• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.40 no.6
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• pp.467-476
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• 2008

To keep the superconducting (SC) magnet coils of KSTAR at proper operating conditions, not only the coils but also other cold components, such as thermal shields (TS), magnet structures, SC bus-lines (BL), and current leads (CL) must be maintained at their respective cryogenic temperatures. A helium refrigeration system (RRS) with an exergetic equivalent cooling power of 9 kW at 4.5 K without liquid nitrogen ($LN_2$) pre-cooling has been manufactured and installed. The main components of the KST AR helium refrigeration system (HRS) can be classified into the warm compression system (WCS) and the cryogenic devices according to the operating temperature levels. The process helium is compressed from 1 bar to 22 bar passing through the WCS and is supplied to cryogenic devices. The main components of cryogenic devices are consist of cold box (C/B) and distribution box (D/B). The C/B cool-down and make the various cryogenic helium for the KSTAR Tokamak and the various cryogenic helium is distributed by the D/B as per the KSTAR requirement. In this proceeding, we will present the commissioning results of the KSTAR HRS. Circuits which can simulate the thermal loads and pressure drops corresponding to the cooling channels of each cold component of KSTAR have been integrated into the helium distribution system of the HRS. Using those circuits, the performance and the capability of the HRS, to fulfill the mission of establishing the appropriate operating condition for the KSTAR SC magnet coils, have been successfully demonstrated.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.6-9
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• 2013

Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) has a helium refrigeration system (HRS) with the cooling capacity of 9 kW at 4.5 K. Main cold components are composed of 300 tons of superconducting (SC) magnets, main cryostat thermal shields, and SC current feeder system. The HRS comprises six gas storage tanks, a liquid nitrogen tank, the room temperature compression sector, the cold box (C/B), the 1st stage helium distribution box (DB#1), the PLC base local control system interconnected to central control tower and so on. Between HRS and cold components, there's another distribution box (DB#2) nearby the KSTAR device. The entire KSTAR device was constructed in 2007 and has been operated since 2008. This paper will present the maintenance result of the KSTAR HRS during the campaign and discuss the operation record and maintenance history of the KSTAR HRS.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2009

To keep the superconducting (SC) magnet coils of KSTAR at proper operating conditions, not only the coils but also other cold components, such as thermal shields (TS), magnet structures, SC bus-lines (BL), and current leads (CL) must be maintained at their respective cryogenic temperatures. A helium refrigeration system (HRS) with an exergetic equivalent cooling power of 9kW at 4.5K without liquid nitrogen $(LN_2)$ pre-cooling has been manufactured and installed for such purposes. In this proceeding, we will present the commissioning and initial operation results of the KSTAR HRS. Circuits which can simulate the thermal loads and pressure drops corresponding to the cooling channels of each cold component of KSTAR have been integrated into the helium distribution system of the HRS. Using those circuits, the performance and the capability of the HRS, to fulfill the mission of establishing the appropriate operating condition for the KSTAR SC magnet coils, have been successfully demonstrated.

• Proceedings of the SAREK Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.125-130
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• 2008

The main components of the KSTAR helium refrigeration system (HRS) can be classified into the warm compression system (WCS) and the cryogenic devices according to the operating temperature levels. The WCS itself consists of the compressor station (C/S) and the oil removal system (ORS). The process helium is compressed from 1 bar to 22 bar maximum in the C/S and downstream, the ORS removes the oil mixed in the helium to less than 10 ppbw as per the operation criteria of the cryogenic devices of the KSTAR HRS. After the installation, the pre-commissioning and commissioning activities were started on July, 2007. Before the start-up of the C/S, vibration measurement and the skid reinforcement jobs were performed for stable operation of the C/S. The results of the WCS performance tests met the requirements of the KSTAR HRS but satisfied the vibration level criteria only at the compressors' full load condition.

• Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.24-27
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• 2012

The superconducting coil system is one of the most important components in Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR), which has been operated since 2008. $Nb_3Sn$ and NbTi superconductors are being used for cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) of the KSTAR toroidal field (TF) and poloidal field (PF) coils. The CICCs are cooled by forced-flow supercritical helium about 4.5 K. The temperature, pressure and mass flow rate of the supercritical helium in the CICCs are interacting with each other during the operation of the coils. The complicate behaviors of the supercritical helium have an effect on the operation and the efficiency of the helium refrigeration system (HRS) by means of, for instance, pressure drop. The hydraulic characteristics of the supercritical helium have been monitored while the TF coils have stably achieved the full current of 35 kA. In other hands, the PF coils have been operated with various pulsed or bipolar mode, so the drastic changes happen in view of hydraulics. The heat load including AC loss on the coils has been analyzed according to the measurement. These activities are important to estimate the temperature margin in various PF operation conditions. In this paper, the latest hydraulic behaviors of PF coils during KSTAR operation are presented.