The DIII-D cryogenic system upgrade

The original DIII-D cryogenic system was commissioned in 1981 and was used to cool the cryopanel arrays for three hydrogen neutral beam injectors. Since then, new demands for liquid helium have arisen including: a fourth neutral beam injector, ten superconducting magnets for the electron cyclotron heating gyrotrons, and more recently, the advanced divertor cryopump which resides inside the tokamak vacuum vessel. The original cryosystem could not meet these demands. Consequently, the cryosystem was upgraded in several phases to increase capacity, improve reliability, and reduce maintenance. The majority of the original system has been replaced with superior equipment. The capacity now exists to support present as well as future demands for liquid helium at DIII-D including a hydrogen pellet injector, which is being constructed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Upgrades to the cryosystem include: a recently commissioned 150 l/hr helium liquefier, two 55 g/sec helium screw compressors, a fully automated 20-valve cryogen distribution box, a high efficiency helium wet expander, and the conversion of equipment from manual or pneumatic to programmable logic controller (PLC) control. The distribution box was designed and constructed for compactness due to limited space availability. Overall system efficiency was significantly improved by replacing the existing neutral beam reliquefier Joule-Thomson valve with a reciprocating wet expander. The implementation of a PLC-based automatic control system has resulted in increased efficiency and reliability. This paper will describe the cryosystem design with emphasis on newly added equipment. In addition, performance and operational experience will be discussed.