Accelerator Tunnel Research Articles

A distributed beam loss monitor for the Australian Synchrotron

A distributed beam loss monitoring system, named the optical fibre Beam Loss Monitor, has been installed at the Australian Synchrotron. Relativistic charged particles produced in beam loss events generate photons via the Cherenkov mechanism in four silica fibres that run parallel to the beam pipe and cover the majority of the accelerator’s length. These photons are then guided by the fibres to detectors located outside of the accelerator tunnel. By measuring the time of flight of these photons, the locations of beam losses can be reconstructed. Based on this method a calibration was produced, mapping the time of flight to a position along the accelerator. This calibration was applied to loss signals collected on the first pass of the beam through the accelerator and the locations of prominent losses were determined. Using this system it was possible to investigate the effect, on the location and intensity of losses, in response to changes in the lattice parameters on a shot-by-shot basis. This system is now used in routine operations and has resulted in a 40 % increase in the capture efficiency of the booster ring.

Experimental performance of the chopper for the ESS LINAC

At the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS) the beam commissioning of the high intensity Proton Source for the European Spallation Source (PS-ESS) was completed in November 2017. The ESS requires a high intensity proton beam (74mA pulsed at 14 Hz of repetition rate), with fast Beam pulse rise/fall time (< 20 μs). In order to meet the project requirement, an electrostatic chopping system has been used in the Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT). The design of the control system was done also to be the main element of the fast beam abort system and taking into account the radiation issue in the accelerator tunnel. This paper describes the performances of the chopper. The experimentally-achieved rise/fall times of the beam pulses measured by using an AC Current Transformer (ACCT) at the end of the LEBT collimator, are presented. An experimental investigation of the effects of different amounts and types of gas injected into the LEBT (for the sake of space charge compensation) has been carried out with respect to the beam and chopper parameters.

A low-power laserwire profile monitor for H− beams: Design and experimental results

An instrument to non-destructively measure the transverse profile of an H−beam has been developed and tested at CERN’s new LINAC4. The vertical profile of the H−beam has been measured, at beam commissioning energies of 50, 80 and 107 MeV. The instrument consists of a laser-source which is coupled to an optical fibre, delivering laser pulses with hundreds Watts of peak power to the accelerator tunnel, where the laser beam is focused horizontally onto the H−beam. Due to photo-detachment, electrons are liberated from the ions and can be deflected by a weak dipole field onto a diamond detector. The beam profile is obtained by scanning the laser beam vertically across the H−beam and recording for each position the number of arriving electrons. The design, implementation and characterisation of the novel instrument shall be described and the measured beam profiles compared to profiles obtained with SEM-grids and wirescanners.

Leakage of radioactive materials from particle accelerator facilities by non-radiation disasters like fire and flooding and its environmental impacts

The leakage of radioactive materials generated at particle accelerator facilities is one of the important issues in the view of radiation safety. In this study, fire and flooding at particle accelerator facilities were considered as the non-radiation disasters which result in the leakage of radioactive materials. To analyse the expected effects at each disaster, the case study on fired and flooded particle accelerator facilities was carried out with the property investigation of interesting materials presented in the accelerator tunnel and the activity estimation. Five major materials in the tunnel were investigated: dust, insulators, concrete, metals and paints. The activation levels on the concerned materials were calculated using several Monte Carlo codes (MCNPX 2.7+SP-FISPACT 2007, FLUKA 2011.4c and PHITS 2.64+DCHAIN-SP 2001). The impact weight to environment was estimated for the different beam particles (electron, proton, carbon and uranium) and the different beam energies (100, 430, 600 and 1000 MeV/nucleon). With the consideration of the leakage path of radioactive materials due to fire and flooding, the activation level of selected materials, and the impacts to the environment were evaluated. In the case of flooding, dust, concrete and metal were found as a considerable object. In the case of fire event, dust, insulator and paint were the major concerns. As expected, the influence of normal fire and flooding at electron accelerator facilities would be relatively low for both cases.

Activation assessment of the soil around the ESS accelerator tunnel

Activation of the soil surrounding the ESS accelerator tunnel calculated by the MARS15 code is presented. A detailed composition of the soil, that comprises about 30 chemical elements, is considered. Spatial distributions of the produced activity are provided in both transverse and longitudinal directions. A realistic irradiation profile for the entire planned lifetime of the facility is used. The nuclear transmutation and decay of the produced radionuclides is calculated with the DeTra code which is a built-in tool for the MARS15 code. Radionuclide production by low-energy neutrons is calculated using the ENDF/B-VII evaluated nuclear data library. In order to estimate quality of this activation assessment, a comparison between calculated and measured activation of various foils in a similar radiation environment is presented.

Numerical investigation of potential stratification caused by a cryogenic helium spill inside a tunnel

The sudden release of cryogenic fluid into an accelerator tunnel can pose a significant health and safety risk. For this reason, it is important to evaluate the consequences of such a spill. Previous publications concentrated on either Oxygen Deficiency Hazard or the evaluation of mathematical models using experimental data. No studies to date have focussed on the influence of cryogen inlet conditions on flow development. In this paper, the stratification behaviour of low-temperature helium released into an air-filled accelerator tunnel is investigated for varying helium inlet diameters. A numerical model was constructed using the OpenFOAM Toolbox of a generalised 3D geometry, with similar hydraulic characteristics to the CERN and SLAC tunnels. This model has been validated against published experimental and numerical data. A dimensionless parameter, based on Bakke number, was then determined for the onset of stratification, taking into account the helium inlet diameter; a dimensionless parameter for the degree of stratification was also employed. The simulated flow behaviour is described in terms of these dimensionless parameters, as well as the temperature and oxygen concentration at various heights throughout the tunnel.

Status of the SXFEL Facility

The Shanghai soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser facility (SXFEL) is being developed in two steps; the SXFEL test facility (SXFEL-TF), and the SXFEL user facility (SXFEL-UF). The SXFEL-TF is a critical development step towards the construction a soft X-ray FEL user facility in China, and is under commissioning at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) campus. The test facility is going to generate 8.8 nm FEL radiation using an 840 MeV electron linac passing through the two-stage cascaded HGHG-HGHG or EEHG-HGHG (high-gain harmonic generation, echo-enabled harmonic generation) scheme. The construction of the SXFEL-TF started at the end of 2014. Its accelerator tunnel and klystron gallery were ready for equipment installation in April 2016, and the installation of the SXFEL-TF linac and radiator undulators were completed by the end of 2016. In the meantime, the SXFEL-UF, with a designated wavelength in the water window region, began construction in November 2016. This was based on upgrading the linac energy to 1.5 GeV, and the building of a second undulator line and five experimental end-stations. Construction status and the future plans of the SXFEL are reported in this paper.

Reduction of RF accelerating voltage of Pohang Light Source-II superconducting RF cavity for stable top-up mode operation

The Pohang Light Source-II (PLS-II) is currently providing a top-up mode user-service operation with maximum available beam current of 400 mA and a beam emittance of below 10 nm-rad. The dimension of the beam bunch shortened to accomplish a low beam emittance of below 10 nm-rad from a high beam current of 400 mA increases the bunch charge density. As a result, the electron beam lifetime is significantly degraded and a high gradient of power is lost in the vacuum components of the storage ring. A study on how to reduce the bunch charge density without degrading beam emittance found that reducing the RF accelerating voltage (Vacc) can lower the bunch charge density by lengthening the bunch in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the Vacc required for stable operation with beam current of 400 mA can be reduced by lowering the external cavity quality factors (Qext values) of the superconducting cavities (SCs). To control the Qext values of SCs gradually without accessing the accelerator tunnel, a remote control motorized three-probe-tuner was installed in the transmission line of each SC. The optimum installation position of the three-probe-tuner was determined by using a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation and by experimenting on various installation positions of the three-probe-tuner. The Qext values of all the SCs were lowered to 1.40 × 105, and then, the Vacc required to store the beam current of 400 mA was decreased from 4.8 MV to 4.2 MV, which corresponds to 10% lengthening of the beam bunches. The stable operation with the reduced Vacc was confirmed during a 400 mA ten-day top-up mode user-service. Currently, the RF system of the PLS-II storage ring delivers the user-service operation with lowered Qext values to reduce the power loss at the vacuum components as well as the cryogenic heat load of SCs, and no significant problems have been found. This method of reducing the Vacc may also be applied in other synchrotron facilities.

XFEL AMTF operation completed: results and lessons learned

In order to produce short pulsed electron beam of 17.5 GeV energy, the XFEL linear accelerator is being built at DESY in Hamburg. Before being installed in the accelerator tunnel, 103 accelerator modules have to be tested in Accelerator Module Test Facility (AMTF). Cavities and cryomodules are tested at two vertical cryostats and three horizontal test benches. Two valve boxes and a liquid helium (LHe) storage tank are installed to enable cryogenic operation of AMTF. This paper describes our experience of three years cryogenic operation of AMTF. All 800 cavities and almost all cryomodules have been tested. The test results and lessons learned are also summarized

The future SwissFEL facility – challenges from a radiation protection point of view

The Swiss Free Electron Laser is a new large-scale facility currently under construction at the Paul Scherrer Institute. Accessible areas surrounding the 720 m long accelerator tunnel, together with the pulsed time structure of the primary beam, lead to new challenges for ensuring that the radiation level in these areas remains in compliance with the legal constraints. For this purpose an online survey system based on the monitoring of the ambient dose rate arising from neutrons inside of the accelerator tunnel and opportunely calibrated to indicate the total dose rate outside of the tunnel, will be installed. The presented study provides a conceptual overview of this system, its underlying assumptions and measurements so far performed to validate its concept.

Experience with cryogenic operation of Accelerator Module Test Facility during testing of one third of XFEL cryomodules

In order to produce pulsed electron beam with the energy of 17.5 GeV, the XFEL linear accelerator is under construction. After the assembly but before being installed in the accelerator tunnel, 100 accelerator modules have to be tested in Accelerator Module Test Facility (AMTF). Two vertical cryostats and three horizontal test benches are devoted to the testing of cavities and cryomodules as well as two other cold boxes and liquid helium (LHe) storage tank are installed to enable their operation. This paper describes our experience with cryogenic operation of AMTF after two years of operation.

Shielding design of the linear accelerator at RAON: Accelerator tunnel and utility gallery

RAON is the first Korean heavy-ion accelerator for various rare-isotope experiments and will be constructed by the year of 2021. The building for the about 550-m-long superconducting linear accelerator at RAON has three divisions in the vertical layout: accelerator tunnel, intermediate tunnel, and utility gallery. One of the requirements for the building design is that the effective dose rate in the utility gallery should be well below the dose limit for workers. Other parts of the building underground are classified as high-radiation zones where access is strictly controlled. The radiation dose distribution in the building has been calculated by using the Monte Carlo transport code MCNPX including the radiation streaming effects through the intermediate tunnel and penetrating holes. We have applied a point beam loss model in which the continuous beam loss along the beam line is treated as an equivalent point loss with a simple target. We describe the details of the calculation and discuss the results.

Study on radiation production in the charge stripping section of the RISP linear accelerator

The linear accelerator of the Rare Isotope Science Project (RISP) accelerates 200 MeV/nucleon 238U ions in a multi-charge states. Many kinds of radiations are generated while the primary beam is transported along the beam line. The stripping process using thin carbon foil leads to complicated radiation environments at the 90-degree bending section. The charge distribution of 238U ions after the carbon charge stripper was calculated by using the LISE++ program. The estimates of the radiation environments were carried out by using the well-proved Monte Carlo codes PHITS and FLUKA. The tracks of 238U ions in various charge states were identified using the magnetic field subroutine of the PHITS code. The dose distribution caused by U beam losses for those tracks was obtained over the accelerator tunnel. A modified calculation was applied for tracking the multi-charged U beams because the fundamental idea of PHITS and FLUKA was to transport fully-ionized ion beam. In this study, the beam loss pattern after a stripping section was observed, and the radiation production by heavy ions was studied. Finally, the performance of the PHITS and the FLUKA codes was validated for estimating the radiation production at the stripping section by applying a modified method.

Radiation shielding design of the PAL-XFEL

The construction of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory X-ray Free Electron Laser (PAL-XFEL) started in 2011. The PAL-XFEL is designed to generate X-rays using 10 GeV, 0.2 nC electron beams. For the radiation shielding design, a beam-loss scenario suitable for the PAL-XFEL should be established. The beam-loss scenario was determined and categorized as normal or accidental. The electron beam will be shut down automatically when accidental beam-loss occurs. Using this scenario, the thickness of the accelerator and undulator tunnel of the PAL-XFEL was calculated by using the SHIELD11 code, and complicated tunnel structures such as maze entrances, sliding doors, trenches, sleeves, and ducts, were determined under the assumption of a thick iron target by using the FLUKA code. A detailed design of the main beam dump was established, and shielding structures at the front end for suppression of the radiation dose at the experimental area under the accidental beam-loss scenario were considered. The muon production was estimated by using the FLUKA code.

Beam test of a new radio frequency quadrupole linac for the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex

We performed a beam test of a new radio frequency quadrupole linac (RFQ III) for the beam current upgrade of the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex. First, the conditioning of RFQ III was conducted, and after 20 h of conditioning, RFQ III became very stable with a nominal peak power and duty factor of 400 kW and 1.5%, respectively. An off-line beam test was subsequently conducted before installation in the accelerator tunnel. The transmission, transverse emittance, and energy spread of the 50-mA negative hydrogen beam from RFQ III were measured and compared with simulation results. The experiment and simulation results showed good agreement; therefore, we conclude that the performance of RFQ III conforms to its design.

Novel Tunable Permanent Magnet Quadrupoles for the CLIC Drive Beam

Two novel designs have been generated for permanent magnet-based quadrupoles for the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) drive beam. The advantages of reduced heat load in the accelerator tunnel and very low operating costs over conventional electromagnets are significant to the project, hence the motivation for developing these designs. The drive beam lattice requirements can be met using two magnet designs. The higher strength design, which reaches over 60 T/m, has been successfully prototyped, and this paper will report on the measured mechanical and magnetic performance of this magnet. The lower strength design (over 43 T/m) is complete, and a prototype magnet is now being assembled at Daresbury Laboratory. The design of this magnet will be described in detail in the paper.

Dose rate produced by secondary radiation at the SwissFEL free electron laser facility

A new large-scale facility is currently in the design phase at the Paul Scherrer Institute. SwissFEL is foreseen to accelerate electrons up to an energy of 7 GeV with a pulsed time structure. Unavoidable interactions of the primary beam with beam line components create secondary radiation. The shielding of the accelerator vault has to reduce the radiation level for accessible areas in compliance with legal constraints. In addition, the position and layout of cable ducts and infrastructure shafts through the shielding of the accelerator tunnel have to be investigated from a radiation protection point of view. In this work, the dose rate distribution inside the accelerator vault has been evaluated for expected beam loss scenarios (normal and diagnostic mode of operation) based on Monte Carlo calculations. By means of the multi-particle transport code FLUKA, a simplified model has been defined and the results have been parameterized. From these, a dose rate evaluation has been extracted for different positions inside the accelerator tunnel. The results can be used to investigate the leakage of radiation through cable ducts and infrastructure shafts for different design layouts or modes of operation.

Performance of the beam collimation system in the J-PARC RCS

The most important issue in a high intensity proton accelerator is to keep the accelerator tunnel in a hands-on-maintenance condition. A collimation system was designed and installed in 3GeV Rapid Cycling Synchrotron (RCS) at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) to be localized the beam loss point to a restricted area. The experimental results indicated that the RCS collimation system performs well enough such that nearly all the ring components are maintained in good condition. However, as the beam power increased, unexpected losses downstream of the injection foil increased. Therefore, an additional collimator was installed that successfully reduced such unexpected losses.

Installation of Wireless LAN System into the SuperKEKB Accelerator Tunnel

Installation of Wireless LAN System into the SuperKEKB Accelerator Tunnel

Radiation shielding in SPring-8 linear accelerator tunnels for safety interlock system upgrade

To upgrade a safety interlock system, a restricted area was converted into an accessible area at an operating condition. To judge the necessity for an additional shield design, -ray and neutron dose distributions were measured in the linac, booster synchrotron, L3BT, and New SUBARU (NS) areas. In the linac, chicane was found to be the main source of rays. Among the new accessible areas, the -ray doses exceeded the limit at the electron transport openings of the synchrotron and NS areas. Similarly, the neutron dose surpassed the limit at the synchrotron opening. The beam-dump contribution to the neutron dose was estimated to be 20% by using the Monte Carlo code FLUKA.