The Low-Level Control System for the CERN PS Multi-Turn Extraction Kickers

To reduce the beam losses when preparing high intensity proton beam for the CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) facility, a new Multi-Turn extraction (MTE) scheme has been implemented in the PS, to replace the present Continuous Transfer (CT) to the SPS. Industrial off-the-shelf components have been used for the low-level part of the MTE kicker control system. National Instruments PXI systems are used to control the high voltage pulse generators and a SIEMENS programmable logic controller (PLC) handles the centralised oil cooling and gas insulation sub-system

First Operational Experience with the LHC Beam Dump Trigger Synchronisation Unit

Two LHC Beam Dumping Systems (LBDS) remove the counter-rotating beams safely from the collider during setting up of the accelerator, at the end of a physics run and in case of emergencies. Dump requests can come from 3 different sources: the machine protection system in emergency cases, the machine timing system for scheduled dumps or the LBDS itself in case of internal failures. These dump requests are synchronized with the 3 μs beam abort gap in a fail-safe redundant Trigger Synchronization Unit (TSU) based on a Digital Phase Locked Loop (DPLL), locked onto the LHC beam revolution frequency with a maximum phase error of 40 ns. The synchronized trigger pulses coming out of the TSU are then distributed to the high voltage generators of the beam dump kickers through a redundant fault-tolerant trigger distribution system. This paper describes the operational experience gained with the TSU since its commissioning with beam in 2009, and highlights the improvements, which have been implemented for a safer operation. This includes an increase of the diagnosis and monitoring functionalities and a more automated validation of the hardware and embedded firmware before deploying or executing a post-operational analysis of the TSU performance, after each dump action. In the light of this first experience the outcome of the external review performed in 2010 is presented. The lessons learnt on the project life cycle for the design of mission critical electronic modules are discussed

Operational Experience with a PLC Based Positioning System for a LHC Extraction Protection Element

The LHC Beam Dumping System (LBDS) nominally dumps the beam synchronously with the passage of the particle free beam abort gap at the beam dump extraction kickers

Construction and Initial Tests of the Electrostatic Septa for MedAustron

For the MedAustron facility under construction in Wiener Neustadt/Austria, two electrostatic septa are built in collaboration with CERN. These septa will be used for the multi-turn injection of protons and ions, as well as for the slow extraction from the synchrotron. The power supplies are designed to combine the required precision with the capability to cycle sufficiently fast to keep up with the machine cycle. The septa are being assembled at CERN. Initial tests have been done on the remote displacement system to validate its precision and communication protocol with the MedAustron control system. Subsequently the septa are tested for vacuum performance and then HV conditioned. The construction of the septa, the requirements of the power supplies and the high voltage circuit will be described. Results of the initial laboratory tests, prior to installation in the accelerator, will be given

LHC beam dumping system: status and readiness for LHC Run 2

The hardware status of the LHC Beam Dumping System (LBDS) after the many announced system improvements performed during Long Shutdown 1 (LS1) will be presented. The latest estimates of expected availability and reliability of the LBDS after LS1 will be summarized. The readiness of LBDS for LHC start-up, including the progress of the reliability runs, as well as the commissioning plan will be discussed. A list of the tests with beam required to validate the system after LS1 will be proposed