The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is a new nuclear science facility funded by the DOE Office of Science and Michigan State University (MSU). FRIB is currently under design and will be located on the MSU campus. The centerpiece of FRIB is a heavy ion linac utilizing superconducting RF cavities and magnets which in turn requires a large cryogenic system. The cryogenic system consists of a commercially produced helium refrigeration plant and an extensive distribution system. Superconducting components will operate at both 4.5 K and 2 K. This paper describes the conceptual design of the system including the expected heat loads and operating modes. The strategy for procuring a custom turnkey helium refrigeration plant from industry, an overview of the distribution system, the interface of the cryogenic system to the conventional facilities and the project schedule are also described.

Purification systems are necessary to support commissioning and operation of helium refrigeration and associated experimental systems. These systems are typically designed for a low level of impurity (i.e., in parts per million), since a 4.5 K or 2 K helium system will solidify, or freeze out every other substance. The trace impurities can block and/or change the flow distribution in heat exchangers and potentially damage turbines or cryogenic compressors operating at high speed. Experimental systems, such as superconducting magnets, require helium purification due to inherent characteristics in their construction. These are also used for the commissioning of sub-systems, like the compressors, and cold boxes. As known from experience, molecular sieves do not remove low-level moisture impurity sufficiently. Typical commercial freeze-out purifiers using molecular sieves have very short operating times between regeneration and are inefficient requiring substantial utilities like liquid nitrogen and high-pressure operation. Based upon proven experience from a freeze-out purifier design for Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) in 1983, a liquid nitrogen assisted freeze-out purifier has been designed. This design includes a multi-pass and multi-stream heat exchanger and an activated carbon bed. The heat exchanger design is expected to minimize the liquid nitrogen usage and extend the capacity and the operating pressure range, thereby the time interval between regeneration. The goal is to provide a simple design procedure to develop and operate an efficient purifier system.

In 2008, Michigan State University was selected to establish the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB). Construction of the FRIB accelerator was completed in January 2022. Phased accelerator commissioning with heavy ion beams started in 2017 with the normal-conducting ion source and radio-frequency quadrupole. In April 2021, the full FRIB driver linear accelerator (linac) was commissioned, with heavy ion beams accelerated to energies above 200 MeV/nucleon by 324 superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) resonators operating at 2 K and 4 K with liquid-helium cooling. In preparation for high-power operation, a liquid lithium charge stripper was commissioned with heavy ion beams up to uranium-238, followed by the simultaneous acceleration of multiple-charge-state heavy ion beams to energies above 200 MeV/nucleon. In December 2021, selenium-84 was produced with the FRIB target using a krypton-86 primary beam, demonstrating FRIB’s capability for scientific discovery.

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is a new National User Facility for nuclear science funded by the Department of Energy Office of Science and operated by Michigan State University. The FRIB accelerator linac consists of superconducting radio-frequency (SCRF) cavities operating at 2 K and SC magnets operating at 4.5 K all cooled by a large scale cryogenic refrigeration system. A major subsystem of the cryogenic system will be the distribution system whose primary components will include a distribution box, the transfer lines and the interconnect valve boxes at each cryogenic device. An overview of the conceptual design of the distribution system including engineering details, capabilities and schedule is described.

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