Statistical studies of the robustness of the LHC main dipole mechanical structure

This paper describes two methods used to study the effect of the tolerances of the components on the structure of the LHC main dipole. The first method, called semi-statistical, is useful for the determination of the acceptable variance of the dimensions of magnet components. The second one, fully statistical, allows the study of the combined effect of many parameters. The use of these two methods allowed to evaluate with good confidence the robustness of two different dipole cross-section designs, featuring austenitic and aluminium alloy collars, respectively.