Abstract
The operation of particle accelerators at CERN requires the use of electromagnets, which are accelerator components used to guide and focus charged particles. In the framework of maintenance activities and machine upgrades or dismantling, a large number of magnets are removed from the accelerator complex and required characterization in view of their disposal as radioactive waste. The present document describes a new characterization methodology, which is applied to radioactive magnets with masses up to 25 tons and lengths up to 6 meters. The characterization of such large electromagnets is challenging due to their heterogeneous composition, variable radiological history, technical constraints related to handling, and the operational complexity of evaluating activity values with gamma spectroscopy . The innovative method proposed in this paper is based on the establishment of transfer functions which convert dose-rate to a radionuclide inventory. This method is validated by comparison with accurate gamma spectroscopy and benchmarking.
Highlights
The operation of particle accelerators at CERN requires the use of electromagnets, which are accelerator components used to guide and focus charged particles
This paper describes a characterization methodology, which allows the establishment of a complete radionuclide inventory with conservative estimates of specific activity by means of a simple dose-rate survey, without resorting to in-situ gamma spectroscopy, dedicated Monte Carlo simulations or destructive analysis
In order to obtain the list of relevant radionuclides, systematic calculations with the code ActiWiz are performed to study the activation scenarios which can lead to induced radioactivity in magnets from the CERN proton machines
Summary
The operation of particle accelerators at CERN requires the use of electromagnets, which are accelerator components used to guide and focus charged particles. In the framework of maintenance activities and machine upgrades or dismantling over the last 40 years, a large number of magnets were removed from the accelerator complex and require characterization in view of their disposal as radioactive waste. The electromagnets can be very large, with a length of up to 6 meters and over 20 tons in mass. Their characterization is challenging due to their heterogeneous composition, variable radiological history, technical constraints related to handling, and the operational complexity of evaluating activity values with gamma spectroscopy. Each magnet has a different geometry and would require a dedicated calibration curve for gamma spectroscopy
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