Thanks to the over 20 people who responded to my request for lab
renovation wishlists. I loved the pictures. (In some places I have
summarized, and in some quoted.) I have tried to divide this into
things to ask for, things to avoid, and general hints.
Things to ask for:
1) Instrument upgrades out of the renovation budget!
2) We move only once because of the cost of moving the NMRs.
3) Windows. Avoid prolonged sunlight directly on the magnets, but
otherwise windows are fine. (Windows on interior walls so that one can
see into the facility.)
4) Room Layout:
High enough ceiling- more than the vendor minimum. High enough for
magnet installation (think about future systems). If part of the
ceiling is raised, make it high enough and wide enough. What if the
magnet has to move over 2 feet, or 5 feet?
Nothing over the magnets, no lights, no ducts, no pipes, no sprinklers.
Stainless steel air ducts, stainless steel rebar, copper fire sprinkler
piping should be specified, and no steel suspended ceiling channel.
Extra wide door to the lab to facilitate equipment movement. At least a
door and a half, double is better. (Double with a removable center bar.)
Lift points above magnet locations.
Having utilities like water and electrical come from the floor is very
expensive but is the best. We have columns but that really breaks up the
room and invariably one column is in the way of a magnet.
Vibration- basement is good, ground floor with no basement is good
(usually), higher may need isolation. Having the NMR slab isolated from
the rest of the building will help with vibration.
5) Power:
UPS for the whole facility. Output to the distribution panel for the
lab. Put the UPS on the building's emergency backup system.
Lots and lots of power. More plugs and internet connections than seems
necessary. Plan for future systems, cryoprobes, and 3-phase 220V. Also
don't forget extra 220 outlets for the magnet energerization power
supply and pump.
Put each console on a separate circuit. That way one can be shut off
without affecting the other systems.
6) Good environmental control.
That includes heat, cool, and humidity control.
Watch for how intake & output ducts are configured to prevent air
currents around the magnets. We have long cylindrical socks for the
output, and they are really good. So the intakes are the main problem
(they pull a lot of air).
Lots of air changes/hour.
Make sure the heat load is calculated correctly (People, consoles,
computers, cryoprobes, etc)
Humidifier/dehumidifier as appropriate.
Stable temperature.
7) Lighting:
Not above the magnets!
We got upward facing lights (wall-mounted are the best), and I really
like those.
We have replaced the overhead fluorescent lights with ballast-free led
tubes in order to eliminate rf interference since some of the lights are
going to be directly above the magnets.
No incandescent or halogen lights unless they're on a slow-starter.
Try to avoid dark spots.
8) Utilities:
Lots of cooling water. Plan for future cryoprobes.
Transfer lines for nitrogen and helium. Dewars and tanks stay outside
the lab. (Will need a secure closet for them.)
Pipes for nitrogen gas and/or compressed air. (Both, with a way to
switch would be best.)
Lines for helium recycling. Even if not doing now, put them in for
later use.
Pre-action dry sprinkler system. This has a smoke detector that charges
the sprinkler system with water only when smoke is detected. The
sprinkler heads are the solder type that go off under high heat.
If O2 sensors are required, install them during construction. Try to
get them placed where they might do some good.
9) Floors- many opinions:
Anti-static floor (should not be needed with proper humidity control?),
polished concrete
Carpet is quieter. Carpet squares for traffic areas, hard floor around
the magnets?
Avoid tiles.
10) Other:
Soundproof utility closet for for noisy equipment like cryoprobe
compressor and coldhead, air compressor, air dryer.
Good sound dampening. Especially with cryobays.
Clean, dry air from a compressor you don't have to take care of.
Don't go for oil-free or oil-less compressors; they are high maintenance
and high maintenance cost. Use a normal oiled compressor and condition
the air with dryer, filtration and vapor adsorption.
What about a exterior N2 dewar with a filling station for N2 gas service
and liquid N2 for the building.
How about a Helium reliquification system?
I recommend that you have them put in all utilities needed to run a
cryoprobe, including a clean cooling water supply.
Things to watch out for:
1) Plans change. Even after the "final" plans have been approved,
things will change during construction. Walk through often to catch
these before they progress too far.
2) Gas pressure during construction. If existing plumbing and/or
compressors will move, pressure may be low (or non-existent).
3) Fire doors. We want wood, not metal.
4) Vibration- esp. if not in the basement.
5) What is under the lab? Even basements can have service tunnels
underneath. Power conduits in the floor?
6) How far is the elevator?
7) Do NOT allow them to put magnetic shielding in the walls, floor or
ceiling! Shielding will put stress on the magnets by attracting them,
especially to walls.
Other tips and thoughts:
1) Be part of the planning committee.
2) Protect the magnets and consoles! Plastic tents for dust and filings.
Wooden boxes to protect the magnets. Make them large enough to really
keep bad things away.
3) Insist on metal work being done elsewhere.
4) Insist that any changes must be approved by you - not the university
or architect or general contractor and include in the contracts that any
corrections from non-approved changes are the responsibility of the
contractors.
5) Make friends with the contractors (the actual workers). Let them
know of concerns and possible issues. Enlist their help in keeping metal
away from magnets.
6) Walk through often to catch changes. (Yes, I wrote this twice.)
I took the safety course that the construction company offered and I had
a sticker on my hard hat, so I could go on site at any time to look
things over and I kept a close eye on things as the construction progressed.
If something looks wrong, talk to the project manager.
7) To keep pipes away from the magnets:
Three wooded boxes the size of the 5 gauss line and as tall as the room
were constructed and placed in the room after the walls were completed
to represent where things couldn't go. Then the contractors could see
where not to put pipes and duct work, etc.
--
Karen Ann Smith Director, NMR Facility
Group Leader, Analytical Chemistry Services
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Clark Hall MSC03 2060
1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001
karenann_at_unm.edu 505.277.4031 http://nmr.unm.edu
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Received on Fri Dec 21 2012 - 10:10:29 MST