Analysis and Testing of a New RF Bridge Concept as an Alternative to Conventional Sliding RF Fingers in LHC

RF fingers are used as transition elements in beam vacuum line interconnections to ensure the continuity of the vacuum system wall within acceptable beam stability requirements. The RF fingers must absorb and compensate longitudinal, angular and transversal misalignments due to both thermal effects, during bake-out or cooldown processes, and mechanical movements during assembly, alignment, commissioning and operation phases. The new RF bridge concept is based on a deformable thin-walled structure in copper beryllium, which fulfils the above requirements without the need of sliding contacts. Mechanical tests have been carried out to characterize the response and the lifetime of such a component under different loading conditions. In addition, finite element models have been used to estimate the behaviour. The influence of different material grades and heat treatments on the reliability is presented. The paper includes a detailed analysis of the prototyping and testing phases that have led to a final design of the system, qualified on a dedicated test bench, for the collimator vacuum modules of LHC.