Steady-State Cryogenic Operations for the UKRI-STFC Daresbury SRF Vertical Test Facility

A novel vertical test facility has been developed, commissioned, and entered steady-state operations at the UKRI-STFC Daresbury Laboratory. The cryostat is designed to test 3 jacketed superconducting RF cavities in a horizontal configuration in a single cool-down run at 2 K. The cavities are cooled with superfluid helium filled into their individual helium jackets. This reduces the liquid helium consumption by more than 70% in comparison with the conventional facilities operational elsewhere. The facility is currently undertaking a 2-year program to qualify 84 high-beta SRF cavities for the ESS (European Spallation Source) as part of the UK’s in-kind contribution. This paper reports on the steady-state operations, along with a detailed discussion of the cryogenic performance of the facility, including that of the cryoplant.
Proceedings of the 31st International Linear Accelerator Conference, LINAC2022, Liverpool, UK