The Radiological Situation in the Beam-Cleaning Sections of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) I I CHAPTER 5 Benchmark Measurements
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Markus Brugger The Radiological Situation in the Beam-Cleaning Sections of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Technischen Wissenschaften eingereicht an der Technischen Universität Graz Rechbauerstraße 12 A - 8010 Graz CERN-THESIS-2003-039 //2003 Begutachter: Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr.techn. Ewald Schachinger Institut fur Theoretische Physik der TU Graz Graz, November 2003 Kurzfassung Diese Dissertation beschäftigt sich mit radiologischen Aspekten am "Large Hadron Collider", welcher momentan am CERN gebaut wird. Im Detail handelt es sich dabei um die beiden so genannten "Beam Cleaning Insertions", jene Bereiche in welchen man versucht möglichst alle Teilchen zu absorbieren, welche ansonsten in anderen Teilen des Beschleunigers zu Schäden führen könnten. Es werden zwei kritische Aspekte des Strahlenschutzes behandelt: Dosisleistung durch induzierte Radioaktivität und die Aktivierung von Luft. Die Anpassung des Designs dieser Regionen in Verbindung mit einer detaillierten Abschätzung der jeweiligen Dosisleistungen ist von großer Wichtigkeit für spätere Wartungsarbeiten. Bisher standen lediglich sehr eingeschränkte Studien über die in jenen Regionen zu erwartenden Strahlenniveaus zur Verfügung, welche diese Dissertation nun zu erweitern und vervollständigen sucht. Dabei wird eine neue Methode angewendet um Dosisleistungen zu bestimmen, welche, da sie zum ersten Mal zu deren Berechnung verwendet wird, sorgfältig im Rahmen eines Experimentes überprüft wird. Zusätzlich stellt die Aktivierung der Luft einen wichtigen Aspekt für die Inbetriebnahme des Beschleunigers dar. Jüngste Änderungen im Konzept des Beschleunigers, machen eine Revision vorhandener Ergebnisse und eine umfassende neue Studie notwendig. Die Ergebnisse von beiden Studien sind von großer Wichtigkeit für die weiteren Entscheidungen bezüglich des endgültigen Entwurfs der "Beam Cleaning Insertions". Abstract This thesis contributes to radiological assessments of the design and operation of the Large Hadron Collider currently under construction at CERN. In particular, the scope of this thesis is to examine the beam cleaning insertions - two of the main loss regions of the LHC where beam particles which would otherwise cause unwanted losses at different places of the machine are purposely intercepted. Two critical issues with regard to the protection of personnel and environment are studied: remanent dose rates due to induced radioactivity and airborne radioactivity. Although a detailed estimate of remanent dose rates is important for an optimization of later maintenance interventions only very limited information on remanent dose rates to be expected around the collimators was available so far. This thesis is an attempt to extend the knowledge considerably, especially by applying a new calculational method. Since this new approach is used for the first time in the design of the LHC a careful benchmarking with experimental data is performed as part of this work. In addition, a revision of existing assessments of airborne radioactivity became necessary after various design changes of the collimation system and due to modifications in the ventilation scheme of the LHC. Therefore, an extensive parametric study is presented covering all possible design scenarious. The results of both studies will give important input to the design of the collimators and the beam cleaning insertions. Table of Contents Kurzfassung Abstract CHAPTER 1 Introduction . 1 CHAPTER 2 The LHC Beam Cleaning Insertions . 5 2.1 The Large Hadron Collider . .5 2.2 Collimation . .7 2.2.1 Functional Specifications . .8 2.2.2 A Potential Final Design . .9 2.2.3 The Cleaning Layout for IP 3 and 7 . 10 2.3 Ventilation . 11 CHAPTER 3 Radiological Considerations and Constraints . 13 3.1 The Radiological Protection System . 13 3.1.1 Justification . 14 3.1.2 Optimization . 14 3.1.3 Annual Dose Limits . 14 3.2 Maintenance . 15 3.2.1 Derived Constraints . 15 3.2.2 Work and Dose Planning . 15 3.3 Activation of Air . 16 3.3.1 Radiation Workers . 16 3.3.2 Reference Values for Air Releases . 17 3.3.3 Doses to the Population . 17 CHAPTER 4 Simulation Methods. 19 4.1 The FLUKA Code . 19 4.1.1 The Dual Parton Model . 21 4.1.2 The Generalized Intranuclear Cascade Model . 21 4.1.3 The PEANUT Model . 22 4.1.4 Evaporation, Fragmentation and Nuclear De-excitation . 23 4.2 Induced Radioactivity . 23 4.2.1 Calculation from Star Densities . 23 4.2.2 Calculation from Hadron Track-length Distributions . 24 4.2.3 Direct Simulation of Residual Nuclei Production . 25 4.3 Remanent Dose Rates . 25 4.3.1 Simplified Formulas . 26 4.3.2 Classical ω-Factor Approach . 27 4.3.3 Modern ω-Factor Approach . 28 4.3.4 Detailed Simulation . 29 The Radiological Situation in the Beam-Cleaning Sections of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) I I CHAPTER 5 Benchmark Measurements . 31 5.1 The Irradiation Experiment . .31 5.2 Induced Activity Benchmark . .34 5.2.1 Data Analysis . .34 5.2.2 The FLUKA Calculations . .35 5.2.3 Results . .36 5.3 Remanent Dose Rate Benchmark . .47 5.3.1 Dose Rate Measurements . .47 5.3.2 The FLUKA Calculations . .49 5.3.3 Comparison of Experimental and Calculated Dose Rates . .50 5.4 Summary . .59 CHAPTER 6 Radiological Studies for the Beam Cleaning Insertions . 61 6.1 Loss Assumptions . .61 6.2 Earlier Studies . .63 6.2.1 Simulation Models . .63 6.2.2 Remanent Dose Rates . .65 6.2.3 Activation of Air . .67 6.3 Remanent Dose Rates - Simplified Layout . .67 6.3.1 ω-Factor Approach . .68 6.3.2 Explicit Approach . .71 6.3.3 Comparison of ω-Factor Method and Explicit Approach . .75 6.3.4 Example for Intervention Dose Estimate . .79 6.4 Remanent Dose Rates - Realistic Layout . .82 6.4.1 Description of the Geometry . .82 6.4.2 Calculation of Remanent Dose Rates . .83 6.4.3 Planning for an Example Vacuum Intervention . .88 6.5 Air Activation and Ventilation . .89 6.5.1 Description of the Geometry . .89 6.5.2 Calculation of the Isotope Yield . .91 6.5.3 Release . .96 CHAPTER 7 Summary and Conclusions . 101 Bibliography Acknowledgements The Radiological Situation in the Beam-Cleaning Sections of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) II 1 Introduction article physics is the branch of physics exploring the innermost basic Pconstituents of matter and their interactions. CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, was founded in 1954 in Geneva (Switzerland) as a joint European project to provide a major scientific facility for particle physicists. Today it is one of the world's largest laboratories, as well as an outstanding example of international collaboration with its 20 member states. The challenge in modern particle physics research is to probe at higher and higher collision energies, because the basic constituents of matter can only be studied at those energies. Thereby, the accelerator itself can be understood as a microscope, with the energy of accelerated particles defining the wavelength used for the analysis and, as a consequence, the resolution of the apparatus. Thus, the higher the collision energy, the larger the spectrum of observable physical phenomena, and the smaller their scale. In the past, numerous experiments were performed at different generations of accelerators, successfully expanding the knowledge in particle physics. Down to the de Broglie scale of 10-18 m, corresponding up to the several hundred GeV energy, nature seems to be described by the so-called Standard Model. This theoretical model describes matter as being built up of combinations of three families of fermions of different types (quarks, electrons, neutrinos). Their interaction are described by several forces mediated by bosons (photons, “weak” bosons, gluons). In spite of its remarkable success as a descriptive and predictive theory (with a precision of 10-3 or better), the Standard Model still shows several shortcomings. As such the origin of the particle masses and their distribution, which spans more than twelve orders of magnitude, are neither predicted nor explained. A possible process to endow particles with masses is their coupling with a particular field permeating space, the so-called Higgs field, which would be mediated by the Higgs boson. Theoretical considerations and experimental searches for the Higgs boson indicate that its mass range would fall between 115 GeV and about 1 TeV. However, the Standard Model including the Higgs mechanism may well not be the ultimate theory. The concept of Grand Unified Theories, which predict the unification of the strengths of electromagnetic, weak and strong interactions at very high-energy, would require to expand the Standard Model in order to include other particles (e.g., “supersymmetric”) to the known ones. Although this unification would only occur at very high energies, some of its consequences could also appear as new physics in the TeV range. Modern accelerators, in addition to their capability to discover possible new physics and scrutinise proposed models, will also permit precision The Radiological Situation in the Beam-Cleaning Sections of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) 1 CHAPTER 1 Introduction measurements that, e.g., will either confirm the Standard Model or require its modification. Moreover, they will explore through dedicated experiments the origin of matter-antimatter asymmetry, as well as the deconfinement of quarks and gluons in a so-called “quarkgluon plasma”. Finally, by providing high resolution powers they may reveal totally unexpected physical phenomena. One of the currently most advanced projects of particle physics in the TeV energy domain is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). It is presently under construction at CERN through a global collaboration involving all regions of the world active in the field. Upon its completion in 2007, the LHC will accelerate and bring into collision intense beams of protons and ions at unprecedented energy and luminosity (14 TeV and 1034 cm-2s-1, respectively for protons). The collision products will be analysed in four large experiments located in underground caverns around the LHC machine.