Engineering topics
Seberg, S
Publications and source records attributed to Seberg, S.
Overview of recent studies and modifications being made to RHIC to mitigate the effects of a potential failure to the helium distribution system
In order to cool the superconducting magnets in RHIC, its helium refrigerator distributes 4.5 K helium throughout the tunnel along with helium distribution for the magnet line recoolers, the heat shield, and the associated return lines. The worse case for failure would be a release from the magnet distribution line which operates at 3.5 to 4.5 atmospheres and contains the energized magnet but with a potential energy of 70 MJoules should the insulation system fail or an electrical connection opens. Studies were done to determine release rate of the helium and the resultant reduction in O{sub 2} concentration in the RHIC tunnel and service buildings. Equipment and components were also reviewed for design and reliability and modifications were made to reduce the likelihood of failure and to reduce the volume of helium that could be released.
RHIC 12x150A current lead temperature controller: design and implementation
There are 60 12 x 150A current leads distributed in six RHIC service buildings; each lead delivers power supply current from room temperature to cryogenic temperature in RHIC. Due to the humid environment, condensation occurs frequently and ice forms quickly during operation, especially during an extensive storage period. These conditions generate warnings and alarms to which personnel must respond and establish temporary solutions to keep the machine operating. In here, we designed a temperature control system to avoid such situations. This paper discusses its design, implementation, and some results. There are six service buildings in the RHIC complex; each building has two valve boxes that transfer room-temperature current cables from the power supplies into superconducting leads, and then transport them into the RHIC tunnel. In there, the transition between the room-temperature lead into superconducting lead is critical and essential; smooth running during the physics store is crucial for the machine's continuing operation. One of the problems that often occurred previously was the icing of these current leads that could result in a potential leakage current onto ground, thereby preventing a continuous supply of physics store. Fig. 1 illustrates a typical example on a power lead. Among the modifications of the design of the valve box, we list below the new requirements for designing the temperature controller to prevent icing occurring: (1) Remotely control, monitor, and record each current lead's temperature in real time. Prevent icing or overheating of a power lead. (2) Include a temperature alarm for the high/low level threshold. In this paper we discuss the design, implementation, upgrades to, and operation of this new system.