Benchmarking the design of the cryogenics system for the underground argon in DarkSide-20k
Abstract DarkSide-20k (DS-20k) is a dark matter detection experiment under construction at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) in Italy. It utilises ∼ 100 t of low radioactivity argon from an underground source (UAr) in its inner detector, with half serving as target in a dual-phase time projection chamber (TPC). The UAr cryogenics system must maintain stable thermodynamic conditions throughout the experiment's lifetime of over 10 years. Continuous removal of impurities and radon from the UAr is essential for maximising signal yield and mitigating background. We are developing an efficient and powerful cryogenics system with a gas purification loop with a target circulation rate of 1000 slpm. Central to its design is a condenser operated with liquid nitrogen which is paired with a gas heat exchanger cascade, delivering a combined cooling power of more than 8 kW. Here we present the design choices in view of the DS-20k requirements, in particular the condenser's working principle and the cooling control, and we show test results obtained with a dedicated benchmarking platform at CERN and LNGS. We find that the thermal efficiency of the recirculation loop, defined in terms of nitrogen consumption per argon flow rate, is 95 % and the pressure in the test cryostat can be maintained within ±(0.1–0.2) mbar. We further detail a 5-day cool-down procedure of the test cryostat, maintaining a cooling rate typically within -2 K/h, as required for the DS-20k inner detector. Additionally, we assess the circuit's flow resistance, and the heat transfer capabilities of two heat exchanger geometries for argon phase change, used to provide gas for recirculation. We conclude by discussing how our findings influence the finalisation of the system design, including necessary modifications to meet requirements and ongoing testing activities.
Authors
- G. Galiński (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0223-3265)
- J. H. Vossebeld (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8178-8503)
- Alfiero Leoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0066-4216)
- A. Sung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4000-3172)
- M. Harańczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3841-4108)
- S. Pordes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2934-9148)
- Gianfrancesco Grauso (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0678-5718)
- H. Frandini Gatti
- L. Consiglio
- Azam Zabihi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1322-9587)
- O. Smirnov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5238-0442)
- M. Cadeddu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3974-1995)
- C. Sunny (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4214-872X)
- M. Kuss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1212-9998)
- A. Tonazzo
- Z. Balmforth
- O. Azzolini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3951-0537)
- A. Sheshukov
- Davide Colaiuda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8488-9606)
- T.H. Mroz
- Raffaele Ardito
- K. Nikolopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-489X)
- L. Lidey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3484-293X)
- D. Rudik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5585-7253)
- Giorgia De Guido (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2018-4452)
- F. Ragusa
- M. G. Boulay
- V. Goicoechea Casanueva
- S. Viel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9554-4059)
- G. Plante (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4381-674X)
- Y. Ramachers (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7403-775X)
- Marco Rossi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7882-2798)
- S. Torres-Lara
- I. F. M. Albuquerque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7328-0136)
- David Gahan
- O. A. Taborda
- V. Pesudo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8753-6013)
- Aldo Ianni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6962-3682)
- V. Cocco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6061-5805)
- A. Buchowicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9934-6826)
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- John Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9269-3144)
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- Fabrice Hubaut (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0113-2465)
Institutions
- University of California, Riverside (US)
- Warsaw University of Technology (PL)
- Belgorod National Research University (RU)
- Jagiellonian University (PL)
- Birmingham City University (GB)
- University of Hawaii System (US)
- University of Wisconsin–River Falls (US)
- The King's College (US)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- University of Cagliari (IT)
- Amherst College (US)
- Royal Holloway University of London (GB)
- Carleton College (US)
- Lodz University of Technology (PL)
- University of Milan (IT)
- Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies (RU)
- Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
- Williams College (US)
- Fondazione Bruno Kessler (IT)
- Universidad de Zaragoza (ES)
- University of L'Aquila (IT)
- Savannah River National Laboratory (US)
- Kurchatov Institute (RU)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (IT)
- Temple College (US)
- Nicolaus Copernicus University (PL)
- University of Łódź (PL)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- University of Catania (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma Tre (IT)
- Centre de physique des particules de Marseille (FR)
- Belgorod State Agricultural University (RU)
- Dubna State University (RU)
- Hart Tech (Poland) (PL)
- GNA University (IN)
- Genoa (Brazil) (BR)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Torino (IT)
- Institute of Engineering Physics (RU)
- Mylan (South Africa) (ZA)
- Centro Ricerche Enrico Fermi (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Catania (IT)
- Unidades Centrales Científico-Técnicas (ES)
- Techin (Poland) (PL)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro (IT)
- Copernicus Therapeutics (United States) (US)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Genova (IT)
- Centro Siciliano di Fisica Nucleare e di Struttura della Materia (IT)
- Zhongshan Hospital (CN)
- Coventry (United Kingdom) (GB)
- Agence Parisienne du Climat (FR)
- Naples Anesthesia & Physician Associates (US)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Milano (IT)
- Institute of High Energy Physics (CN)
- Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (PL)
- Mylan (Switzerland) (CH)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna (IT)
- Gran Sasso Science Institute (IT)
- Los Alamos Medical Center (US)
- Polytech Lille (FR)
- Snolab (CA)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Roma I (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Pisa (IT)
- Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (ES)
- University of Houston (US)
- Laurentian University (CA)
- Coventry University (GB)
- Lewis & Clark College (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- University of Genoa (IT)
- University of California, Davis (US)
- Virginia Tech (US)
- Manchester University (US)
- University of Split (HR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Instrumentation
- Published
- 2025-02-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/02/p02016
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Dark Matter and Cosmic Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.61
Funders
- Science and Technology Facilities Council