Meson Hall Schedule & CMMS Program
Science Division
sciencediv at triumf.ca
Wed Jul 4 08:36:28 PDT 2012
Dear colleagues,
As we are approaching the start-up phase for BL1A operation, we wanted
to inform you about the current situation, in particular in relation to
shutdown activities or new installation activities. These were very
challenging activities and tasks; the accelerator, science, and
engineering divisions managed to finish all scheduled activities on
time, and we are very pleased to inform you that we will start up BL1A
operation, as scheduled on July 11th, 2012. Hence operation of M11, M13,
M15, and (from Friday July 13th, 2012 on) M9B will be available for the
scheduled experiments.
I would like to express my sincere thank you to the dedicated groups
involved in all the shutdown and installation activities, particularly
for staying on schedule.
However, we would like to also advise you that we are experiencing a
severe shortage of liquid helium for the near and upcoming future.We
were informed on June 28th by our liquid helium supplier that there is a
severe helium shortage due to both an expected planned shutdown and an
unscheduled shutdown at two major helium supply facilities. This
shortage is expected to last through to the end of July with the
possibility of the shortage continuing beyond this time. We have been
informed that it could take up to 90 days for production levels to
return to normal. The supplier has invoked "force majeure" on their
customer’s helium supply contract. As a result helium for TRIUMF from
our supply contract will be rationed at 900 litres per month. This is
far below our average demand of around 3000 litres per month for the
currently scheduled beam time on M15, M9B as well as the betaNMR/betaQMR
facility.
We are assessing the situation with all urgency and are trying to
identify if more liquid helium can be acquired from other sources and if
so for what cost. Please be advised that in case we are unable to secure
more than the rationed amount a substantial impact on the science
program with major rescheduling of beam time may result. We are trying
to come to a definite conclusion as soon as possible and will keep you
informed. We would like to thank you for your understanding and patience.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you,
Jens Dilling
--
Miss Nicole (Niki) Martin
Administrative Assistant, Science Division
TRIUMF
Accelerating Science for Canada | Un accélérateur de la démarche scientifique canadienne
4004 Wesbrook Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 2A3
Canada
Tel: 604-222-7438
Email:nmartin at triumf.ca
Experimental Program webpage:http://www.triumf.ca/experimental-program
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