The LHC Vacuum Pilot Sectors Project

The operation of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at nominal beam parameters is expected for the next years. Increased synchrotron-radiation stimulated-desorption and electron-cloud build-up are expected. A deep understanding of the interactions between the proton beams and the beam pipe wall is mandatory to control the anticipated beam-induced pressure rise. A Vacuum Pilot Sector (VPS) has been designed to monitor the performance of the vacuum system with time. The VPS is installed along a double LHC room temperature vacuum sector (18 m long, 80 mm inner diameter beam pipes) and includes 8 standard modules, 1.4 m long each. Such modules are equipped with residual gas analysers, Bayard-Alpert gauges, photon and electron flux monitors etc. The chosen modular approach opens the possibility of studying different configurations and implementing future modifications. This contribution will describe the apparatus, the control system designed to drive measurements and possible applications during the LHC Run 2.