Spallation Neutron Source

INTRODUCTION --

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is a new, accelerator-based science
facility that will provide neutron beams with up to ten times more
intensity than any other such source in the world. Coupled with
comparable gains in instrument performance, SNS represents a dramatic
step forward in the performance of a neutron-scattering facility
designed specifically for studies of the structure and dynamics of
materials. SNS is being designed and constructed by a partnership of six
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories (Argonne,
Brookhaven, Jefferson, Lawrence Berkeley, Los Alamos, and Oak Ridge).
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee is responsible for the
civil construction, project management, design integration, and
ultimately for operating the SNS. The other participating laboratories
are responsible for design and construction of major technical
subsystems that make up the facility.

SNS is being constructed on Chestnut Ridge, an 80-acre site at ORNL.
Construction began in December 1999 and is scheduled for completion in
2006. SNS is funded by the DOE Office of Science for a total cost of
\$1.4 billion. Currently, almost 700 people are working on SNS,
including staff at all six partner labs. When completed, about 400
permanent staff will be employed at the facility; many more will be
involved in its construction.

Why build the SNS? Most of the world's neutron sources were built
decades ago using technology of that era. The uses and demand for
neutrons have increased throughout the years, and new, modern sources
are required to meet this demand. Basic research and development
conducted at SNS will lead to technological and industrial breakthroughs
that will ultimately benefit not only the U.S. scientific community but
also the business and industrial communities.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS --

Overall, the SNS is more than 40% complete. The front-end, klystron, and
linac tunnel foundations are complete, and waterproofing has begun.
Concrete for the proton accumulator ring is being poured. The concrete
for the floor of the Target Building is completed, and the basement
walls are going up.

SNS has maintained an outstanding safety performance, better than
typical DOE and industry construction experience. Through the end of
February 2002, more than 500,000 hours had been worked on the site with
no lost time injuries. The project has not received any environmental
violations or fines.

The construction project includes funding for an initial suite of five
instruments capable of world-class science. SNS will also provide the
infrastructure for common components necessary for these and future
instruments. Instrument teams are provided a mechanism for user
community input in instrument design and have begun to lead the
development of additional instruments funded by research programs. In
return for contributing funding to the construction or operation of
instruments, instrument development teams can secure dedicated beamtime
for their research programs.

Two new sister facilities that will be built on the SNS site: the Center
for Nanophase Materials Science (CNMS) and the Joint Institute for
Neutron Sciences (JINS). The CNMS will integrate nanoscale research with
neutron science, synthesis science, and theory/modeling/simulation,
bringing together four areas in which the United States has clear
national research and educational needs. With the SNS and an upgraded
High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL, the community will have access to
both state-of-the-art pulsed and steady-state neutron sources.

USERS --

SNS will provide opportunities for up to 2000 researchers each year from
universities, national labs, and industry for basic and applied research
and technology development in many different fields, such as

-   Materials science

-   Magnetic materials

-   Superconductors

-   Nanomaterials

-   Earth sciences

-   Polymers and complex fluids

-   Chemistry

-   Biology

FOR MORE INFORMATION --

Spallation Neutron Source Project Office

701 Scarboro Road

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

Phone number: (865) 574-0558

Fax number: (865) 576-3041

Email snsprojectoffice@sns.gov

Website: http://www.sns.gov

Names of Contacts: <http://www.sns.gov/contacts/keycontacts.htm>

![](media/image1.png){width="5.810416666666667in" height="4.025in"}

Aerial of the SNS site.

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="5.875in" height="3.917361111111111in"}

Artist's conception of the SNS overlaid on the actual construction site.

![](media/image3.png){width="5.0in" height="4.0in"}

Clockwise from top, the SNS target building foundation, linac tunnel,
linac tunnel interior, support building foundation, and ring tunnel
foundation.

![](media/image4.png){width="5.252083333333333in"
height="3.4819444444444443in"}

The initial concrete pour for a portion of the target building
foundation was accomplished in one busy day. Concrete trucks,
essentially all that were in the region, delivered 78 loads to the site
at a rate of one truck every three minutes. Project structures call for
\~80,000 cubic yards of concrete.

![](media/image5.png){width="4.75in" height="4.0in"}

Secondary flight path for the powder diffractometer, one of the
instruments recently selected for construction by the SNS. The sample is
60 m from the moderator, necessitating that the secondary flight path be
in a satellite building outside the target building.