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Available under license: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Final published version
Licence: CC BY: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Benchmarking the design of the cryogenics system for the underground argon in DarkSide-20k
AU - The DarkSide-20k Collaboration
AU - Acerbi, F.
AU - Adhikari, P.
AU - Agnes, P.
AU - Ahmad, I.
AU - Albergo, S.
AU - Albuquerque, I. F. M.
AU - Alexander, T.
AU - Alton, A. K.
AU - Amaudruz, P.
AU - Angiolilli, M.
AU - Aprile, E.
AU - Ardito, R.
AU - Corona, M. Atzori
AU - Auty, D. J.
AU - Ave, M.
AU - Avetisov, I. C.
AU - Azzolini, O.
AU - Back, H. O.
AU - Balmforth, Z.
AU - Olmedo, A. Barrado
AU - Barrillon, P.
AU - Batignani, G.
AU - Bhowmick, P.
AU - Blua, S.
AU - Bocci, V.
AU - Bonivento, W.
AU - Bottino, B.
AU - Boulay, M. G.
AU - Buchowicz, A.
AU - Bussino, S.
AU - Busto, J.
AU - Cadeddu, M.
AU - Cadoni, M.
AU - Calabrese, R.
AU - Camillo, V.
AU - Caminata, A.
AU - Canci, N.
AU - Capra, A.
AU - Caravati, M.
AU - Cárdenas-Montes, M.
AU - Cargioli, N.
AU - Carlini, M.
AU - Castellani, A.
AU - Castello, P.
AU - Cavalcante, P.
AU - Cebrian, S.
AU - Franchini, P.
AU - Nowak, J.
PY - 2025/2/18
Y1 - 2025/2/18
N2 - DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) is a dark matter detection experiment under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. It utilises ~100 t of low radioactivity argon from an underground source (UAr) in its inner detector, with half serving as target in a dual-phase time projection chamber (TPC). The UAr cryogenics system must maintain stable thermodynamic conditions throughout the experiment's lifetime of >10 years. Continuous removal of impurities and radon from the UAr is essential for maximising signal yield and mitigating background. We are developing an efficient and powerful cryogenics system with a gas purification loop with a target circulation rate of 1000 slpm. Central to its design is a condenser operated with liquid nitrogen which is paired with a gas heat exchanger cascade, delivering a combined cooling power of >8 kW. Here we present the design choices in view of the DS-20k requirements, in particular the condenser's working principle and the cooling control, and we show test results obtained with a dedicated benchmarking platform at CERN and LNGS. We find that the thermal efficiency of the recirculation loop, defined in terms of nitrogen consumption per argon flow rate, is 95 % and the pressure in the test cryostat can be maintained within $\pm$(0.1-0.2) mbar. We further detail a 5-day cool-down procedure of the test cryostat, maintaining a cooling rate typically within -2 K/h, as required for the DS-20k inner detector. Additionally, we assess the circuit's flow resistance, and the heat transfer capabilities of two heat exchanger geometries for argon phase change, used to provide gas for recirculation. We conclude by discussing how our findings influence the finalisation of the system design, including necessary modifications to meet requirements and ongoing testing activities.
AB - DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) is a dark matter detection experiment under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. It utilises ~100 t of low radioactivity argon from an underground source (UAr) in its inner detector, with half serving as target in a dual-phase time projection chamber (TPC). The UAr cryogenics system must maintain stable thermodynamic conditions throughout the experiment's lifetime of >10 years. Continuous removal of impurities and radon from the UAr is essential for maximising signal yield and mitigating background. We are developing an efficient and powerful cryogenics system with a gas purification loop with a target circulation rate of 1000 slpm. Central to its design is a condenser operated with liquid nitrogen which is paired with a gas heat exchanger cascade, delivering a combined cooling power of >8 kW. Here we present the design choices in view of the DS-20k requirements, in particular the condenser's working principle and the cooling control, and we show test results obtained with a dedicated benchmarking platform at CERN and LNGS. We find that the thermal efficiency of the recirculation loop, defined in terms of nitrogen consumption per argon flow rate, is 95 % and the pressure in the test cryostat can be maintained within $\pm$(0.1-0.2) mbar. We further detail a 5-day cool-down procedure of the test cryostat, maintaining a cooling rate typically within -2 K/h, as required for the DS-20k inner detector. Additionally, we assess the circuit's flow resistance, and the heat transfer capabilities of two heat exchanger geometries for argon phase change, used to provide gas for recirculation. We conclude by discussing how our findings influence the finalisation of the system design, including necessary modifications to meet requirements and ongoing testing activities.
KW - physics.ins-det
KW - hep-ex
U2 - 10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/P02016
DO - 10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/P02016
M3 - Journal article
VL - 20
JO - Journal of Instrumentation
JF - Journal of Instrumentation
SN - 1748-0221
IS - 2
M1 - P02016
ER -