The Engineering of Accelerator Facilities

The engineering of an accelerator facility requires completion of a logical series of tasks. After confirming a need or justification, a feasibility study must be made. At this point the engineering work is usually separated into two parts - one for the accelerator proper and its associated research equipment and the other for its housing and services. For the accelerator, conceptual design leads to establishment of financial and time budgets. Systems design permits cost estimates and schedules to be made. Detail design permits bids for construction and installation to be obtained. Procurement and installation services finally lead to test and start-up. For the building, site selection and study lead to one or more conceptual designs. Preliminary design permits tentative budgets and schedules to be set. Final design leads to building contracts, course of construction services and final acceptance. The engineering costs incurred in carrying an accelerator concept through from feasibility study to an operating machine will run from a minimum of about ten percent to a maximum of about thirty-seven percent. For the accelerator site and buildings the corresponding limits are ten and thirteen percent. Thus, for an accelerator facility where the construction costs are divided approximately equally between the machine and its housing, the total engineering costs will be between ten and twenty percent of the construction costs.