Vacuum & Mechanics

A giant vacuum system is necessary to preserve undisturbed conditions for the critical part of the detector:

• the laser beam propagates within two 3 km long arms maintained at a residual pressure a trillion times lower than atmospheric pressure;
• The test masses (the main mirrors) are housed in large vacuum chambers that isolate them from acoustic and damping effects and, not least, preserve the cleanliness of their surfaces.

The Virgo vacuum system is one of the largest ultra-high vacuum systems ever built in the world. Its most impressive feature, perhaps more than its volume, is the extent of its exposed surface area = 24,000 m2. Within this department, different skills combine in a unique team to complete complex and multidisciplinary tasks: management of the vacuum apparatus, management of the vacuum laboratory, management of the workshop and finally the mentioned test facilities. The management of the cryogenic storage facility is also included.

vacuum operation

Opening and closing operations of ferrules/flanges.
Use of overhead cranes on site for load handling.
Work on electronic parts of control systems.
Maintenance operations on vacuum systems (on vacuum pumps for example) and supervision of the filling of tanks containing liquid nitrogen by the external company in charge.
Creation of graphical monitoring interfaces for vacuum and cryogenic systems.
Vacuum/mechanical design and laboratory testing, use of 1500N laboratory instrumentation.

mechanics

Mechanical workshop management.
Quarterly inspection of ropes and chains, lifting equipment and apparatuses.
Production of mechanical drawings for the construction and assembly of vacuum chambers and optical-mechanical elements.

clean operation

Support and coordination of clean room operations, material inventory management, treatment and washing of small parts for ultra-high vacuum, maintenance of ultra-pure water production facilities, small mechanical assemblies, monitoring of dust concentration in experimental rooms.