Increasing the Useful Life of Quench Reliefs with Inconel Bellows
- Fermilab
Reliable quench relief valves are an important part of superconducting magnet systems. Fermilab developed bellows-actuated cryogenic quench reliefs which have been in use since the early l 980's. The original design uses a stainless steel bellows. A high frequency, low amplitude vibration during relieving events has resulted in fatigue failures in the original design. To take advantage of the improved resistance to fatigue of Inconel, a nickel-chromium alloy, reliefs using Inconel 625 bellows were made. Design, development, and testing of the new version reliefs will be discussed. Tests show that relief valve lifetimes using Inconel bellows are more than five times greater than when using the original stainless steel bellows. Inconel bellows show great promise in increasing the lifetime of quench relief valves, and thus the reliability of accelerator cryogenic systems.
- Research Organization:
- Fermi National Accelerator Lab. (FNAL), Batavia, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), High Energy Physics (HEP)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11359
- OSTI ID:
- 1256331
- Report Number(s):
- FERMILAB-CONF-99-425-AD; 1467154
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Fatigue life prediction for finite ratchetting of bellows at cryogenic temperatures
REACTOR AND PRESSURIZER RELIEF VALVE BELLOWS REPTURE TEST. CORE I, SEED 2. SECTION 1. Test Results (RNI-43)