Alternative material choices to reduce activation of extraction equipment

At CERN, the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is equipped with a resonant slow extraction system in Long Straight Section 2 (LSS2) towards the fixed target (FT) beam lines in the North Area. The extraction region provides the physics experiments with a quasi-DC flux of high-energy protons over a few seconds, which corresponds to tens of thousands of turns. The resonant slow extraction process provokes beam losses and is therefore the origin of radiation damage and the production of induced radioactivity in this region of the machine. This induced radioactivity imposed high constraints on the equipment design to be reliable to minimise the radiation exposure to personnel during machine maintenance. A detailed FLUKA model was developed in order to better understand the beam loss patterns, activation of the machine and to identify equipment components that could be optimised to reduce the residual dose related hazards. Simulations identified multiple alternative materials for extraction equipment components as well as shielding locations, which implementation could reduce residual activation hazards.