LHC Collimation Project

Home of the Project for the LHC Collimation System

 
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Introduction to the LHC collimation system

 
Challenge: The high luminosity performance of the LHC relies on storing, accelerating, and colliding beams with unprecedented intensities. The transverse energy density of the nominal beam is 1000 times higher than previously achieved in proton storage rings. Tiny fractions of the stored beam suffice to quench a super-conducting LHC magnet or even to destroy parts of the accelerators. Note that a 10-5 fraction of the nominal LHC beam will damage Copper. The energy in the two LHC beams is sufficient to melt almost 1 ton of copper! 
  
Examples of material damage from existing beams (left pictures: entry and exit of beam in spoiler)

Courtesy: SLAC (P. Tenenbaum, F.J. Decker), CERN (G. Stevenson)
  
Solution: The powerful LHC collimation system will protect the accelerator against unavoidable regular and irregular beam loss. Two insertions (IR3 and IR7) are dedicated to collimation and will be equipped with about 54 movable, two-sided collimators. These regions will be among the most radioactive in the LHC.
  
Project: The effort to design, build, and operate the powerful LHC collimation system involves a number of different divisions and groups at CERN. The LHC collimation project was set-up in October 2002 to coordinate all activities concerning the LHC collimation system.

  RWA, Thursday, 05. April 2012 11:07 +0200