Central He distribution service upgrade status and dedicated He distribution for AD

1. Central He distribution service upgrade status and dedicated He distribution for AD K. Barth on behalf of TE/CRG ADUC and ELENA Meeting Wednesday, September 28, 2011

2. Consolidation proposal of the Central LHe distribution systemMemos March, Sept. 2010, Approval Dec. 2010 Approved and funded phase 1 Under study and not funded phase 2 Liquid helium transportable containers fleet increase (action in 2010) Increase of the liquid helium production capacity (action in 2011) Manage liquefaction overcapacity of the bld. 163 liquefier (action in 2011) Increase of the liquid helium fixed storage capacity (action in 2011) Pre-study to evaluate the cost of a dedicated LHe distribution for AD (action in 2011)

3. Central LHe distribution service current situation

4. Increase of the central service liquid helium distribution capacity – status update • Implementation of a nitrogen pre-cooling unit, reach a max. production capacity of 84’000 l/month (100 l/h liquefaction rate) • Central Liquefier cold box opened and 1stHX LN2 connection verified/established • Construction /installation of transfer line for supply from Cryolab LN2 reservoir • Modification of instrumentation and process control • Commissioning and optimization (change of CB turbines) of new operation mode • Increase LHe buffer during no delivery periods (nights and week-ends), purchase and installation of a fixed storage (20’000 l) • Qualified companies selected in agreement with purchasing service • Technical specification is presently created, based on experience with previous specified LHe reservoirs. • Interconnect the two liquefaction units (bld. 165 and bld. 163) using new thermally insulated transfer lines to the additional liquid helium storage. • P&I diagram of implementation and interconnection with existing infrastructure • Choice of geographical location and integration

5. Estimate of future demands for the central LHe distribution service from clients feedback

6. How to cover in future the 450 000 l LHe ?(90 l/h over 30 weeks of physics run / 5 000 running hours) Main demand (83%,370’000 l/year) from AD experiments Appropriate infrastructure (liquefier, He storage, GHe recovery / purification) located at bldg. 165/253 (Cryolab Zone) Transport of 20 – 24 x 500 l dewars between CL and AD per week, which have to be crane lifted into the experiments zones Dedicated AD LHe ring line for supply of 370’000 to 400’000 l LHe in batches of 10’000 l: 1 - 2 of 10k LHedewar to be transported between CL and AD per week instead of 20 – 24 x 500 l dewars, which have to be crane lifted into the experiments zonesLN2 demands of all 4 experiments could be also centralized and satisfied via batch transfer through the (thermal shield circuits) the same ring line

7. Dedicated LHe & LN2 distribution for AD experiments Based on dedicated intermediate storage reservoirs for LHe and LN2 which supply the four AD experiments inside the hall via a cryogenic distribution ring line.

8. P&I AD LHe/LN2 distribution

9. Preliminary Cost Estimate for dedicated AD LHe distribution LHe/LN2 transfer ring line (150 m): 400 kCHF One stationary, intermediate LHe storage reservoir: 100 kCHF, plus an additional 10k mobile LHedewar: 80 kCHF LN2 storage reservoir: 12 kCHF/year (rental), 150 kCHF (buy) Process control / instrumentation: 100 kCHF CERN Manpower requirements to be estimated TOTAL: 600 – 800 kCHFin addition to the 300 kCHF already approved for phase 1

10. Conclusion/Recommendation • With the presently known user LHe demands for 2012 and onwards, phase 1 is sufficient ! • Phase 2 (not approved) could be implemented for the restart of the LHC injectors in 2014 • Main gain with the implementation of phase 2 would be: • No crane handling and less transport logistics for delivering LHe and LN2 to the four AD experiments • The operation and maintenance of the AD LHe and LN2 distribution system would be performed by cryogenics group according to optimized procedures, which will reduce turnover (and associated losses) of GHe to recovery and purification system Thank you for your attention.

11. Central Liquefier cold box modifications during 2011 SD Fortunately we have excellent welders at CERN! And on top of this they are compact enough to weld even in difficult spaces! Great job! HX was not damaged and all circuits are proved to be leak tight. Additional vacuum tank passage created to connect LN2 transfer line to HX. De-installation of CB and transport to workshop for validation if HX has a LN2 circuit implemented! Good news: It has!Bad news: there is no transition piece AL – Inox pre-installed and only limited space available . The transition piece to be installed is very short, difficult and critical welding. Overheating can create a leak on the HX He and LN2 circuit, which would mean the CB is gone! (HX replacement )

12. Commissioning and optimization (change of CB turbines) of new operation mode • Presently (started Wed. 15.6.2011) the LN2 pre-cooling is tested and commissioned • First performance/liquefaction measurements doneVery preliminary result from first 12 hours of continuous running: liquefaction rate > 120 l/h • For maximum performance T1 of the CL coldbox has to be replaced. Required turbine type should be in spares stores. • Back

13. Purchase and installation of an additional LHe storage (20’000 l) - status • Back Process/flow/instrumentation diagram how to integrate an additional LHe reservoir into existing infrastructure (on-going, production in a standard electronic format) Location / physical implementation of the new reservoir (on-going, choice of the geographical location done) Creation of tech. specification for a purchase of the a stationary storage tank. On-going (on-going, choice of suppliers done, writing of tech. spec. taking into account implementation and defined supply interface)

14. P&I diagram of integration and interface of new LHe reservoir • Functional analysis of implementation • Operational wishes, taken into account: • Connect filling and supply side with 163 cable test facility and central LHe services bldg. 165 • Provide (additional) filling/supply point of LHe mobile dewars (100 – 500 l, 10’000 l, LHe containers from suppliers) • Minimize GHe flash during (batch) transfers to mobile dewars • Keep a maximum of existing infrastructure, which is in good condition (dewar filling station inside bldg. 165) • Operation of 163 test facility independently of new reservoir possible due to new transfer lines. • Increase GHe inventory of the zone to keep balance with increased LHe storage. New warm GHe line between bldg. 165 and bldg. 180 additional budget of 120 kCHF needed • Interface to new reservoir • Standard stationary LHe reservoir of the supplier • valve box connected via GHe and LHe collectors to new tank (external supply, option of the reservoir supply contract) • Careful dimensioning (buffer volume) of GHe collector to allow parallel supply from three sources! • Back

15. Location / physical implementation of the new reservoir No interference with presently on-going consolidation of bldg. 165 Close to use existing dewar filling station with LHe flowing by gravity 163 165 Longer transfer line to connect 163 from/to new storage reservoir, calculation of required dP on-going. Installation with two mobile cranes as done for the LN2 reservoir in the zone. • Back

16. Standard LHe reservoir 4 (5) Qualified companies CRYO DIFFUSION S.A. France / VRV S.p.A. ITALY CRYO AB, Sweden Gardner Cryogenics, US Wessington Cryogenics, UK • Back