Integration of proton beam collimation scheme in the spallation neutron source (SNS) accumulator ring including dose and activation estimates

This paper details the integration scheme as well as the induced activation by the proton beam clean-up system (collimation) in the accumulator ring section of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accelerator complex. Specifically, the results of the optimization study in terms of satisfying both the optics of the proton beam and the minimization of activation of the accelerator components as well as of the surrounding structure have guided both the design of the components and their integration and are presented in this paper. The resulted collimation scheme is a two-stage clean-up system consisting of proton beam halo intercepting scrapers and appropriate fixed aperture absorbers. The accumulator ring structure consists of the High Energy Beam Transfer (HEBT) line which receives the 1 GeV proton beam from the SNS LINAC accelerator, the accumulator ring itself which compiles the micro-pulses into the final 60 Hz pulse, and the RTBT line that transfers the final proton pulse to the accelerator target. Collimation takes place in all three ring components and along respective straight sections with the exception of the off-momentum particle clean-up in the HEBT line in which off-momentum protons are guided to a stationary absorber outside the transfer line. Given that the activation issues of the collimating structures themselves as well as of the nearby accelerator components (mainly magnets) are similar in all sections of the ring, the activation of components in the ring clean-up system will be discussed in detail in the following sections.