Development of Alternative Reduced-Cost Helium Vessels for ILC Cavities

The International Linear Collider (ILC) represents the next great undertaking for the worldwide high energy physics community. In addition to technical challenges posed by the project, the political realities demand a reduction in the cost of the components of this massive facility. The helium vessels that enclose each of the 16,000 superconducting cavities have been identified as a cost driver for the cryomodules. For reasons of thermal compatibility, the helium vessels for the ILC cavities are currently made from titanium, which is very expensive. This project will fabricate a prototype stainless steel helium vessel system along with a modified ILC cavity for validation testing. The Phase I effort indicated a potential $130M savings to the ILC. Phase II will fabricate the prototype stainless steel system, which will undergo validation testing at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee: The lower cost helium vessel design should provide significant cost savings to the ILC project. In addition to the ILC, the design should be applicable to all future superconducting radio frequency cavity systems