Dependence of Magnetic Field Quality on Collar Supplier and Dimensions in the Main LHC Dipole

In order to keep the electro-magnetic forces and to minimize conductor movements, the superconducting coils of the main Large Hadron Collider dipoles are held in place by means of austenitic steel collars. Two suppliers provide the collars necessary for the whole LHC production, which has now reached more than 800 collared coils. In this paper we first assess if the different collar suppliers origin a noticeable difference in the magnetic field quality measured at room temperature. We then analyze the measurements of the collar dimensions carried out at the manufacturers, comparing them to the geometrical tolerances. Finally we use a magneto-static model to evaluate the expected spread in the field components induced by the actual collar dimensions. These spreads are compared to the magnetic measurements at room temperature over the magnet production in order to identify if the collars, rather than other components or assembly process, can account for the measured magnetic field effects. It has been found that in one over the three Cold Mass Assemblers the driving mechanism of the magnetic field harmonics b₂ and a₃ is the collar shape