The TRIUMF cyclotron in Vancouver, Canada, is the largest in the world
The commission for the TRIUMF cyclotron in Canada was successfully completed in March this year
OCEM Power Electronics recently supplied a power system for the main magnet coil at the largest cyclotron in the world: the TRIUMF facility in Vancouver, Canada.
TRIUMF is a world-class subatomic physics research laboratory owned and operated by a consortium of 17 Canadian universities. It features a cyclotron, a special type of particle accelerator that accelerates the particles as they follow a spiral path inside a vacuum chamber.
OCEM was awarded the contract to build a new 20 kA, 80 V power converter for the TRIUMF cyclotron’s main magnet coil. It was designed to replace the original power supply commissioned in 1976, meaning the new supply had to be designed as a set of five cabinets with stringent dimensional constraints in order to fit within the same arrangement as the original.
Its design had to further conform to Canadian electrical rules and safety standards, which were confirmed by certified inspectors through a preliminary in-factory review and a final on-site inspection. The project also required a lifetime of at least 20 years, and high current stability at a level of ±2 parts per million (ppm). The current-controlled power converter integrates a sophisticated control system and a precise current measurement system developed at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, for its Large Hadron Collider.
OCEM delivered and supplied the new power system earlier this year; site acceptance tests were completed in March. For a full description of the project’s technical requirements, including the main power supply ratings, download the full case study here.
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