Carbon Fiber Damage in Accelerator Beam

Carbon fibers are commonly used as moving targets in Beam Wire Scanners. Because of their thermomechanical properties they are very resistant to particle beams. Their strength deteriorates with time due to radiation damage and low-cycle thermal fatigue. In case of high intensity beams this process can accelerate and in extreme cases the fiber is damaged during a single scan. In this work a model describing the fiber temperature, thermionic emission and sublimation is discussed. Results are compared with fiber damage test performed on SPS beam in November 2008. In conclusions the limits of Wire Scanner operation on high intensity beams are drawn.