Michigan State University Set to Kick-Off Construction on $730 Million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams

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Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Michigan State University (MSU) is in the final stages of planning and scheduling prior to starting construction on the $730 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). In planning for years, the FRIB will enable scientists to make discoveries about the properties of these rare isotopes in order to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and its applications.

The FRIB will be a new national user facility for nuclear science, primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (DOE-SC), and it will be operated by MSU in East Lansing, Michigan. The new facility will enable research into rare isotopes to better understand the physics of nuclei, nuclear astrophysics, fundamental interactions, and applications for society, including in medicine, homeland security, and industry. FRIB supports a community of more than 1,350 scientists from around the world.

The major component of the project is a linear accelerator (Linac) that propels heavy proton beams up to half the speed of light. Because the new facility is located at MSU, it will house a unique "folded" Linac--a variation on the apparatus that better suits the dense college campus.

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The FRIB structure will be almost 230,000 square feet in size, with the Linac located in a below-grade tunnel. The very nature of the FRIB demands unique mechanical and electrical systems that can accommodate the heavy loads of the required equipment. Special elements were factored into the design to shield against radiation, including massive concrete walls, rolling steel shielding doors, and 10-ton steel blocks formed from melted-down nuclear battleships.

The project team is huge, and includes SmithGroup JJR Architects (Detroit, Michigan) and general contractor Barton Malow (Southfield, Michigan). The final design of the FRIB conventional facilities--the tunnel and support buildings--is complete and ready for civil construction to begin in early spring 2014. Pre-construction site preparation is complete, and the final design of the technical systems, including the accelerator and experimental equipment is under way and planned for completion in 2014. Plans call for the FRIB to be finished in 2018 and operational by the summer of 2020.

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