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
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
EPFL, Lausanne
The control of the high intensity beams of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is particular challenging and requires a precise knowledge of the critical beam and machine parameters. In recent years efforts were devoted to the design of a software infrastructure aimed at mimicking the behavior of the LHC. An online model of the machine, based on the accelerator design tool MADX, has been developed to support the commissioning and the operation of the LHC. This model is integrated into the JAVA-based LHC software framework and provides the full computing power of MADX, including the best knowledge of the machine aperture and magnetic models. The MADX implementation is server-based and provides various facilities for optics computation to other application clients. In this paper, we present the status of the MADX online application and illustrate how it has been used during the LHC commissioning. Possible future implementations are also discussed.
CERN, Geneva
Once circulating beams have been established in the LHC the first step towards collisions is to remove the physical separation used to avoid collisions during injection and ramp. A residual separation can remain after the collapsing of the separation bumps. The so-called Van Der Meer method allows for a minimization of this unwanted separation by transversally scanning one beam through the other. The beam sizes at the IP can also be determined by this method and used to give an absolute measurement of the luminosity. We report on how this measurement was implemented and performed in the LHC to optimize and calibrate luminosity.
CERN, Geneva
PSI, Villigen
BNL, Upton, Long Island, New York
Optics stability during all phases of operation is crucial for the LHC. The optical properties of the machine have been optimized based on a detailed magnetic model of the SC magnets and on their sorting. Tools and procedures have been developed for rapid checks of beta beating, dispersion, and linear coupling, as well as for prompt optics correction. Initial optics errors, correction performance and optics stability from the first LHC run will be reported, and compared with expectations. Possible implications for the collimation cleaning efficiency and LHC machine protection will be discussed.
CERN, Geneva
Nominal beam parameters at 7TeV/c will only be reached after some years of operation, with each proton beam having a stored energy of 360MJ. However, a small fraction of this energy is sufficient to damage accelerator equipment or experiments in case of uncontrolled beam loss. The correct functioning of the machine protection systems is vital during the different operational phases already for initial operation. When operating the complex magnet system, with and without beam, safe operation relies on the protection and interlock systems for the superconducting circuits. For safe injection and transfer of beam from SPS to LHC, transfer line parameters are monitored, beam absorbers must be in the correct position and the LHC must be ready to accept beam. At the end of a fill and in case of failures beams must be properly extracted onto the dump blocks, for some failures within less than few hundred microseconds. Safe operation requires many systems: beam dumping system, beam interlocks, beam instrumentation, equipment monitoring, collimators and absorbers, etc. We describe the commissioning of the LHC machine protection system and the experience during the initial operation.
CERN, Geneva
The LHC deploys a comprehensive suite of beam-based feedbacks for safe and reliable machine operation. This contribution summarises the commissioning and early results of the LHC feedback control systems on orbit, tune, chromaticity, and energy. Their performance – strongly linked to the associated beam instrumentation, external beam perturbation sources and optics uncertainties – is evaluated and compared with the feedback design assumptions.