The Mechanical Design for the LHC Collimators

The design of the LHC collimators must comply with the very demanding specifications entailed by the highly energetic beam handled in the LHC: these requirements impose a temperature on the collimating jaws not exceeding 50ºC in steady operations and an unparalleled overall geometrical stability of 25 micro-m on a 1200 mm span. At the same time, the design phase must meet the challenging deadlines required by the general time schedule. To respond to these tough and sometimes conflicting constraints, the chosen design appeals to a mixture of traditional and innovative technologies, largely drawing from LEP collimator experience. The specifications impose a low-Z material for the collimator jaws, directing the design towards such graphite or such novel materials as 3-d Carbon/carbon composites. An accurate mechanical design has allowed to considerably reduce mechanical play and optimize geometrical stability. Finally, all mechanical studies were supported by in-depth thermo-mechanical analysis concerning temperature distribution, mechanical strength and cooling efficiency.