Considerations in Designing NMR Laboratories

Prof. Miller has been designing labs since he worked for Domtar as an undergrad summer student 42 years ago, designed his supervisor's lab at McGill as a grad student and has been involved with 11 building projects, 6 of them labs at Brock in his 36 years there.

With regard to nmr and mass spec lab locations here are just a few concerns that are much easier to deal with at the design stages than afterward. Architects, electrical and mechanical engineers don't think of these.

1. What about esr labs?
2. ICP OES and ICP MS can produce significant rf fields.
3. Floor of slab on grade desirable.
4. If they have a large sector machine, a mass spec lab should have a thickened slab floor.
5. Where is the electrical transformer room not only on your floor but the ones above (and below if you are not in a basement)?
6. Is there a campus service tunnel under you with 13.6Kv cables?
7. Is the building power distributed in conduits in the poured floor which may run under your magnet and generate significant fields?
8. Have your own ground through the slab into the earth if possible.
9. Is there an elevator shaft in the magnet's fringe field?
10. Where is the machine shop? Vibration and fine iron particles distributed on footwear and through the ventilation system do wonders for magnets!!! They can also drag down the pressure on air lines in sudden surges. RF interference from welders is possible.
11. Where is your electronics shop? --- rf fields?
12. Any large pulsed lasers nearby? --- properly shielded?
13. With nmr frequencies rising, locations of nearby microwave equipment becomes important.
14. Ceiling height for high field magnets --- not only high enough for the He transfer lines to be inserted but high enough to assemble the magnet.
15. Magnets should be sited symmetrically with respect to large steel ceiling beams and floor beams -- the 50 gauss line is nearer the floor than the ceiling so if not in the basement there could be a problem from heavy beams.
16. Are ceiling hoist points required for magnet assembly? If a portable crane is needed, is there door clearance to get it in?
17. Centrally provided 12 month chilled water for the air conditioning -- you do not want AC compressor in the nmr room. Chilled water for cooling in mass spec lab --- closed loop separating the building supply to distilled water magnet circulation.
18. Look above and below the lab, not just beside for problems.
19. An independent overview of the design is often useful. [WCS note - I once saw a presentation by Earl Walls at an ALMA conference and was very favorably impressed. Another laboratory design company I found on the web is also listed:
    • Earl Walls Associates
    • Research Facilities Design]

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