Accelerator Update for February 6, 2009 - February 9, 2009

The Integrated Luminosity for 2/2/09 to 2/9/09 was 52.39 Pb^-1.

Friday Feb 6

The day shift began with the Tevatron (TeV) in access, with Operations monitoring the Recycler stash (98.9E10), with the Antiproton Source not stacking due to a Booster access, with the Linac and the Main Injector (MI) operating normally, with the MiniBooNE and NuMI experiments also not taking beam due to the Booster access, with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) waiting for the next store, and with D-Zero (D0) in access.

Operations put MI into an energy conservation mode at 8:17 AM.

At 8:25 AM, the Cryo System Coordinator reported poor cryostat vacuums at TeV sectors A1 and C1. A vacuum expert said he would investigate.

Operations reported at 8:56 AM that Mechanical Support personnel were working on a chiller in Pbar (AP50).

Operations prepared MI-65 for a two-hour access at 9:46 AM.

The Booster and TeV came out of access at 11:39 AM.

D0 came out of access at 12:05 PM.

At 12:34 PM, Operations reported Booster RF and power supply problems.

At 12:51 PM, BRF18 tripped off with many indications of problems.

Booster experts resolved their RF problems and Operations began sending beam to NuMI and MiniBooNE at 1:25 PM.

Pbar began stacking at 1:38 PM.

At 1:56 PM, Operations reported a problem with the Booster Gradient Magnet Power Supply. An expert investigated.

Booster resumed sending beam at 2:10 PM.

Operations put the TeV through a dry squeeze at 2:29 PM.

A MI expert checked out the coalesced beam at 3:28 PM.

TeV experts began conducting studies at 4:12 PM.

Operations reported at 4:14 PM that the Recycler had stashed antiprotons once during the day shift.

Operations reported at 7:38 PM that they had checked the TeV orbits and they were good. Operations put the TeV into shot setup.

Operations established store 6784 at 9:03 PM with an initial luminosity of 217.03E30.

Operations reported at midnight that the Recycler had stashed seven times during the evening shift.

Saturday Feb 7

The midnight shift began with Operations monitoring store 6784 (124.34E30) and the stash (96.4E10), with Pbar stacking (32.5E10), and with NuMI and MiniBooNE taking beam.

At 12:33 AM, MIRF14 tripped off for the first of four times in seven hours. It reset.

At 3:58 AM, a MI kicker (KPS1A) tripped off. It would reset, but then immediately trip back off. Operations called in experts.

Operations put Pbar into standby mode at 4:12 AM.

At 5:36 AM, the Booster East Anode Power Supply tripped off. It reset.

MI experts reported at 7:32 AM that they brought KPS1A back online.

Operations resumed sending beam to Pbar and NuMI at 7:33 AM.

Operations reported at 8:04 AM that the Recycler had stashed four times during the midnight shift.

At 8:08 AM, the P1 transfer line beam permit tripped off for the first of four times in about five hours due to a power supply (V714) overcurrent trip. It reset.

At 8:37 AM, the 400 MeV area beam permit tripped off for the first of eight times in about an hour due to bad beam positions. Operators could not find a cause for the trips. It reset.

At 11:51 AM, the 400 MeV area beam permit tripped off for the first of three times in about an hour. It reset.

Operations terminated store 6784 at 1:14 PM.

Operations put the TeV into shot setup at 1:25 PM.

At 2:29 PM, the TeV sector F4 LCW pump (#2) tripped off. This caused the Tevatron Electron Lens (TEL1) to trip off. It would not reset due to a LCW flow fault.

Operations established store 6785 at 2:51 PM with an initial luminosity of 270.0E30.

Operators restarted the F4 LCW pump at 2:59 PM.

At 3:28 PM, Operations reported problems with Booster beam extraction. Operators investigated and discovered that a beam detector for the Long 7 area had failed. Operations called in an expert.

At 3:33 PM, Operations also found a problem with a Booster kicker (MKS07). It reset, but Operations called in an expert to investigate.

At 3:52 PM, Operations halted the Booster beam for investigation.

Operations resumed sending beam through Booster at 4:12 PM.

A Booster expert and operators began trying to replace the Long 7 beam detector at 4:55 PM. This detector was in a manhole, in a protective metal canister that was encased in ice. They did not complete the replacement until 6:11 PM.

Operations reported at 6:24 PM that an operator had reduced the extractor voltage and tuned the 750 KeV line. This resolved the 400 MeV area beam permit trips.

Operations reported at 7:59 PM that the Recycler had stashed nine times during the last 12 hours.

At 8:21 PM, Operations reported that all the Recycler photo diodes alarmed. Operators accessed the “peanut” enclosure and found water condensing on the ceiling due to the rising temperatures. Operators adjusted the light-link pico-motors and reset the diode alarms.

At 11:31 PM, the TeV sector F4 LCW pump tripped off again. TEL1 also tripped off. Everything reset.

Sunday Feb 8

The midnight shift began with Operations monitoring store 6785 and the stash, with Pbar stacking, and with NuMI and MiniBooNE taking beam.

At 12:03 AM, the TeV sector F4 LCW pump tripped off along with TEL1. Everything reset.

At 12:24 AM, MIRF14 tripped off for the first of five times in seven hours. It reset.

At 12:39 AM, the TeV sector F4 LCW pump tripped off. Operations contacted a water expert who instructed operators to switch to pump #1.

At 5:50 AM, the NuMI beam permit tripped off due to a power supply (E:V108) drifting low. Everything reset.

Operations reported at 8:01 AM that the Recycler had stashed 13 times during the last 12 hours.

At 8:05 AM, the MI South Anode Power Supply tripped off. It reset.

Operations terminated store 6785 at 8:22 AM.

Operations put the TeV into shot setup at 8:32 AM.

At 8:42 AM, MIRF14 tripped off for the first of four times in about 90 minutes. It reset.

Operations established store 6786 at 9:53 AM with an initial luminosity of 321.0E30.

At 2:23 PM, the Pelletron tripped off on a “Fast Faultbox” indication. Operations contacted experts who investigated and determined it was due to a “corona” voltage drop. It reset.

At 6:54 PM, MIRF14 tripped off. It reset.

Operations reported at 7:57 PM that the Recycler had stashed 10 times during the last 12 hours.

At 10:45 PM, MIRF14 tripped off. It reset.

Monday Feb 9

The midnight shift began with Operations monitoring store 6786 and the stash, with Pbar stacking, and with NuMI and MiniBooNE taking beam.

Operations terminated store 6786 at 1:15 AM.

Operations put the TeV into shot setup at 1:29 AM.

Operations established store 6787 at 3:12 AM with an initial luminosity of 317.01E30.

At 5:28 AM, MIRF14 tripped off for the first of two times in one minute. It reset.

At 6:54 AM, Operations reported that the TeV sector C1 air compressor had tripped off and was losing pressure very quickly. Operators investigated and found that a bleed-off valve had stuck open. They closed the valve, reset the compressor, and informed an expert.

Operations reported at 7:59 AM that the Recycler had stashed 11 times during the last 12 hours.

The Plans for Monday

The plans for today are to stack, stash, and store. The Run Coordinator will allow MI experts to conduct a study and Pbar experts to conduct a target scan today.

Accelerator Update Archive

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