Collimation optimization in high intensity rings

In high intensity proton rings, collimation is needed in order to maintain reasonable levels of residual activation and allow hands-on maintenance. A small acceptance to emittance ratio and restrained longitudinal space become important restrictions when dealing with low energy rings. The constraints and specifications when designing a collimation system for this type of machine will be reviewed. The SNS accumulator ring will serve as an example along which we will illustrate the optimization path. Experimental studies of collimation with 1.3 GeV proton beams are currently under way in the U-70 machine in Protvino. The first results will be presented