  The Beam Dump Facility (BDF) is a project for a new facility at CERN
dedicated to high intensity beam dump and fixed target experiments. Currently
in its design phase, the first aim of the facility is to search for Light Dark
Matter and Hidden Sector models with the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP)
experiment. At the core of the facility sits a dense target/dump, whose
function is to absorb safely the 400 GeV/c Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) beam
and to maximize the production of charm and beauty mesons. An average power of
300 kW will be deposited on the target, which will be subjected to
unprecedented conditions in terms of temperature, structural loads and
irradiation. In order to provide a representative validation of the target
design, a prototype target has been designed, manufactured and tested under the
SPS fixed-target proton beam during 2018, up to an average beam power of 50 kW,
corresponding to 350 kJ per pulse. The present contribution details the target
prototype design and experimental setup, as well as a first evaluation of the
measurements performed during beam irradiation. The analysis of the collected
data suggests that a representative reproduction of the operational conditions
of the Beam Dump Facility target was achieved during the prototype tests, which
will be complemented by a Post Irradiation Examination campaign during 2020.
