Fault detection on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN: design, simulation and realization of a High Voltage Pulse Generator

This project was developed inside the Quality Assurance Plan (ELQA) of the LHC. The superconducting circuits of the collider show a great complexity concerning the control system, because of various reasons: the tunnel is placed around 50 to 175 m underground, the circuits work at temperatures of 1.9 K, all the structure should be perfectly aligned and the electronic part has considerable dimensions. To maximize the running time of the collider, it is necessary to develop methods for the diagnostic of defects and for the precise localization of the segment of the accelerator that contains the fault. From my studies it emerged that a possible way to localize electrical faults in the LHC superconducting circuits is to combine the use of time domain reflectometry methods and high voltage pulses. Therefore, I have designed and realized a high voltage pulse generator that will be an important instrument for the fault location among the accelerator.