Technical Analysis and Statistics from Long Term Helium Cryoplant Operation with Experimental Superconducting Magnets at CERN

CERN regularly uses a large number of liquid helium cryoplants for cooling the superconducting magnets of large particle detectors. They are installed in the experimental areas of the electron-positron collider LEP and the proton (and heavy ion) accelerator SPS for the observation of high-energy interactions of elementary particles. The typical cold mass of a detector magnet ranges from 1 to 40 tons, and typical cryoplant cooling capacities are between 400 and 800 W/4.5 K entropy equivalent. Operation must be very flexible to meet the varying experimental requirements. We intend to present technical data of the system and statistics from over 180'000 running hours during the four years from 1992 to 1995. Operation includes phases of cool-down, steady-state cooling, recovery after magnet quench or other incidents and warm-up of the superconducting magnets. Emphasis will be laid on the analysis of fault conditions, multiple interaction between perturbations and consequences for the users of liquid helium supply interruption.