The Main Water-Cooling System and the Precision Cooling System for the ELI-GBS accelerator infrastructure were fully completed and tested during 2023, and achieved full operational status in the first half of 2024. The system includes heat exchangers, variable-speed pumps, filtration units, water treatment equipment, storage tanks, distribution piping, 3-way valves, Mydax chillers, and a PLC-based control panel. It is designed to ensure stable thermal operating conditions for critical accelerator components.
The water-cooling system must accommodate a wide range of thermal loads depending on the accelerator operating mode. In standby mode, the combined heat load from the LINAC (150 kW) results in an overall water heat load of 180 kW. During operational modes, thermal demand increases significantly and could reach 415 kW for the high repetition, high energy mode.
The Mydax precision chillers are integral to meeting the required temperature stability of the accelerator subsystems. Each unit is engineered for high-reliability operation, long service life, and advanced diagnostic capability. There are five precision chillers in operation, each unit with three loops of 3 kW cooling capacity and temperature stability of ±0.05 °C.
The completion of the main cooling infrastructure, combined with the installation of high-precision Mydax chillers, ensures that the accelerator systems operate within the strict thermal limits required for stable RF and electron beam performance. The chillers' advanced monitoring, error handling, and fail-safe features ensure that the water-cooling system is highly reliable, robust, and fully capable of supporting continuous and safe accelerator operations.
