Design, fabrication, commissioning, and testing of a 250 g/s, 2-K helium cold compressor system
In June 1999 the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF) Cryogenic Systems Group had completed the design, fabrication, and commissioning of a cold compressor system capable of pumping 250 g/s of 2-K helium vapor to a pressure above 1 bar. The 2-K cold box consists of five stages of centrifugal variable speed compressors with LN2 cooled drive motors and magnetic bearings, a plate fin heat exchanger, and an LN2 shield system. The new 2-K cold box (referred to as the SCN) was built as a redundant system to an existing four stage cold compressor SCM cold box that was commissioned in May 1994. The SCN has been in continuous service supporting the facility experiments since commissioning. This system has achieved a significant improvement in the total 2-K refrigeration system capacity and stability and has substantially increased the operating envelope both in cold compressor flow and operating pressure range. This paper describes the cold box configuration and the experience s in the design, fabrication, commissioning and performance evaluation. The capacity of the system for various operating pressures (0.040 to 0.025 bar at the load corresponding to a total compressor pressure ratio of 28 to 54) is presented. An effort is made to characterize the components and their operating data over the tested range. This includes the return side pressure drop in the distribution system, the heat exchanger, and the cold compressor characteristics. The system design parameters and their effects on performance are outlined.
- Research Organization:
- Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research (ER) (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84ER40150
- OSTI ID:
- 804863
- Report Number(s):
- JLAB-ACC-01-38; DOE/ER/40150-2380; TRN: US0205585
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Cryogenic Engineering Conference And The International Cryogenic Materials Conference (CEC / ICMC 2001), Madison, WI (US), 07/16/2001--07/20/2001; Other Information: AIP Conference Proceedings -- May 10, 2002 -- Volume 613, Issue 1, pp. 288-304; PBD: 10 May 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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