CERN, Meyrin, Switzerland
UC3M, Leganes, Spain
Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois, USA
European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland
The Crab Cavities are key components of the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) project at CERN, which aims to increase the integrated luminosity of the LHC, the world’s largest particle accelerator, by a factor of ten. This paper explores the application of the Forming Limit Diagram (FLD) to enhance the manufacturing process of complex-shape Nb-based cavities, with a focus on the formability challenges experienced with the pole of the Radio Frequency Dipole (RFD) Crab Cavities. The study includes the material characterization of ultra-high-purity niobium (Nb RRR300) sheets, namely mechanical tests and microstructural analysis; it also contains large-deformation Finite Element simulations of the pole deep drawing process, and the translation of the resulting strains in a FLD diagram, together with several suggestions on how to improve the manufacturing process of such deep drawn parts. The results of this study can provide valuable insights into improving the design and fabrication of complex-shaped superconducting radio-frequency cavities made by large-deformation metal-sheet forming processes.
