Toward the production of 50 000 tonnes of low-carbon steel sheet for the LHC superconducting dipole and quadrupole magnets

A total of 50 000 tonnes of low-carbon steel sheet has been ordered for the LHC main magnets. After three years of production, about 10 000 tonnes of steel sheet have been produced by Cockerill-Sambre Groupe Usinor. This paper gives a summary of the manufacturing process and improvements implemented as well as an overview of the difficulties encountered during this production. Preliminary statistics obtained for the mechanical and magnetic steel properties are presented.