From Ralph Assmann
Some info from my side (good news): I have extended my performance model to include energy dependence of cleaning efficiency and quench limits. Going from 7 TeV to 5 TeV should gain about a factor 2.7 (for the same input assumptions for 2010).
So, looking at Mike's web site, his numbers (up to 11% of nominal intensity) are compatible with my estimates on maximum intensity. Will still be tough but we might go there! I attach a plot on energy dependence for tightest collimator settings (best cleaning). Illustrates the difficulty of high energy, due to challenges from stopping high energy p and decreasing quench limits...
The calculated total intensity limits are then at 5 TeV:
