Author: Marsili, A.
Paper Title Page
TUPC136 Analysis of Fast Losses in the LHC with the BLM System 1344
 
  • E. Nebot Del Busto, T. Baer, B. Dehning, E. Effinger, J. Emery, E.B. Holzer, A. Marsili, A. Nordt, M. Sapinski, R. Schmidt, B. Velghe, J. Wenninger, C. Zamantzas, F. Zimmermann
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • N. Fuster
    Valencia University, Atomic Molecular and Nuclear Physics Department, Valencia, Spain
  • Z. Yang
    EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
 
  About 3600 Ionization Chambers are located around the LHC ring to detect beam losses that could damage the equipment or quench superconducting magnets. The BLMs integrate the losses in 12 different time intervals (from 40 us to 83.8 s) allowing for different abort thresholds depending on the duration of the loss and the beam energy. The signals are also recorded in a database at 1 Hz for offline analysis. During the 2010 run, a limiting factor in the machine availability were sudden losses appearing around the ring on the ms time scale and detected exclusively by the BLM system. It is believed that such losses originate from dust particles falling into the beam, or being attracted by its strong electromagnetic field. This document describes some of the properties of these "Unidentified Falling Objects" (UFOs) putting special emphasis on their dependence on beam parameters (energy, intensity, etc). The subsequent modification of the BLM beam abort thresholds for the 2011 run that were made to avoid unnecessary beam dumps caused by these UFO losses are also discussed.  
 
TUPC141 LHC Beam Loss Pattern Recognition 1353
 
  • A. Marsili, E.B. Holzer, P.M. Puzo
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
 
  One of the systems protecting CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the Beam Loss Monitoring system (BLM). More than 3600 monitors are installed around the ring. The beam losses are permanently integrated over 12 different time intervals (from 40 microseconds to 84 seconds). When any loss exceeds the thresholds defined for the integration window, the beam is removed from the machine. Understanding the origin of a beam loss is crucial for machine operation, as it can help to avoid a repeat of the same scenario. The signals read from given monitors can be considered as entries of a vector. This article presents how a loss map of unknown cause can be decomposed using vector based analysis derived from well-known loss scenarios. The algorithms achieving this decomposition are described, as well as the accuracy of the results.  
 
THOAA03 Overview of LHC Beam Loss Measurements 2854
 
  • B. Dehning, A.E. Dabrowski, M. Dabrowski, E. Effinger, J. Emery, E. Fadakis, V. Grishin, E.B. Holzer, S. Jackson, G. Kruk, C. Kurfuerst, A. Marsili, M. Misiowiec, E. Nebot Del Busto, A. Nordt, A. Priebe, C. Roderick, M. Sapinski, C. Zamantzas
    CERN, Geneva, Switzerland
  • E. Griesmayer
    CIVIDEC Instrumentation, Wien, Austria
 
  The LHC beam loss monitoring system based on ionization chambers is used for machine protection, quench prevention and accelerator optimization. After one full year of operation it can be stated that its main functionality, that of the protection of equipment, has proven to be very robust with no issues observed for hundreds of critical beam loss events and the number of false beam aborts well below expectation. In addition the injection, dump and collimation system make regular use of the published loss measurements for system analysis and optimisation, such as the determination of collimation efficiency in order to identify possible intensity limitations as early as possible. Intentional magnet quenches have been performed to verify both the calibration accuracy of the system and the accuracy of the loss pattern predictions from simulations. Tests have also been performed with fast loss detectors based on single- and polycrystalline CVD diamond, which are capable of providing nanosecond resolution time loss structure. This presentation will cover all of these aspects and give an outlook on future performance.  
slides icon Slides THOAA03 [1.972 MB]