This course will present material on the specification, design, and analysis of electrical/electronic/programmable electronic safety systems for use in the protection of personnel, equipment, and the environment. Basic principles of accelerator system safety will be presented along with examples of systems in use today. Systems covered include ionizing radiation interlocks, non-ionizing radiation (e.g., laser and radiofrequency), safety interlocks, access control systems, electrical system interlocks, machine protection devices, beam abort and blocking devices, and oxygen deficiency monitoring systems. Topics covered include hazard analysis, reliability calculations, and high-assurance system design. The course will focus on practical issues such as reliability versus availability, software versus hardware systems, and management of change. The system safety part of the course will cover statutory and regulatory requirements for safety in accelerators as well as the development and management of safety systems. Topics include statutory requirements, safety assessment, safety envelopes, and quality assurance. Finally, there is a discussion of how to approach accelerator hazards not normally mitigated by safety systems. During the course, students will be tasked with evaluation, design, and analysis of safety systems for a hypothetical accelerator.
Prerequisites: Basic undergraduate background in physical science and a mathematical background at least through first-year undergraduate calculus.
Radiation physics for personnel and environmental protection at accelerators will be presented in this course. The composition of accelerator radiation fields for electron, proton, and ion accelerators at all energies will be reviewed extensively. Building upon this basic information, the methods of designing radiation shielding at accelerators will be presented. Specific attention will be devoted to low-energy neutron phenomena that are found at nearly all accelerators. The production of induced radioactivity in both accelerator components and environmental media will be discussed in detail. A discussion of radiation detection instrumentation that has been found to be particularly useful in understanding accelerator radiation fields will be included. Finally, a synopsis of the program elements of a successful accelerator radiation protection program will be given. The problems that accompany the course are designed to promote understanding of the theoretical material, foster the ability to solve problems related to accelerator radiation physics, and lead to an intuitive comprehension of radiation physics at accelerators.
Prerequisites: Basic undergraduate background in physical science and a mathematical background at least through first-year undergraduate calculus. An application for continuing education credits has been made to the American Academy of Health Physics for this course. Such credits have been granted in the past.