Use of quartz tuning forks for sensitive, in-situ measurements of helium properties during SRF cavity tests

For vertical cryogenic tests of Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities for particle accelerators, typically many hundreds of liters of liquid helium are required. The location of the superfiuid-helium to vapour interphase undergoes significant change during the test. We describe a new techni...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of instrumentation 2013-04, Vol.8 (4), p.1-13
Main Authors: Ganshin, AN, Mi, X, Smith, EN, Hoffstaetter, G H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Helium
Holes
Liquid helium
Phase transformations
Quartz
Superfluidity
Tuning
Vapour
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Summary:For vertical cryogenic tests of Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) cavities for particle accelerators, typically many hundreds of liters of liquid helium are required. The location of the superfiuid-helium to vapour interphase undergoes significant change during the test. We describe a new technique based on commercially available quartz tuning forks for measuring the ambient conditions of the helium bath and for precisely determining the liquid to vapour interface during a vertical cavity test. It is shown that transition from the superfluid phase to vapour as well as to the normal-fluid phase can be unambiguously determined. The experimental results are analysed with existing theories of superfluidity, using an approach for the hydrodynamics of oscillating objects immersed into a viscous medium.
ISSN:1748-0221
1748-0221
DOI:10.1088/1748-0221/8/04/P04007