Cryogenic benches for superfluid helium testing of full-scale prototype superconducting magnetsfor the CERN LHC project

Abstract

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project at CERN will make massive use ofhigh-field superconducting magnets, operating below 1.9 K in pressurized superfluid helium. Reception testing of these magnets requires dedicated cryogenic facilities, consisting of an array of single-magnet test benches fed from a common large-capacity refrigeration system. Following installation and commissioning of general. cryogenic infrastructure, we have designed and constructed two such cryogenic benches, and are operating the first one for tests of 10-m long LHC prototype dipole cryomagnets supplied by European industry. We describe system architecture, cryogenic process and constructional features of these benches in the following, and report on test results in a companion paper.