Work

Consolidation of the Superconducting Circuits Energy Extraction Systems at the Large Hadron Collider

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: At the beginning of the next long shutdown, foreseen mid 2026, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will have been in operation for almost 20 years. After this period, the operation of the present Energy Extraction (EE) systems, that are part of the protection of the superconducting circuits of the LHC, will present significant challenges. As many system components will have exceeded their expected lifetimes, the risks of failure, system degradation, and obsolescence increase, ultimately compromising operational performance and safety. Although preventive maintenance is regularly performed on the EE facilities, an extensive consolidation program of these facilities has started, to improve their dependability and assure their performance till the end of operation of the LHC. This paper illustrates the two projects of consolidation of the 600 A and 13 kA EE systems, which aim to modernize and optimize these systems, ensuring that they continue to provide reliable protection while reducing maintenance costs and integrating the latest advances in materials, control technologies, and diagnostics, together with enhanced safety.

Source: IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity

DOI: 10.1109/tasc.2025.3633645