LAMPF Primary Beam Line Protection System

An effective system for the protection of LAMPF primary beam lines has been built and installed. In three years of operations, it has prevented major damage from the effects of very high intensity (up to 600 μA) errant beams. The harsh environment of the target cells poses a major technical problem requiring the design of highly radiation hardened, remotely serviceable components capable of handling high thermal loads often in vacuum. After a brief discussion of general system considerations, the five major subsystems are described including design criteria, special problems encountered in implementation, operational effectiveness and planned improvements.