Mechanical design and manufacturing of the LHC collimators
by
Bertarelli, A. (TS-MME)
→
Europe/Zurich
AT Auditorium (CERN)
AT Auditorium
CERN
Description
In the framework of the LHC Collimator project, led by AB department, TS-MME group was assigned the task to design the series collimators and to manufacture two prototypes of the secondary collimators, which were successfully tested in autumn 2004 in the SPS ring. Series production has been launched and is now in full swing.
The collimators are the components sitting closest to the LHC highly energetic beam. The mechanical engineering had to meet very demanding specifications and to comply with the challenging deadlines required by a very compressed time schedule.
To respond to tough and conflicting constraints, the chosen design appealed to a mixture of traditional and innovative technologies and materials, such as Carbon/Carbon composites. All mechanical studies were supported by in-depth numerical analyses concerning temperature distribution, mechanical strength, thermo-mechanical shocks and cooling efficiency. The experiences gathered during the analysis, the design, the manufacturing and the follow-up phase, along with the essential results of the tests will be discussed.
