DFBX boxes - electrical and cryogenic distribution boxes for the superconducting magnets in the LHC straight sections

DFBX distribution boxes provide cryogenic and electrical services to superconducting quadrupoles and to a superconducting dipole at either end of four of the long straight sections in the LHC. The DFBX boxes also provide instrumentation and quench protection to the magnets. Current for the quadrupole and the dipole magnet is delivered through leads that combine HTS and gas cooled leads. Current for the 600 A and 120 A correction magnets is provided by pure gas-cooled leads. The bus bars from the leads to the magnets pass through low leak-rate lambda plugs between 1.8 K and 4.4 K. The heat leak into the 1.9 K region from the liquid helium tank is determined by the design of the lambda plugs. This paper describes the DFBX boxes and their function of delivering current and instrumentation signals to the magnets.