Overview of progress on the improvement projects for the LANSCE accelerator and target facilities

Three projects have been initiated since 1994 to improve the performance of the accelerator and target facilities for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE). The LANSCE Reliability Improvement Project (LRIP) was separated into two phases. Phase I, completed in 1995, targeted near-term improvements to beam reliability and availability that could be completed in one-year's time. Phase II, now underway and scheduled for completion in May 1998, consists of two projects: (a) implementation of direct H injection for the Proton Storage Ring (PSR) and (b) an upgrade of the target/moderator system for the short pulse spallation neutron (SPSS) source. The latter will reduce the target change-out time from about 10 months to about three weeks. The third project, the SPSS Enhancement Project, is aimed at increasing the PSR output beam current to 200 /spl mu/A at 30 Hz and providing up to seven new neutron scattering instruments.