Undergraduate Research at Jefferson Lab

Drafting and Testing Operating Procedures for On-Site Helium Compressors

Student: Brian Jollie

School: Georgia Institute of Technology

Mentored By: Nate Laverdure

Primary procedures were written for the compressors in the Central Helium Liquifier (CHL), End Station Refrigerator (ESR), Cryogenic Test Facility (CTF), and Hall D Refrigerator (HDR). Start-up and shutdown procedures had to be written for these compressors because they had received upgrades in the control panels within the last 5 years and as a result had no formal procedures written for them. These procedures standardized the way the compressors were turned on and off to avoid conflicts such as pipe ruptures from unopened valves or damaged compression screws from lack of lubrication. Oil contamination of the helium supply is another costly mistake and one caused by incorrect use of the oil pump or compressor. These procedures aimed to standardize the duration of operation and order of start/shutdown steps to limit the amount of contamination and failure within the system.