Draka wires up CERN’s particle accelerator
The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is CERN’s biggest particle accelerator. The LHC is located in a 3,5m diameter circular tunnel with a length of 27 kilometers, about 100 meters underground underneath France and Switzerland. It is probably the most complicated and most expensive scientific experiment man has ever attempted. It’s big, it’s exciting, it’s incredibly high-tech and it’s got Draka inside.
In 2003, CERN contracted Draka to supply and install optical fiber cables in and around the LHC. The key factor which led CERN to choose Draka was the flexibility and cost effectiveness of Draka’s latest development, the JETnet micro-duct technology.
Exceeding the requirements
This innovative cabling system, developed 15 years ago, allows for miniaturization of the network, using smaller diameter cables installed in smaller diameter (micro-)ducts. With JETnet technology, micro-cables can be blown up to 3.4 kilometers in one go at speeds of 100 meters per minute or more. This technology also enables adding new cables into an existing micro-duct structure, or quickly replacing radiation-damaged ones. In 2006, CERN honored Draka’s efforts and results by awarding Draka with a Golden Hadron. This award recognizes suppliers who do not only meet CERN's requirements but exceed the contractual obligations.
Draka cables are very much inside
Draka installed approximately 1500 km of optical fiber cables in the tunnel alone. These convey the enormous quantity of data generated by the experiments to the super computers, as well as regular data communication. Next to the telecom cables Draka is also supplier of a substantial part of other available cabling at the CERN premises. It is hard to find a more fitting testimony to Draka’s technological, production and project management capabilities.
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