Breakdowns and solutions in 15 UD pelletron ion accelerator facility at Inter-University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi

15UD Pelletron accelerator, installed in Inter-University Accelerator Centre (IUAC), New Delhi, is a tandem ion accelerator and is performing well since its commissioning. Constant efforts have been put to keep high uptime and better performance of the accelerator for more than two decades. In recent years, the facility was improved by many modifications and up gradations. It has also gone through a few major breakdowns related to charging system and fiber optic cables. Out of two charging systems, one system failed and devices housed in tank stopped working due to the damage of fiber optic cables. The reasons for both of these breakdowns were studied thoroughly. The entire charging system and fiber optic cable network have been rebuilt and tested. The diagnostic techniques and maintenance methods for these two breakdowns will be discussed in this paper. (author)