CERN, Geneva
University of Malta, Faculty of Engineering, Msida
The relation between field and current in each family of the Large Hadron Collider magnets is modeled with a set of empirical equations (FiDeL) whose free parameters are fitted on magnetic measurements. They take into account of residual magnetization, persistent currents, hysteresis, saturation, decay and snapback during initial part of the ramp. Here we give a first summary of the reconstruction of the magnetic field properties based on the beam observables (orbit, tune, coupling, chromaticity) and a comparison with the expectations based on the large set of magnetic measurements carried out during the 5-years-long production. The most critical issues for the machine performance in terms of knowledge of the relation magnetic field vs current are pinned out.
CERN, Geneva
BNL, Upton, Long Island, New York
During the 2009 LHC injection tests, the polarities and effects of specific quadrupole and higher-order magnetic circuits were investigated. A set of magnet circuits had been selected for detailed investigation based on a number of criteria. On or off-momentum difference trajectories launched via appropriate orbit correctors for varying strength settings of the magnet circuits under study - e.g. main, trim and skew quadrupoles; sextupole families and spool piece correctors; skew sextupoles, octupoles - were compared with predictions from various optics models. These comparisons allowed confirming or updating the relative polarity conventions used in the optics model and the accelerator control system, as well as verifying the correct powering and assignment of magnet families. Results from measurements in several LHC sectors are presented.
CERN, Geneva
After the incident on the 19th September 2008 and more than one year without beam the commissioning of the LHC started again on November 20, 2009. Progress was rapid and collisions under stable beam conditions were established at 1.2 TeV within 3 weeks. In 2010 after qualification of the new quench protection system the way to 3.5 TeV was open and collisions were delivered at this energy after a month of additional commissioning. This paper describes the experiences and issues encountered during these first periods of commissioning with beam.
CERN, Geneva
Following the LHC injection tests of 2008, two injection tests took place in October and November 2009 as preparation for the LHC restart on November 20, 2009. During these injection tests beam was injected through the TI2 transfer line into sector 23 of ring 1 and through TI8 into the sectors 78, 67 and 56 of ring 2. The beam time was dedicated to injection steering, optics measurements and debugging of all the systems involved. Because many potential problems were sorted out in advance, these tests contributed to the rapid progress after the restart. This paper describes the experiences and issues encountered during these tests as well as related measurement results.
CERN, Geneva
During the first years of operation of the LHC unknown field errors or misalignments could lead to unmatched optics and discrepancies with respect to the model. This could affect some critical parameters such as the luminosity or the lifetime. It is therefore desirable to implement tools which allow for fine tuning of the IP optics and could be used during the commissioning phase of the LHC. In this paper we report on the implementation the performances and the limitations of these commissioning tools.