Review of the Initial Phases of the LHC Power Converter Commissioning

The LHC requires more than 1700 power converter systems that supply between 60A and 13kA of precisely regulated current to the superconducting magnets. For the first time at CERN these converters have been installed underground in close proximity to many other accelerator systems. In addition to the power converters themselves, many utilities such as air and water cooling, electrical power, communication networks and magnet safety systems needed to be installed and commissioned as a single system. Due to the complexity of installing and commissioning such a large infrastructure, with inevitable interaction between the different systems, a three phase test strategy was developed. The first phase comprised the manufacture, integration and reception tests of all converter sub-systems necessary for powering. The second phase covered the commissioning of all the power converters installed in their final environment with the utilities. The third phase will add the superconducting magnets and will not be covered by this paper. The planning and execution that have led to the successful completion of these initial phases are described. Results and conclusions of the testing are presented.