bima cryogenics

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					BIMA cryogenics
Normal operation. Monitor from the antennas > 6-meter > receivers multiple> cryo rtd page.

          sensor        what is it?                              normal range
          stage1        outer dewar radiation shield temp        40 - 80 K
          stage2        inner dewar radiation shield temp        11 - 18 K
          stage3        coldest refrigerator stage temp          2.8 - 4.5 K
          stage4        3mm mixer block temp                     3.2 - 5.0 K
          stage5        1mm mixer block temp                     3.2 - 5.0 K
          heater3v      voltage to mixer block heaters           0 V (normally off)
          heater3ma     (mislabeled as mA, should be mW)         0 mW (normally off)
                        power to mixer block heaters
          inlet         inlet air temp for compressor            10-35 C
          disch         gas discharge temp                       40-90 C
          exch          heat exchanger temp                      15-40 C
          sump          oil sump temperature                     20-50 C
          supply        helium supply pressure                   245-290 psi
          return        helium return pressure                   30-70 psi


   symptom                        problem                         action
   dewar warming up               compressor has tripped off      restart compressor (see
   (stage1,2,3 temperatures all   (supply and return pressures    below)
   warmer than normal, and        nearly equal, gas discharge
   increasing)                    temperature low)
                                  compressor is running, but      restart cold head (see
                                  cold head is not                below)
                                  low helium pressure (supply     add helium at manifold,
                                  < 200 psi, return < 50 psi)     look for leak
                                  low pressure differential       replace compressor or cold
                                  (supply < 220, return > 80)     head
   dewar stage3 warmer than       mixer block heaters are on      turn off heaters
   normal (> 4.5 K) but stage1    (heater3V > 0)
   and stage2 are OK              cold head running at fast       switch speed controller
                                  speed (stage3 ~ 5K)             from fast to slow
                                  contaminant buildup in cold     (1) defrost cycle; (2) partial
                                  head, or bad stage 3 seal       wamup flushing procedure;
                                                                  (3) rebuild cold head
   dewar stage2 temperature       bad stage2 seal                 rebuild cold head, replace
   high (> 20 K), but stage1                                      seal
   and stage2 are OK
   dewar stage1 temperature       bad dewar vacuum (outer         pump out dewar with
   high (>80 C), but stage2       dewar shell exceptionally       vacuum pump, look for leak
and stage3 are OK              cold, or frost-covered)
                               bad stage1 seal               rebuild cold head, replace
                               low helium pressure           add helium at manifold,
                                                             look for leak
compressor won't start or      bad 3-phase switch            replace switch
trips off within seconds       compressor too cold (sump     make sure sump heater
                               < 15 C)                       switch is on
                               missing phase                 look for burned wiring at
                                                             plug or inside electrical box
                               breaker tripped in breaker    check breaker in electrical
                               box (note: 2 min time         panel (far side of platform
                               delay!)                       from compressor)
compressor starts, but gas     compressor too cold or        disconnect helium lines, run
discharge temp climbs          hasn't been run in a long     with bypass tube for ~30
rapidly (to > 100 C),          time                          minutes until compressor
compressor trips off in a                                    warms up
few minutes                    internal fan not working      replace fan motor
cold head won't operate fast   bad cold head pwr switch      replace switch
or slow                        on compressor
cold head operates on fast     bad speed controller          replace speed controller
but not slow speed
cold head fibrillates (loud    blown fuse on rear of         check fuses, replace as
clattering sound)              compressor's electrical box   necessary (temporary fix –
                                                             will probably blow again)
                               displacers or scotch yoke     rebuild cold head, making
                               too tight, motor stalls       sure that displacers can
                                                             center themselves
cold head operates in wrong    3-phase power has wrong       interchange any 2 wires
direction (CCW as viewed       phase                         (except GND!) in the
through sight glass) on fast                                 compressor's electrical plug
speed; OK on slow speed
return pressure unusually      broken reed valve in          replace compressor
high (100 psi or higher)       compressor
                               leaky inlet valve in cold     repair the cold head
helium leak                    loose Teflon valve seats on   tighten the valve seat nut
                               large manifold valves (cold   under the black handle
                               cracked flex line (usually    search for leak with Snoop
                               near one end)                 or leak detector; replace
                                                             faulty flex line
                               faulty Aeroquip fitting       clean grit out of fitting, or
Cooldown from ambient temperature.

 Normally it is not necessary to repump the dewar with a vauum pump, unless the dewar was
 Check helium pressures on the gauges on the right-hand wall of the receiver cabin. With
  neither compressor nor cold head running, the static pressure should be approximately 250 psi.
  Add helium (only ultra high purity, grade 5.0) if necessary.
 On the platform, open the lid to the compressor hut, set the speed controller switch to 'fast-
  cooldown,' turn on the helium compressor. In the receiver cabin, open the large black valves
  on the right hand cabin wall, turn on the cold head power switch.
 If the compressor trips off in a few minutes (most likely in cold weather), it may be necessary
  to go through the 'priming' procedure: remove the helium lines from the back of the
  compressor, install U-shaped priming tube, operate compressor for about half an hour to warm
  up the oil, then reinstall normal helium lines and try again.
 The dewar requires about 5 hours to cool. After the temperatures bottom out – typically stage1
  is at 40-50 K, stage 2 at 11-14 K, stage3 at 5 K – flip the speed controller switch to 'slow-
  normal.' This slows down the refrigerator cycle from 60 Hz/72 rpm to 25 Hz/30 rpm. Within
  minutes the stage3 temperature should drop below 3.5 K.

Adding helium.

 Use only ultra high purity, grade 5.0 helium.
 In the receiver cabin, remove the brass cap from the charging fitting on either the supply or
  return side of the manifold on the right-hand cabin wall.
 Crack open the valves on the gas cylinder and pressure regulator; flush helium through the
  yellow charging hose for 10 or 20 seconds, then attach the hose to the charging fitting.
 Open the small black valve to allow helium into the manifold.
 Target pressures: 250 psi supply and return if the compressor is not running; 280-300 psi
  supply if the compressor is running and the dewar is warm; 250-270 psi if the compressor is
  running and stage3 is at 4 K.
 Close valves when finished, replace brass cap on charging fitting. Be certain to close the main
  valve on the helium cylinder tightly, since the pressure regulator tends to leak.

Simple defrost procedure.

After several months of operation the stage3 temperature typically creeps up because
contaminants freeze out at the cold end of the refrigerator. If the stage3 temperature is 4-5 K, the
following 'defrost' procedure can sometimes help. It takes about 10 minutes and can be done

 ssh control@bimaX // log onto antenna computer as control.
 bimaRx heater3=12 // turn on mixer block heaters.
 Wait 5 to 10 minutes. The refrigerator continues to run, but stage3 temperature increases to
  7K, stages 4 and 5 to 12-17 K.
 bimaRx heater3=0       // turn off heaters.
 Ideally, stage3 will cool to lower temperature than before (doesn't always work).

Partial warmup decontamination procedure.

If the simple defrost doesn't lower the stage3 temperature, a more thorough defrost may be in
order. This will take several hours.

 Close the large black valves on the helium manifold, sealing off the cold head from the
  compressor – this will keep contaminants from migrating back to the compressor.
 Turn off the cold head with the switch in the receiver cabin; allow the helium compressor to
  keep running.
 (Optional) Connect rapid warmup heater supply to the dewar (4-pin Bendix connector). Turn
  on the stage2 heater. This greatly speeds up the defrost process.
 Turn on the stage3 heaters using the simple defrost commands.
 Wait until stage3 is 35-50 K; if the rapid warmup heater is used, this will take only a few
  minutes, and stage2 will be at 100 K or so.
 Turn off all heaters.
 Attach helium bottle to the charging fitting on the supply side of the manifold, after flushing
  out the yellow charging hose.
 Turn on the cold head, open the small black valve on the supply side of the manifold, and
  crack open the small black valve on the return side of the manifold. Helium will flow from the
  gas cylinder through the cold head, and escape from the return fitting. Do this for 20-30
  seconds. This will flush contaminants out of the cold head.
 Close black valve on return side, pressurize the cold head to 250 psi; then close supply valve.
  Open the large black valves to the compressor and begin cooling down again.

Background information – basic description.

The dewar on each 6-m telescopes is cooled by a 3-stage cryocooler. This is a CTI 1020 cold
head modified by the addition of a 3rd stage in Berkeley. SIS mixers and feed horns are
connected to the 3rd stage, at about 3.5 K. IF amplifiers and an inner radiation shield are
connected to the 2nd stage, at about 12 K. An outer radiation shield is cooled by the 1st stage, at
about 40-80 K.

The cold head in the dewar expands helium from about 280 to about 50 psi. A helium
compressor (CTI 1020R) on the azimuth platform supplies the compressed gas stream. The
compressor is mounted inside an insulated 'hut' with a variable speed ventilation fan. The fan
sucks outdoor air through louvers at one end of the hut and exhaust the air out the other side.
When the inlet air temperature drops below about 50 F, a fan controller (Phase-On) reduces the
fan speed to idle, and the louvers swing shut (unless, alas, the wind blows them open again).
Heater tapes, enabled by a switch and an inline thermoswitch, are wrapped on the compressor
and oil sump to keep the compressor warm in extremely cold weather. Another thermoswitch
prevents the compressor from starting if the oil sump temperature is below 15 C.
Flexible helium lines carry the supply and return helium lines over the elevation wrap into the
receiver cabin. Self-sealing Aeroquip fittings are used on all helium lines.

A speed controller is used to slow down the cold head from its normal cycle frequency of 72 rpm
to 30 rpm. At 72 rpm the stage3 temperature bottoms out at about 5 K. Slowing the cycle
frequency reduces the stage3 temperature to about 3.5 K.