FRIB, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) was fully commissioned in early 2022, and the operation for physics experiments started shortly thereafter. Various ion beam species have been accelerated up to 240 MeV/u and delivered to the target. During the first year of user operations, the FRIB provided 4252 beam hours with 91% availability for nuclear science. In addition, FRIB delivered about 1000 hours of various ion beam species at beam energies up to 40 MeV/u for single-event experiments. Typically, the experiments with a specific species rare isotope beam last a week or two. Each experiment requires a different primary beam species with specific energies. The primary beam power has been gradually increased from 1 kW to 10 kW over the past 1.5 years. The Accelerator Physics (AP) group develops high-level physics applications to minimize machine set-up time. Focuses include identifying beam halo sources, controlling emittances of multiple-charge-state beams, and studying the beam loss mechanisms to prepare for the ultimate 400 kW operation. This paper discusses the experience and challenges of operating a high-power CW heavy ion accelerator.
FRIB, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
INFN/LNL, Legnaro (PD), Italy
Fermilab, Batavia, Illinois, USA
TRIUMF, Vancouver, Canada
ANL, Lemont, Illinois, USA
LBNL, Berkeley, USA
After project completion on scope, on cost, and ahead of schedule, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams began operations for scientific users in May of 2022. The ramp-up to a beam power of 400 kW is planned over a six-year period; 1 kW was delivered for initial user runs from in 2022, and 5 kW was delivered as of February 2023. Test runs with 10 kW 36Ar and 48Ca beams were conducted in July 2023. Upgrade plans include doubling the primary-beam energy to 400 MeV/nucleon for enhanced discovery potential (¿FRIB 400¿). This talk reports on the strategic plans towards high power operations emphasizing challenges and resolutions in beam-interception devices and targetry systems, radiation protection and controls, and legacy system renovation and integration.