In March, FRIB staff successfully cooled down the facility’s cryogenic distribution system, making it operational. The cryodistribution system along the second segment of FRIB’s linear accelerator was cooled to 4 kelvin (K). The first leg was cooled to 4 K in April 2018, and has been supplying liquid helium to the cryomodules along segment 1 of FRIB’s linear accelerator.

This is a significant milestone for the FRIB Project. The cryogenic plant makes cold helium, which is critical to operating the linear accelerator. The FRIB cryoplant had made its first liquid helium at 4.5 K in November 2017. It now produces 4 K liquid helium.

FRIB’s beam-accelerating cryomodules contain superconducting radio frequency cavities that operate at temperatures hundreds of degrees below zero. The distribution system supplies liquid helium to the superconducting cavities and magnets. The cold helium will make the cavities superconducting.