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| HiRadMat | |
|---|---|
| Name | HiRadMat |
| Location | CERN, Meyrin |
| Established | 2011 |
| Type | Test facility |
| Operators | CERN |
HiRadMat
HiRadMat is a high-intensity radiation and materials testing facility located at CERN designed to study the response of materials and accelerator components to intense pulsed beams. It provides a unique platform for investigations relevant to particle accelerators, space missions, nuclear facilities, and high-energy physics experiments. The facility serves researchers from international laboratories, universities, and industry partners engaged in applied research on extreme beam-induced effects.
The facility was developed within the context of projects at CERN and aligns with programmes associated with Large Hadron Collider, Proton Synchrotron, Super Proton Synchrotron, Compact Muon Solenoid, ATLAS experiment, ALICE experiment, and other major installations. Its mission intersects with initiatives supported by European Space Agency, ITER Organization, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, and national laboratories such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, TRIUMF, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Paul Scherrer Institute, Czech Technical University in Prague, CERN Theory Division collaborations and industrial partners like Thales Group and Siemens. The programme contributes to technology roadmaps used by institutions including European Commission, STFC, National Science Foundation, and INFN.
The test area houses shielding, target stations, diagnostic instrumentation, and remote handling systems designed for high-energy impacts from proton and heavy-ion pulses originating from the Super Proton Synchrotron injector chain. Beam parameters are tailored with input from accelerator physics teams at CERN Accelerator School, Paul Scherrer Institute, and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY). The infrastructure includes controlled hot cells influenced by standards from International Atomic Energy Agency, compliance frameworks referenced by European Committee for Standardization, and engineering practices from CERN workshops. The hall supports instrumentation compatible with standards used at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, and metrology services from National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom).
Programs hosted combine structural testing, hydrodynamic response studies, material irradiation, and shock propagation experiments with diagnostics from collaborations with teams at MIT, Stanford University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, ETH Zurich, Technical University of Munich, Politecnico di Milano, and University of Manchester. Projects have been coordinated with detector R&D groups from CERN EP Department, Fermilab, DESY, and space hardware groups from European Space Agency. The capabilities support research that informs projects like High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, Future Circular Collider, Compact Linear Collider, International Linear Collider, ESS, and fusion-relevant work for ITER.
Experiments have examined material ablation, thermomechanical failure modes, and radiation-induced embrittlement relevant for targets, collimators, absorbers, and shielding used by LHC, ISOLDE, nTOF, CERN Neutrino Platform, and neutrino initiatives connected to Hyper-Kamiokande and DUNE. Results have been cited alongside modelling efforts from groups at CEA Saclay, CNR, CNRS, Max Planck Society, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and National Institute of Standards and Technology. Outcomes influenced design choices for components in experiments such as NA61/SHINE, COMPASS experiment, LHCb experiment, and upgrades to ALICE experiment detector support structures.
Safety systems follow regulatory frameworks aligned with recommendations from International Commission on Radiological Protection, European Atomic Energy Community, World Health Organization, and national regulators like Autorité de sûreté nucléaire and Office for Nuclear Regulation. Radiation protection and environmental monitoring engage specialists from CERN Radiation Protection Group, Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire, Paul Scherrer Institute, and industrial contractors experienced with Sellafield-class projects. Emergency response procedures are coordinated with local authorities in Geneva and Vaud and with international standards referenced by International Labour Organization and World Health Organization.
Operations rely on scheduling and beam delivery interfaces with PS Booster, ISOLDE facility, SPS North Area, and TT10 transfer lines. Instrumentation integrates high-speed cameras, beam loss monitors, thermocouples, strain gauges, laser Doppler vibrometers, and X-ray imaging systems developed in cooperation with groups at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Diamond Light Source, MAX IV Laboratory, SOLEIL, and university laboratories. Data analysis and simulation tools utilize codes and platforms from CERN Openlab, Geant4, FLUKA, ANSYS, LS-DYNA, Abaqus, and workflow environments adopted by GRID computing projects and collaborations with Enrico Fermi Institute teams.
The facility is managed by divisions and departments at CERN with governance involving stakeholder institutes including European Space Agency, DESY, INFN, STFC, CNRS, CERN Council, and national funding agencies such as Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Collaborative governance models draw on consortia practices from projects like LHC experiments, ITER, Human Brain Project, and Square Kilometre Array. Scientific oversight includes external review panels with experts from Max Planck Society, European Research Council, Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences (United States), and university partners.
Category:Research facilities