Upgrades of the Target Dump Externals for the Large Hadron Collider

The Large Hadron Collider provides high-energy particles for fundamental research at The European Organization for Nuclear Research. The comprehensive complex is continuously upgraded to allow increased particle beam energy and is expected to reach 680MJ towards High Luminosity in 2027. The Target Dumps Externals are essential security equipment capable of absorbing the energy of the beams. In this thesis, a new downstream flange design and vessel weld configuration are evaluated for the construction of the Target Dump External spares to ensure a safe design capable of withstanding the loads upon beam absorption. Using explicit finite element analysis, upgrades are optimized for increased performance, highlighting design challenges and proposals for improvements.