Design and construction of a cryogenic subcooler-box for supplying single phase supercritical helium to dark matter and gravitational wave experiments

TL;DR

This paper details the design and implementation of a cryogenic subcooler-box system that supplies high-capacity, adjustable supercritical helium cooling for large-scale dark matter and gravitational wave experiments at DESY.

Contribution

It introduces the ALPS Cryo-Platform Subcooler Box (ACPS), a novel cryogenic system capable of independently managing helium cooling for multiple experiments with high heat loads.

Findings

Successful design and installation of the ACPS system.

Capability to supply three different cooling levels.

Integration of cryogenic components for autonomous operation.

Abstract

We report on the design, development, and installation of the ALPS Cryo-Platform Subcooler Box (ACPS), which is part of the cryogenic platform being established in the HERA North Hall at DESY to supply helium for cooling large-scale dark-matter and gravitational-wave experiments with very high heat loads. The ACPS is capable of subcooling supercritical helium supplied via the 1.6-km-long HERA transfer line by means of a pipe heat exchanger immersed in a subcooler bath filled with liquid helium produced through Joule-Thomson valves. It is also equipped with numerous cryogenic components, including control valves, flow meters, and safety valves, enabling experimental operation to be carried out directly by the ACPS itself and thereby reducing the cryogenic requirements imposed on the experiments. To support a wide range of experiments, the ACPS provides three transfer lines that deliver different levels of cooling power.