Moving energy storage capacitor racks with air bearings

Although Scyllac was proposed in 1966 as a 15-m-circumference toroidal apparatus, it was initially installed as a dual device; a 120 deg 5-m-long toroidal-sector experiment and a 10-m-long linear experiment with mirrors on each end. After preliminary experiments were completed, conversion of the equipment to a full-torus configuration was started early in 1973. One of the major conversion tasks was the moving of 30-ft-long x 7-ft-wide x 37-fthigh, 65-ton racks loaded with energy-storage capacitors into a toroidal corfiguration. The original conversion scheme involved the disassembly and unwiring of each rack and reassembling it in its new position. This would have been expensive and timeconsuming. This plan was abandoned when a careful study showed that an entire rack structure could be moved as one assembly on air bearings. The air bearings used were round, flat devices that were commercially developed to move considerable loads while supporting them on a cushion of constantly escaping low- pressure air. Aiter the machine and capacitor racks were firmly clamped together with large structural beams, 42 air bearings were installed underneath. The air bearings were supplied with air at about 18 psi to raise the entire structure sbout 1/8 in. The racks were moved to theirmore » new locations with come-along'' jacks and muscle power. The use of air bearings saved nearly one-half million dollars in electrician and rigger time. (auth)« less