Reliability Approach for Machine Protection Design in Particle Accelerators

Particle accelerators require Machine Protection Systems (MPS) to prevent beam-induced damage of equipment in case of failures. This becomes increasingly important for proton colliders with large energy stored in the beam such as LHC, for high power accelerators with a beam power of up to 10 MW, such as the European Spallation Source (ESS), and for linear colliders with high beam power and very small beam size. The reliability of Machine Protection Systems is crucial for safe machine operation; all possible sources of risk need to be taken into account in the early design stage. This paper presents a systematic approach to classify failures and to assess the associated risk, and discusses the impact of such considerations on the design of Machine Protection Systems. The application of this approach will be illustrated using the new design of the MPS for LINAC4, a linear accelerator under construction at CERN.