D. Stout

Status of the SNS cryomodule test

The cryomodule tests are on going to have better understandings of physics as a whole and eventually to provide safe and reliable operation for neutron production. Some features are revealed to be interesting issues and need more attentions than expected, such as operating condition, collective effects between cavities, HOM coupler issues, end-group stability, cavity-coupler interactions, and vacuum/gas physics, waiting for more investigations. Up to now SNS cryomodules were mainly tested at 2.1 K/4.4 K, 10 pulse per second (pps) and 30 pps/60 pps tests are under progress. This paper presents briefly the experiences and the observations during tests of cryomodules.

Status of the Cryogenic System Commissioning at SNS

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is under construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The cold section of the Linac consists of 81 superconducting radio frequency cavities cooled to 2.1K by a 2400 Watt cryogenic refrigeration system. The major cryogenic system components include warm helium compressors with associated oil removal and gas management, 4.5K cold box, 7000L liquid helium dewar, 2.1K cold box (consisting of 4 stages of cold compressors), gaseous helium storage, helium purification and gas impurity monitoring system, liquid nitrogen storage and the cryogenic distribution transfer line system. The overall system commissioning strategy and status will be presented.

Installation of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) Superconducting Linac

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) superconducting linac (SCL) consists of 11 medium beta (0.61) and 12 high beta (0.81) superconducting RF cryomodules, 32 intersegment quadrupole magnet/diagnostics stations, 9 spool beampipes for future upgrade cryomodules, and two differential pumping stations on either end of the SCL. The cryomodules and spool beampipes were designed and manufactured by Jefferson Laboratory, and the quadrupole magnets and beam position monitors were designed and furnished by Los Alamos National Laboratory. Remaining items were designed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. At present the SCL is being installed and tested. This paper discusses the experience gained during installation and the performance in terms of mechanical and cryogenic systems.

Status and performance of the spallation neutron source superconducting linac

The Superconducting Linac at SNS has been operating with beam for almost two years. As the first operational pulsed superconducting linac, many of the aspects of its performance were unknown and unpredictable. A lot of experience has been gathered during the commissioning of its components, during the beam turn on and during operation at increasingly higher beam power. Some cryomodules have been cold for well over two years and have been extensively tested. The operation has been consistently conducted at 4.4 K and 10 and 15 pulses per second, with some cryomodules tested at 30 and 60 Hz and some tests performed at 2 K. Careful balance between safe operational limits and the study of conditions, parameters and components that create physical limits has been achieved.

SNS Cryogenic Systems Commissioning

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is under construction at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The cold section of the Linac consists of 81 superconducting radio frequency cavities cooled to 2.1K by a 2400 watt cryogenic refrigeration system. The major cryogenic system components include warm helium compressors with associated oil removal and gas management, 4.5K cold box, 7000L liquid helium dewar, 2.1K cold box (consisting of 4 stages of cold compressors), gaseous helium storage, helium purification and gas impurity monitoring system, liquid nitrogen storage and the cryogenic distribution transfer line system. The overall system commissioning and future plans will be presented.

4.2 K Operation of the SNS Cryomodules

The Spallation Neutron Source being built at Oak Ridge National Laboratory employs eighty one 805 MHz superconducting cavities operated at 2.1 K to accelerate the H-beam from 187 MeV to about 1 GeV. The superconducting cavities and cryomodules with two different values of beta (. 61 and .81) have been designed and constructed at Jefferson Lab for operation at 2.1 K with unloaded Q’s in excess of 5×109. To gain experience in testing cryomodules in the SNS tunnel before the final commissioning of the 2.1 K Central Helium Liquefier, integration tests are being conducted on the cryomodules at 4.2 K. This is the first time that a superconducting cavity system specifically designed for 2.1 K operation has been extensively tested at 4.2 K without superfluid helium.

Status of the spallation neutron source superconducting RF facilities

The spallation neutron source (SNS) project was completed with only limited superconducting RF (SRF) facilities installed as part of the project. A concerted effort has been initiated to install the infrastructure and equipment necessary to maintain and repair the superconducting Linac, and to support power upgrade research and development (R&D). Installation of a Class 10/100/10,000 cleanroom and outfitting of the test cave with RF, vacuum, controls, personnel protection and cryogenics systems is underway. A horizontal cryostat, which can house a helium vessel/cavity and fundamental power coupler for full power, pulsed testing, is being procured. Equipment for cryomodule assembly and disassembly is being procured. This effort, while derived from the experience of the SRF community, will provide a unique high power test capability as well as long term maintenance capabilities. This paper presents the current status and the future plans for the SNS SRF facilities.

Design and high power processing of RFQ input power couplers

A RF power coupling system has been developed for future upgrade of input coupling of the RFQ in the SNS linac. The design employs two coaxial loop couplers for 402.5 MHz operation. Each loop is fed through a coaxial ceramic window that is connected to an output of a magic-T waveguide hybrid through a coaxial to waveguide transition. The coaxial loop couplers are designed, manufactured, and high power processed. Two couplers will be used in parallel to power the accelerating structure with up to total 800 kW peak power at 6% duty cycle. RF and mechanical properties of the couplers are discussed. Result of high power RF conditioning that is performed in the RF test facility of the SNS is presented.

Status Report on the Installation of the Warm Sections for the Superconducting Linac at the SNS

The SNS superconducting linac (SCL) consists of 23 cryomodules (CMs), with possibly 9 additional CMs being added for future energy upgrade from 1 GeV to 1.3 GeV[1, 2]. A total of 32 warm sections separate the comparatively short CMs, and this allows a CM exchange within 48 hours, in order to meet demanding beam availability specifications. The 32 warm section chambers are installed between each pair of CMs, with each section containing a quadrupole doublet, beam diagnostics, and pumping [3]. The chambers are approximately 1.6 m long, have one bellows installed at each end for alignment, and are pumped by one ion-pump. The preparation and installation of these chambers must be made under stringent clean and particulate-free conditions, in order to ensure that the performance of the SCL CMs is not compromised. This paper discusses the development of the cleaning, preparation, and installation procedures that have been adopted for the warm sections, and the vacuum performance of the system.

OPERATION OF THE SUPERCONDUCTING LINAC AT THE SPALLATION NEUTRON SOURCE

At the Spallation Neutron Source, the first fully operational pulsed superconducting linac has been active for about two years. During this period, stable beam operation at 4.4 K has been achieved with beam for repetition rates up to 15 Hz and 30 Hz at 2.1 K. At the lower temperature 60 Hz RF pulses have been also used. Full beam energy has been achieved at 15 Hz and short beam pulses. Most of the time the superconducting cavities are operated at somewhat lower gradients to improve reliability. A large amount of data has been collected on the pulsed behavior of cavities and SRF modules at various repetition rates and at various temperatures. This experience will be of great value in determining future optimizations of SNS as well in guiding in the design and operation of future pulsed superconducting linacs. This paper describes the details of the cryogenic system and RF properties of the SNS superconducting linac.