How our cutting-edge techniques helped scientists develop ‘light source’ experiments.
This facility is much anticipated by the local community and has been the subject of a 15+ year campaign. At present, the closest hospital for emergency and routine care is some 50 miles away in Ashington, Northumberland.
Diamond Light Source represents a significant £250 million synchrotron construction project located at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Harwell, Didcot. Our team successfully installed nearly 30,000 meters of orbitally welded stainless and carbon steel process distribution pipework, featuring diameters of up to 14 inches.
Majority of the pipework was prefabricated at Merit’s Cramlington-based smart factory, where modules were manufactured and then transported to the construction site in Oxfordshire. These modules, each approximately 4.7 meters long and designed with a 3.5-degree deflection to accommodate the building's curvature, were expertly lifted into the main hall and assembled to form a complete ring.
In addition to the pipework installation, our team contributed to an array of onsite tasks, including the construction of the accelerator, interconnecting hook-up pipework between base build modules and the synchrotron and the design and installation of beamline cabins and services across multiple beamlines (I06, I15, I16, I19, and I22).
Our expert team provided all necessary trades to ensure the successful construction and installation of this state-of-the-art synchrotron facility.
- Client
- Diamond Light Source
- Location
- Harwell, Didcot
- Project
- Diamond Light Synchrontron
Key Features
- Award the initial mechanical services installation contract in which Merit provided all trade disciplines for the project
- Adopted an offsite approach using our Cramlington-based smart factory prior to installation of mechanical packages on site
- Sourced and managed installation works of Synchrotron during the entire 2 year build programme.
Key Outcomes
- Merit successfully fitted out mechanical services, built the synchrotron under DLS scientists' guidance, and constructed numerous laboratory units for light source experiments.
- Our collaborative approach ensured the facility's success, with funding from 85% public sources and 15% from the Wellcome Trust.
- Client collaboration and effective user engagement was key to project success.
- Merit’s pre-fabrication capabilities in stainless and carbon steel, along with ample storage, streamlined module delivery and construction.
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