2 km of tunnel connecting the SPS accelerator to the future LHC accelerator. The tunnel will be used to house the beam injection line. These works will not be discussed further. 3 GEOLOGY The Geneva basin is located between the Jura and the Saleve Mesozoic massifs. The plain is formed by the filling of a syncline with consolidated tertiary deposits (termed molasse) of alpine origin. Quaternary glacial deposits termed moraine overlie the molasse rock. The moraines were deposited during the Riss and Wurm alpine glaciations. They comprise fluvio -glacial deposits of sand and gravels, clayey Wurm deposits as well as compact gravels that can contain large boulders. The moraine strata generally contains several water tables, the shallower tables being fed by surface waters from the plain, with the deeper aquifers being fed by underground runoff from the nearby Jura mountains. The molasse deposits, in which almost all the underground works are situated, consists of a complex alternating sequence of marls, limestones, sandstones, sandy marls and marly sandstones. The molasse in contact with the moraine deposits is normally weathered over 1 to 2 metres due to movements of the glacial deposits. In the area where CERN is located, the depth of the overlying moraine can range from a few to several tens of metres.

2.3 Package 03a underground works Unlike package 01 and 02, this package does not contain any cavern of very large dimensions but rather contains all the smaller works required around the existing 27 km tunnel in order for the LHC machine to be installed and function. Over ten new caverns are required in this package as well as over 4 kilometres of new tunnels. One new shaft is also required in order that the LHC machine elements can be installed into the underground area. This new shaft is unusual in that its 18m x 12m ovoid cross section was selected to suit the form of its final position and use. The shaft was successfully constructed using diaphragm wall technique through 18 metres of water bearing moraine strata. The walls of the shaft were temporarily tied back using grouted cable anchors, after which the excavation was continued to the base of the diaphragm wall. At this point a reinforced concrete ring beam was installed to tie together and stiffen the diaphragm wall. The excavation then proceeded in the molasse rock using shotcrete and rock anchors for support.

Figure 4. PMI 2 Shaft The quality of the finish and the joints of the wall were of sufficient quality that the final in-situ concrete lining was not deemed necessary thus saving time and money on a critical section of the project. Figure 4 shows an Ariel view of the shaft during

The compressive strength of the molasse varies from under 1 MPa for weak or weathered marls, to over 60 MPa for some of the harder sanstones. In-situ stress measurements were taken at Points 1 and 5. Although not totally conclusive, the tests indicated a horizontal in-situ stress value some 1.5 to 2.2 times greater than the vertical (overburden) stress. It is postulated that this high k value results from the residual stresses remaining from the time when the region was subject to substantial overburdens of ice and the molasse was much thicker. 3. PROCUREMENT OF DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

Criteria Design team Site supervision team References for underground works Resources Methodology Programme Communications methods References for surface works Quality assurance system

Weighting 30 16 20 7 7 5 6 6 3 100

3.1 Selection of Consultants Following approval of the project in 1994 by the CERN member states, and in accordance with the planning required to provide a first LHC beam in 2005, the procurement of consultants to carry out the design and supervision of the works began. A prequalification of firms from the 19 CERN member states resulted in over 100 companies being contacted in all but three of the member states. These firms were grouped into 46 joint ventures with a maximum of three firms allowed in each joint venture. The prequalification documents from the 46 joint ventures were analyzed by CERN in conjunction with a panel of 3 external advisors. The main purpose of the analysis was to select only those firms deemed capable of carrying out the difficult design and supervision work whilst at the same time accounting for the different levels of contribution of funds to CERN by the member states. 17 joint ventures were selected to go forward to tender stage, each of the 17 being invited to bid for all three consultancy contracts. The pre-qualified firms were given two months to prepare their offers for all three contracts. CERN chose to use the two envelope system in order to ensure that the selection of the firms was primarily based on the ability of the companies to carry out the works. Once again a panel consisting of CERN personnel and external experts assessed each of the technical offers. The basis of the assessment was given to all bidders and is shown below.

For the packages 01 and 02, which involve the construction of very large caverns, 11 of the 17 bidders were rejected on technical grounds, the most co mmon being the lack of recent experience. For package 03 (a and b) 12 of the bids were retained. The final contracts were awarded in April 1996 to the following joint ventures. Package 01 Joint Venture EDF/Knight Pisold (F/UK) Contract price 11.4 MCHF Package 02 Joint Venture Gibb/SGI/Geoconsult (UK/CH/AT) Contract price 11.4 MCHF Package 03 Joint Venture Brown and Root/Intecsa (UK/F) Contract price 10.1 MCHF The payment mechanism for the design services was a fixed lump sum payment with a mechanism for variations introduced by CERN. For the site supervision, payments are made on a man-month basis using unit prices quoted by the consultants in their offers. The contracts include a price fluctuation clause to allow for inflation over the long design and supervision phase (1996 to 2003 inclusive). Design changes required by CERN or necessitated by unforeseen geological conditions have resulted in between 1 and 2 MCHF additional expenditure on each of the above contracts. 3.2 Selection of Contractors The contractors were selected in a similar manner to the consultants with over 100 member state co ntractors being consulted at the pre-qualification stage. Finally 15 Joint ventures were asked to bid for each of the three works packages. Two joint ventures declined to bid.

After a detailed review by CERN, again in conjunction with external experts the following contractors were selected. Package 01 Joint Venture Zschokke/Porr/Barasel (CH/AT/D) Contract price 72 MCHF Package 02 Joint Venture Dragados/Seli/ (ES/I) Contract price 112 MCHF Package 03a Joint Venture TaylorWoodrow/AMEC/Spie (UK/F) Contract price 84 MCHF Package 03b followed a different selection and award procedure since it was limited to only Swiss companies. This contract was awarded to a Joint Venture of 4 companies for a sum of 21 MCHF.

on a dispute. The panel has the authority to adjudicate disputes with both the engineering consultancy firms and the contractors. The contractors are not expected to contribute to the regular visits made by the adjudicators to the sites. 4 DESIGN ISSUES

4.1 Suspended vault One of the most interesting features of the LHC civil engineering works was the design of the UX15 cavern at point 1. One of CERNs primary objectives was to minimise the time between the shutdown of the LHC and the startup of the new LHC machine. In order to fulfill this objective, it was realized at early stage in the project that it would be necessary to construct as much as possible of the LHC civil engineering works whilst the LEP machine was still running. An existing access shaft and an early start date for construction meant that a solution whereby the UX15 cavern would be fully excavated prior to lining would not satisfy the CERN criteria that the works be completed within 12 months of the LEP shutdown. The designers therefore decided on a solution whereby the crown of the cavern would be excavated and lined prior to proceeding down to the level of the LEP. This would allow the LEP to continue running during at least part of the cavern excavation. The permanent lining of the cavern vault, which weighs some 11,000 tonnes, was designed to be suspended from the shaft linings and from 38 cable anchors. Early designs required these cables to be anchored into the rock mass but the design was later ch anged for a system whereby the cables were installed from anchor galleries excavated out from the two shafts, as illustrated in figure 2. One of the major problems foreseen was the effect of the excavation on the LEP machine that needed to remain operational up to and including the excavation of the vault crown. The designers EDF/KP undertook extensive numerical modeling using FLAC 3D. All excavation stages were modeled including the shafts and the adjacent USA15 cavern. Monitoring of actual movements within the tunnel was carried out by CERN using the LEP closed orbit monitors. These enabled vertical and horizontal movements to measured to an accuracy better than 0.1 mm.

3.3 Conditions of Contract For the consultancy contracts, CERN wrote its own contracts with the assistance of external legal advisers. The contracts were based on CERNs own standard conditions and use was made of the FIDIC white book. For the construction contracts, CERN chose to use as a basis for the contracts, the FIDIC red book, fourth edition since it was considered to be the only standard conditions that would be known to most, if not all the contractors bidding. In conjunction with external counsel and assistance from the retained consulting engineers, the Red Book was modified to take account of CERNs particular status as an international organization and to comply with the requirements of CERNs internal rules and regulations. The most significant changes to the Red Book were: Certain powers of the Engineer were transferred to CERN, in particular those relating to approvals of variations and extensions of time. This was required in order to comply with CERNs own internal regulations. A more rigorous time limit for notifications of claims was introduced. In effect the contractor would be contractually obliged to notify CERN of claims within 7 days of the claim event arising. A procedure for adjudication was included. The procedure allows for a pool of 5 adjudicators of which any 1 or 3 will be selected to adjudicate

CERN installed a jacking system that could, if necessary, be utilized to compensate for any vertical movements of the LEP machine. The jacks were installed within reservations drilled into the tunnel floor and the machine was loweredBench minimum to its Crown drifts possible working position. As the overburden was removed, lowering of the jacks would compensate upward floor movements. Figure 4 below shows the measured vertical movements of the LEP tunnel over the two-month period during which the crown of the cavern was being excavated.

ture above the cavern crowns if serious problems were to be avoided This requirement, coupled with the very poor quality of the molasse rock, led the designers, at an early stage in the project, to look towards replacing the rock mass between the two main caverns, with a concrete pillar (figure 5). According to the designers, the maximum distance required by CERN b etween the two caverns of 7 metres was inadequate to support the vaults of the two caverns. A distance of at least 15 metres was recommended. This was not acceptable to CERN for reasons related to the datataking rate of the LHC experiments. The pillar had a secondary advantage to CERN in that it provided an efficient radiation shield between the experimental cavern and the adjacent service cavern. moraine molasse
55 metres to surface

20m

Figure 4. Vertical movements during excavation As can be seen , an initial movement of between 3 and 4.5mm had already been induced prior to the commencement of readings, undoubtedly due to the excavation of the two large shafts above the cavern crown. This measured movement was approximately one third that calculated using the FLAC 3D software which estimated a maximum of 23mm maximum vertical movement upon excavation of the cavern crown. The first month of excavation is characterised by differing rated of movement whereby the second month shows fairly steady and decreasing movement. This observation corresponded well with the practical situation in which the crown of the vault was excavated in 3 distinct phases and the first bench was exavated over the whole of the cavern in one pass. 4.2 Cavern complex at point 5 At point five, one of the overriding design issues was to minimise the global rock mass movements around the excavations. This was considered necessary due to the presence of 55 metres of water bearing moraine strata situated 20 metres above the crown of the cavern complex which itself has a global span of some 55 metres. Experience during LEP construction had shown the importance of maintaining a competent and watertight rock struc-

55m Figure 5 Cross section of point 5 cavern complex The original design of the pillar dictated that it be constructed in 5 drifts, of average height 6 metres. Each drift was to be backfilled with concrete prior to the commencement of the next drift. The sequencing of the excavations was determined by a CERN requirement that movements of the LEP tunnel located some 15 metres from the pillar excavations, had to be minimized. During the ground freezing for the shafts, five months delay was incurred due to difficulties with the freezing operations. A consequence of this delay was that the LEP shutdown would no longer be after the pillar construction, but rather earlier. This meant that the strict limitations on ground movements could be relaxed. The contractor therefore proposed an alternative method whereby the whole pillar would be excavated to its full profile and then backfilled with concrete. CERN accepted this proposal in exchange for the pillar works becoming a fixed lump

sum item, rather than the re-measurement as was originally foreseen. It is estimated that the alternative method saved at least two months on the time for pillar construction. 5 CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS

5.1 Package 01 Construction commenced in April 1998 with surface works for this contract. The planning had been established such that the contractor was required to build a large surface hall within which construction of the two access shafts would be carried out. This reduced significantly the problems of noise and dust nuisance to the surrounding environment. The first phase of the surface works was completed in early 1999 and work on the two shafts within the building commenced using Liebherr 954 machines equipped with hydraulic hammers. In the upper sections of the shaft rock support consisted of 5 metre long grouted bars and 200mm of fibre reinforced shotcrete. The shaft excavations were completed in December 99 and was followed by seven months of slipforming activity carried out by the Swedish sub-contractor Bygging. Following completion of the shaft's excavation commenced on the vault of the cavern. With a span of 35 metres, and a length of 55 metres, the vault took some 2 months to fully excavate. Figure 6 shows the final stage of the excavation of the vault of the cavern.

The construction of t he adjacent USA cavern proceeded in parallel with the two shafts. This was possible due to the presence of any existing shaft that allowed early access for construction of the new cavern. The cavern, with a length of some 65 metres and an internal span of 20 metres, proceeded using hydraulic rock breakers. Rock support consisted of both fibre and mesh reinforced shotcrete in conjunction with grouted rockbolts at 1 x 1 metre spacing installed using a 3 boom Atlas Copco 145 HD. Rockbolt lengths varied between 4 and 9 metres. Monitoring of the structure consisted mainly of optical targets around the periphery of cross section but strain gauged rockbolts, shotcrete pressure cells and extensometers were also used. The monitoring enabled the prediction and early detection of a failure of the shotcrete in one section of the cavern crown during excavation of the first and second benches. Additional support was installed in the crown in order to stabilize the support. Figure 7 shows the results from the load cells installed in the shotcrete. The build up of load and the failure of the shotcrete are clearly evident.
stress Shotcrete failure

time

Figure 7 Pressure cells in US cavern crown The cavern was successfully completed on time in July 2001. Figure 8 below shows the cavern nearing completion.

Figure 6 Excavation of the UX vault The design of the cavern required the construction of the vault permanent lining to be carried out prior to continuing down with the excavation. This lining operation was complete in August 2001. Excavation has proceeded and in October 2001 was about 50% complete. Figure 8. US cavern concreting

5.2 Package 02 Construction of the Package 02 works at point 5 commenced in September 1998. Preparatory works for the ground freezing operations required for the shaft sinking and the piling works for the surface buildings began towards the end of the year. Several months were required for the drilling and installation of the ground freezing equipment. A test panel was successfully frozen in March 1999. Upon completion of the test panel, the remaining holes where drilled and the freeze system put into operation. Excavation commenced in July 1999 but was immediately halted due to inflow of water into the excavation. The sub-contractor Rodio, from Italy, used liquid nitrogen in order to attempt to close the small holes thought to be present in the freeze wall. Excavation recommenced but was again stopped due to water inflow. By September 1999 it was clear that the freezing process had not formed a continuous ice wall and that in both shafts there continued to be a hydraulic conn ection between the inside and outside of the shafts. It was not until December 1999 that excavation could restart in the shafts after a comprehensive campaign of drilling and grouting. The shafts where successfully excavated into the molasse rock in July 2000 after which the shafts were slipformed. Following completion of the slipforming, excavation continued down to the level of the top of the pillar. From here the shaft and the pillar where excavated simultaneously down an additional 30 meters to the lowest level of the underground works some 110 metres below ground level. In May 2001 the pouring of some 30,000 tonnes of concrete for the pillar commenced. Over 1000 tonnes of reinforcement and other inserts within the pillar had to be placed sometimes in very confined spaces as indicate in figure 10 below.

Upon completion of the pillar in September 2001, the excavation for both the two main caverns commenced. Numerical modeling using FLAC and UDEC had indicated that during the excavation of the pillar, sidewall movements of up to 20mm could be expected. As the pillar excavation proceeded downwards, it soon became clear that the calculations did not correspond with reality. In some areas of the pillar movements were still being recorded more than 6 months after excavation had commenced with horizontal movements in excess of 100mm being recorded. The highest movements took place in the areas of the weak marl grumeleuse rock although movements were recorded across the whole sidewall of the pillar. The graph in figure 11 illustrates the results from several extensometers installed within the pillar sidewall. The graph indicates movements occurring several months after installation of the extensometers and also shows the accelerated movement that occurred in at least two of the extenso meters once excavation commenced in the nearby PX55 shaft.

PX55 excavation

Figure 11. Extensometer results from pillar Following this unexpected behaviour of the rock mass during excavation, the designers undertook a detailed review of the original design. The outcome of this review was to increase the support in both the main caverns, mainly through the use of increased shotcrete thicknesses and lattice girders, which were not foreseen in the original scheme. In October 2001, excavation commenced in both the large caverns and good progress has been made. It is anticipated that both the caverns should be fully excavated in the autumn of 2002 with final completion of all underground structures in the middle of 2003.

Figure 10. Fixing reinforcement in pillar crown

6 PACKAGE 03A CONTRA CT STRATEGY As mentioned earlier in the paper, package 03a was heavily influenced and interconnected with CERNs own planning, in particular: 1. 2. 3. 4. The LEP machine run The SPS machine run The LEP dismantling The LHC installation

7 CONCLUSIONS Civil engineering for CERNs future particle accelerator, the LHC, is well advanced with over 70% of the work completed. The underground civil works, which started in 1996 with the award of contracts for the design of the works, should be completed by the middle of 2003, enabling the installation and co mmissioning of the LHC machine itself. The civil works design and construction have involved companies from more than 10 different nationalities often working together in joint ventures. A diverse range of design solutions and construction techniques have been utilized to solve some of the many and diverse problems that have been encountered. Through their involvement in this challenging and unique project, and through their contact with a wide range of other nationalities, CERN, the consultants and the contractors have all reaped benefits in terms of experience and knowledge. The consultants, having to design such unique structures in close pro ximity to existing functional facilities, have significantly developed their understanding and skill in solving the complex problems inherent in rock mechanics and rock engineering. The use of a panel of adjudicators has proved particularly successful in ensuring that the works progress even in times of dispute. The panel has, to date, been used twice, once for a dispute between CERN and one of the contractors and once in a dispute between CERN and one of the consultants. In conclusion, the LHC civil engineering has been one of the most important projects for underground works in Europe in recent years. All parties involved in the project have benefited from their experiences gained on the project, experiences that they will be able to take forward to other similar projects wherever they may be in the world.

The 50 contractual dates were based on the most likely schedules for these five events as well as the assumption that the authorization from the French Authorities would be given in time for a January 1998 start date. In fact the authorization was late and the contract started some six months behind the anticipated schedule. This led to a total mis-match between the contractors schedule and the CERN machine schedules. In addition, due to the very large number of interfaces with CERN, the contractor was confronted with organizational and logistical problems that could not have been foreseen. The original contract, the FIDIC Red Book became unworkable due to the large number of variations relating to planning and other issues. It was therefore agreed between the parties that a new or modified contract needed to put in place that could better deal with these changes. This was termed the supplemental agreement. The agreement allowed the contractor to be paid at cost plus a fixed percentage for profit and overhead. In addition, and in order to provide incentive to the contractor to make cost savings, a target cost was agreed between the parties. This target was established on a set of known CERN requirements and was based on the contractors own labour, plant and material rates as used in his original tender. The parties agreed that at the end of the works, scheduled for early 2003, any savings against the target cost would be split between the parties (70% going to CERN). In case of a cost overrun, the costs will also be split although the contractor has a cap of 5 MCHF on his contribution. Various other mechanisms allow for changes to the target cost. The agreement has enabled the project to move forward and is flexible enough to cope with the changes as and when they arise. The success of the agreement can be measured from the cost savings against the target, which is currently at 12%, and it is hoped this will exceed 15% by the end of the project.