A distributed beam loss monitor for the Australian Synchrotron

© 2018 Elsevier B.V. A distributed beam loss monitoring system, named the optical fibre Beam Loss Monitor, has been installed at the Australian Synchrotron. Relativistic charged particles produced in beam loss events generate photons via the Cherenkov mechanism in four silica fibres that run parallel to the beam pipe and cover the majority of the accelerator's length. These photons are then guided by the fibres to detectors located outside of the accelerator tunnel. By measuring the time of flight of these photons, the locations of beam losses can be reconstructed. Based on this method a calibration was produced, mapping the time of flight to a position along the accelerator. This calibration was applied to loss signals collected on the first pass of the beam through the accelerator and the locations of prominent losses were determined. Using this system it was possible to investigate the effect, on the location and intensity of losses, in response to changes in the lattice parameters on a shot-by-shot basis. This system is now used in routine operations and has resulted in a 40 % increase in the capture efficiency of the booster ring

Testing Beam-Induced Quench Levels of LHC Superconducting Magnets

In the years 2009-2013 the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been operated with the top beam energies of 3.5 TeV and 4 TeV per proton (from 2012) instead of the nominal 7 TeV. The currents in the superconducting magnets were reduced accordingly. To date only seventeen beam-induced quenches have occurred; eight of them during specially designed quench tests, the others during injection. There has not been a single beam- induced quench during normal collider operation with stored beam. The conditions, however, are expected to become much more challenging after the long LHC shutdown. The magnets will be operating at near nominal currents, and in the presence of high energy and high intensity beams with a stored energy of up to 362 MJ per beam. In this paper we summarize our efforts to understand the quench levels of LHC superconducting magnets. We describe beam-loss events and dedicated experiments with beam, as well as the simulation methods used to reproduce the observable signals. The simulated energy deposition in the coils is compared to the quench levels predicted by electro-thermal models, thus allowing to validate and improve the models which are used to set beam-dump thresholds on beam-loss monitors for Run 2.Comment: 19 page

Handling 1 MW losses with the LHC collimation system

The LHC superconducting magnets in the dispersion suppressor of IR7 are the most exposed to beam losses leaking from the betatron collimation system and represent the main limitation for the halo cleaning. In 2013, quench tests were performed at 4 TeV to improve the quench limit estimates, which determine the maximum allowed beam loss rate for a given collimation cleaning. The main goal of the collimation quench test was to try to quench the magnets by increasing losses at the collimators. Losses of up to 1 MW over a few seconds were generated by blowing up the beam, achieving total losses of about 5.8 MJ. These controlled losses exceeded by a factor 2 the collimation design value, and the magnets did not quench.peer-reviewe

Construction, assembly and tests of the ATLAS electromagnetic end-cap calorimeters

The construction and the assembly of the two end-caps of the ATLAS liquid argon electromagnetic calorimeter as well as their test and qualification programs are described. The work described here started at the beginning of 2001 and lasted for approximately three years. The results of the qualification tests performed before installation in the LHC ATLAS pit are given. The detectors are now installed in the ATLAS cavern, full of liquid argon and being commissioned. The complete detectors coverage is powered with high voltage and readout

Quench tests at the Large Hadron Collider with collimation losses at 3.5 Z TeV

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has been operating since 2010 at 3.5 TeV and 4.0 TeV without experiencing quenches induced by losses from circulating beams. This situation might change at 7 TeV where the quench margins in the super-conducting magnets are reduced. The critical locations are the dispersion suppressors (DSs) at either side of the cleaning and experimental insertions, where dispersive losses are maximum. It is therefore crucial to understand the quench limits with beam loss distributions alike those occurring in standard operation. In order to address this aspect, quench tests were performed by inducing large beam losses on the primary collimators of the betatron cleaning insertion, for proton and lead ion beams of 3.5 Z TeV, to probe the quench limits of the DS magnets. Losses up to 500 kW were achieved without quenches. The measurement technique and the results obtained are presented, with observations of heat loads in the cryogenics system.peer-reviewe

Study of the response of low pressure ionization chambers

The Beam Loss Monitoring System (BLM) of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is based on parallel plate Ionization Chambers (IC) with active volume 1.5l and a nitrogen filling gas at 0.1 bar overpressure. At the largest loss locations, the ICs generate signals large enough to saturate the read-out electronics. A reduction of the active volume and filling pressure in the ICs would decrease the amount of charge collected in the electrodes, and so provide a higher saturation limit using the same electronics. This makes Little Ionization Chambers (LIC) with both reduced pressure and small active volume a good candidate for these high radiation areas. In this contribution we present measurements performed with several LIC monitors with reduced active volume and various filling pressures. These detectors were tested under various conditions with different beam setups, with standard LHC ICs used for calibration purpose