The LHC Cryogenic Operation Availability Results from the First Physics Run of Three Years

The LHC (Large Hadron Collider) accelerator consists in eight cryogenically independent sectors, each 3.3 km long with a cold mass of 4’500 t cooled at 1.9 K. Each helium cryogenic plant combines an 18 kW at 4.5 K refrigerator and a 2.4 kW at 1.8 K refrigeration unit. Since early operation for physics in November 2009, the availability has been above 90% for more than 260 days per year, ending at 94.8% in 2012 and corresponding to an equivalent availability of more than 99% per independent sector. The operation and support methodology as well as the achieved performance results are presented. Emphasis is given on implementing operational return for short, medium and long term consolidations. Perspective for restart after the first long shutdown of the LHC works will be described.