Status of engineering development of CCDTL for accelerator production of tritium

The Coupled-Cavity Drift Tube Linac (CCDTL) is a relatively new RF accelerator structure which plays a major role in the APT Low-Energy Linac (LEL) design. Engineering development is pushing ahead on several fronts, including thermal management, fabrication procedures, cavity and coupling slot tuning, high-power prototype fabrication and testing, supports and alignment, vacuum, and provisions for beam diagnostics. Fabrication of the CCDTL Low-Beta Hot Model is nearly complete, and high-power RF tests will commence soon. In 1999, the authors will begin the fabrication of 11 meters of CCDTL to be added to the Low-Energy Demonstration Accelerator. In 2001, it will take the 100 mA beam from 6.7 MeV to 10.05 MeV, producing the world`s most powerful proton beam. The authors are also starting the design of a CCDTL 96 MeV Hot Model to demonstrate cooling of an intermediate-Beta version of the structure. The 14cm-long, 9cm diameter drift tube has roughly 5kW dissipated on it. This all leads to the final mechanical design of the 113m long CCDTL for the APT plant linac.