Beam Simulation Studies for the Upgrade of the SPS Beam Dumping System

The SPS at CERN currently uses a beam dumping system that is installed in the long straight section 1 (LSS1) of the SPS. This system consists of two beam stopper blocks for low and high energy beams, as well as two vertical and three horizontal kicker magnets, which deflect and dilute the beam on the dumps. Within the frame of the LHC injector upgrade project (LIU) the beam dumping system will be relocated to long straight section 5 (LSS5) and upgraded with an additional vertical kicker, new main switches and a single new beam dump, which covers the full energy range. The impact of a possible increase of the vertical kicker rise time on the beam has been studied in simulations with MAD-X for the different optics in the SPS. Furthermore, the impact on the beam in failure scenarios such as the non-firing of one kicker has been investigated. The results of these studies will be presented and discussed in this paper. Operational mitigation methods to deal with an increased rise time will also be discussed.