The introduction at CERN of new extremely energetic particle accelerators, such as the high-luminosity large hadron collider (HL-LHC) or the proposed future circular collider (FCC), will increase the energy stored in the circulating particle beams by almost a factor of two (from 360 to 680 MJ) and of more than 20 (up to 8500 MJ), respectively. In this scenario, it is paramount to assess the dynamic thermomechanical response of materials presently used, or being developed for future use, in beam intercepting devices (such as collimators, targets, dumps, absorbers, spoilers, windows, etc.) exposed to potentially destructive events caused by the impact of energetic particle beams. For this reason, a new HiRadMat experiment, named "MultiMat", was carried out in October 2017, with the goal of assessing the behaviour of samples exposed to high-intensity, high-energy proton pulses, made of a broad range of materials relevant for collimators and beam intercepting devices, thinfilm coatings and advanced equipment. This paper describes the experiment and its main results, collected online thanks to an extensive acquisition system and after the irradiation by non-destructive examination, as well as the numerical simulations performed to benchmark experimental data and extend materials constitutive models. Keywords Dynamic material behaviour • Thermomechanical stresses • Carbon-based and copper composites • Molybdenum and tungsten alloys • Particle beam impacts • Quasi-instantaneous heat deposition * M.

The ever-expanding requirements of high-power targets and accelerator equipment has highlighted the need for facilities capable of accommodating experiments with a diverse range of objectives. HiRadMat, a High Radiation to Materials testing facility at CERN has, throughout operation, established itself as a global user facility capable of going beyond its initial design goals. Pulsed high energy, high intensity, proton beams have been delivered to experiments ranging from materials testing, detector's prototype validation, radiation to electronics assessment and beam instrumentation. A 440 GeV/c proton beam is provided directly from the CERN SPS. Up to 288 bunches/pulse at a maximum pulse intensity of 3.5 × 1013 protons/pulse can be delivered. Through collaborative efforts, HiRadMat has developed into a state-of-the-art facility with improved in situ measurement routines, beam diagnostic systems and data acquisition techniques, offered to all users. This contribution summarises the recent experimental achievements, highlights previous facility enhancements and discusses potential future upgrades with particular focus on HiRadMat as a facility open to novel experiments.

The addition of silicon ions to hydroxyapatite (HA) provides a more inorganic bone-like chemical composition compared to stoichiometric HA. It is known to aid the bioactivity of the material and to improve the rates of osseointegration, osteoconduction and bone mineralisation. The literature, however, lacks detailed information regarding each step of the aqueous precipitation procedure to produce silicon-substituted HA (Si-HA). The current work utilised Raman spectroscopy at each stage of the aqueous precipitation method to determine how the silicate is incorporated into the HA structure when producing Si-HA. Raman spectra indicated that at the initial stages of the reaction the disilicate ion (Si2O76-) formed with the orthosilicate (SiO44-) ion becoming more dominant after sintering. The results demonstrated that the form of silicate in the Si-HA aqueous precipitation method can be tracked using Raman spectroscopy.

Two new absorbing materials were developed as collimator inserts to fulfil the requirements of HL-LHC higher brightness beams: molybdenum-carbide graphite (MoGr) and copper-diamond (CuCD). These materials were tested under intense beam impacts at CERN HiRadMat facility in 2015, when full jaw prototypes were irradiated. Additional tests in HiRadMat were performed in 2017 on another series of material samples, including also improved grades of MoGr and CuCD, and different coating solutions. This paper summarizes the main results of the two experiments, with a main focus on the behaviour of the novel composite blocks, the metallic housing, as well as the cooling circuit. The experimental campaign confirmed the final choice for the materials and the design solutions for HL-LHC collimators, and constituted a unique chance of benchmarking numerical models. In particular, the tests validated the selection of MoGr for primary and secondary collimators, and CuCD as a valid solution for robust tertiary collimators.

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