• J.A. Uythoven, E. Carlier, L. Ducimetière, B. Goddard, V. Kain, N. Magnin
  CERN, Geneva

The LHC beam dump system was commissioned with beam in 2009. This paper describes the operational experience with the kicker systems and the tests and measurements to qualify them for operation. The kicker performance was characterized with beam by measurements of the kicker waveforms using bunches extracted at different times along the kicker sweep. The kicker performance was also continuously monitored for each pulse with measurement and analysis of each kick pulse, allowing diagnostic of errors and of long-term drifts. The results are described and compared to the expectations.