Status of LHC Crab Cavity simulations and beam studies

The LHC crab cavity program is advancing rapidly towards a first prototype which is anticipated to be tested during the early stages of the LHC phase I upgrade and commissioning. The general project status and some aspects related to crab optics, collimation, aperture constraints, impedances, noise effects, beam transparency and machine protection critical for a safe and robust operation of LHC beams with crab cavities are addressed here