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At least 397 records · Page 22
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

The Future of LANSCE [Slides]

LANSCE is a NNSA Center for Materials and Nuclear Research. An aging stockpile presents unique challenges in materials and nuclear science. The grand challenge of a predictive materials capability includes design to manufacture and born certified. This requires capability to study manufacture to structure relationships and capability to study structure to performance relationships. LANSCE has the capabilities needed for this mission. We leverage our capability to provide broader benefit to the Nation including production of medical isotopes, industrial irradiation facility for electronics certification, and fundamental materials and physics research. The LANSCE linear accelerator is nearly 50 years old. The severity of maintenance issues is increasing. We must reinvest in LANSCE to ensure mission delivery into the future. We must develop new capability to be responsive to changing mission needs. Ultimately this will require a Dynamic Mesoscale Materials Science Capability. Now we must develop a pathway to MaRIE that ensures continued operation of LANSCE.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Small-Scale Recycling of Irradiated Uranium and Transuranic Elements (Np, Pu) Using 3D-Printed Centrifugal Contactors

Niowave’s technology employs super-conducting linear accelerators to induce fission on low-enriched uranium targets followed by subsequent radiochemical processing to purify 99 Mo as well as a number of other fission products. Argonne’s Radiochemistry group (CFCT), in partnership with Niowave and UNLV, will be managing the TCF project to develop a closed-cycle loop for Niowave’s uranium targets. The roles of the DOE national laboratory partner will be to 1) develop a basic chemical understanding of the separations and purifications required to meet industry standards, 2) initiate the additive manufacturing (AM) of the centrifugal contactors, 3) develop a process flowsheet using Argonne computer codes.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

SRF Resonators for a bi-directional Energy Ramping Upgrade of the Isotope Production Facility Beamline at LANL

The LANL Isotope Production Facility (IPF) is one of the two high-current proton linear accelerators operated under the auspices of the DOE Office of Nuclear Physics Isotope Development and Production for Research Applications Program. The IPF beamline operates with a fixed 100-MeV energy proton beam, diverted from the LANSCE accelerator and guided towards the isotope production target station. The fixed beam energy limits the number of isotopes that can be produced at IPF, and adversely affects the purity of isotopes produced at non-optimal energies. In particular, the IPF program is receiving increasing numbers of requests for high purity isotopes such as Np-236 (national security applications) and Re-186 (medical therapy). These are typically produced via (p,n) and (p,2n) nuclear reactions, requiring very tight control of the incident energies on the production targets to ensure an end product with a high radionuclidic purity. It is well known that this level of energy control cannot be achieved when a 100 MeV beam of mono-energetic protons is degraded to the required energies, typically below 30 MeV, as too much energy spread is acquired. Operating the IPF beamline at lower, mono-energetic beam energies such as at 40 MeV will allow the required tight energy control in target assemblies to ensure a high purity product. In addition, NP has requested a LANL/BNL/ORNL collaboration focus on establishing a national large-scale production capability for the therapy isotope Ac-225. Recent nuclear cross section measurements done at LANL show that due to a steep rise in production cross section towards higher proton energies (See Figure 2), proton beams at energies substantially greater than 100 MeV will be highly beneficial for Ac-225 production [AC255]. Such higher-energy beams cannot be delivered to IPF at present. Lower-energy beams (70 MeV and 40 MeV) can be delivered but only in sole-use mode; all other LANSCE users must be offline during 70 MeV or 40 MeV operation.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

LANL's Contribution to the Design and Preparation of the ANL Bubble Experiment #2

In collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) is assisting in the design and development of portions of the second ANL Bubble Experiment to be performed in late 2020 at ANL. The ANL Bubble Experiment, as called in this report, is a series of direct electron irradiations of a uranyl sulfate solution to produce radiolysis-induced gas bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen. The gas bubbles formed in the solution enhance mixing and heat transfer. The study of the dynamics, shape, and size of radiolysis-induced gas bubbles is of great importance to understand and characterize the thermal and fluid behavior of the solution, especially for the solution based, neutron-induced fission production technique for Mo-99. During the first experiment performed in 2014, ANL’s 35 MeV electron linear accelerator provided average powers of 6, 12, and 15 kW using a rastered beam to homogeneously heat the 15 x 15 x 80-cm uranyl-sulfate solution. Gas bubble size, shape, velocity, solution temperature, and hydrogen and oxygen concentrations were recorded during the irradiations. The details of the experimental setup and results for the first experiment are described in the ANL reports, Design and Construction of Experiment for Direct Electron Irradiation of a Uranyl Sulfate Solution: Bubble Formation and Thermal Hydraulics Studies and Experimental Results for Direct Electron Irradiation of a Uranyl Sulfate Solution: Bubble Formation and Thermal Hydraulics Studies. The purpose of this report is to describe the issues and lessons learned associated with the first experiment and elaborate on designs to improve and obtain more accurate experimental results for the upcoming experiment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Directed Flow and the Chiral Magnetic Effect in Ultrarelativistic Collisions at the LHC with CMS at the LHC (Final Technical Report)

This Technical Report focuses on two aspects of this project. First, the results from the calibration of the Spectator Reaction Plane Detector (SRPD) addition to the Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC) in the CMS experiment are presented, followed by the pre-liminary results from radiation studies of quartz being performed using the electron linac here at the University of Maryland. The data taken in the November 2018 run are being analyzed with the ultimate goal of producing a reaction plane measurement using spectator neutrons detected in the ZDC. Funds provided by this grant partially supported the graduate student who is performing these calibrations. They were also used to support radiation tests of quartz rod material being performed at the University of Maryland Radiation Facilities Electron Linear Accelerator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermal / structural analysis of the HB 650 thermal shield

Fermilab’s PIP-II project’s superconducting linear accelerator will drive the next generation of particle accelerators through a revolution in beam intensity. Key to beam intensification are the high efficiencies of niobium-tin superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities operating at cryogenic temperatures near 5 Kelvin. A multifaceted approach is employed to achieve and maintain the extreme temperature. Vacuum provides the first barrier to thermal convection. Physical thermal intercept zones further isolate the exterior shell vacuum vessel at 300 Kelvin from the supercooled beamline. The first thermal intercept lies just inside the exterior vacuum vessel forming the 40 Kelvin zone. This 40K thermal shield is the focus of this investigation. In preparation for operation, the thermal shield is cooled from 300K to 40K in a slow process over 2-1/2 days. The factors limiting the cooling rate are a high thermal gradient which produces thermal strain and high mechanical stress. D ecreasing the time required to reach operational temperatures is the desired research goal. Physical testing data and finite element method (FEM) computer models from the Single Spoke Resonator – 1 (SSR1) and Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS-II) cryomodules will be evaluated to determine needed design changes. The thermal shield design for the High Beta 650 MHz (HB650) will be modified and analyzed using FEM computer models to determine maximum cooling rate with a target of 50 thermal cycles of life. Maximum allowable stress will be determined through low cycle fatigue calculations.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Molybdenum Recovery from Filters Used in Large-scale Dissolution of Sintered Mo-disks

99 Mo production with linear accelerators can be achieved via the bremsstrahlung photonuclear reaction 100 Mo(γ,n) 99 Mo or the neutron capture reaction 98 Mo(n,γ) 99 Mo. For commercial producers, maximum recovery of enriched 98 Mo and 100 Mo target material is critical for sustaining an economic production cycle. During the peroxide dissolution of Mo metal disks and subsequent conversion to K 2 MoO 4 , several grams of Mo can be lost during filtration from solution when several hundred grams of sintered Mo disks are processed. This investigation shows that 5–8 g Mo is routinely retained on the filter units, but it can be almost fully recovered using aqueous washes. Washing can be done immediately and incorporated into the dissolution procedure, or it can occur several months after the initial filtration process to decrease processing time.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design and demonstration of an economical SRF structure for Continuous Wave (CW), high-energy, Megawatt-class beams

Due to its very high RF-to-beam efficiency, superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities have become the technology of choice for the construction of large linear accelerators (linacs) for basic science applications (examples, ESS and PIP-II). The technology is also attractive for high volume industrial applications such as electron irradiation processing of wastewater and flue gas. However, SRF’s current reliance on liquid helium for cryogenic cooling introduces infrastructural and safety challenges for use in industrial settings. Cryocooler conduction-cooling is a recently developed novel technique for operating SRF cavities without requiring liquid helium. This project aims for technical design and economic assessment of a medium energy, high average power e-beam linac based on the conduction-cooled SRF technique for high volume irradiation treatment of wastewater. The goals of this project are (1) to design a medium energy (10 MeV), high average power (1 MW) electron beam accelerator around the cryocooler conduction-cooled SRF cavity technology, (2) demonstrate the required accelerating voltage on a prototype cavity, and (3) build a cost-model to evaluate capital and operating expense of the accelerator.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solvent Recovery and Management at the Savannah River Site H-Canyon Facility

NIOWAVE, Inc. is a domestic supplier of medical and industrial isotopes from uranium and radium. The Savannah River National laboratory (SRNL) is currently providing support to NIOWAVE, which plans to deploy a superconducting electron linear accelerator (LINAC) to fission uranium for Mo-99 production without the need for a nuclear reactor or HEU. The uranium from the Mo-99 production targets will be purified using a modified PUREX (Plutonium Uranium Reduction Extraction) solvent extraction process to recover the uranium in the product stream. The uranium will then be precipitated as an oxalate which is calcined to U 3 O 8 to fabricate pellets for new Mo-99 targets. In previous support provided to NIOWAVE, the SRNL demonstrated a solvent washing process to remove degradation products from the tributyl phosphate (TBP) solvent used in the modified PUREX process under development for uranium recovery. To supplement this technology demonstration, NIOWAVE requested the SRNL to provide summary information on the solvent recovery and management activities which are used at the Savannah River Site (SRS) H-Canyon facility. An existing reference document for the reprocessing of irradiated HEU fuels at the SRS was used as the primary reference for the solvent management activities; although, other reference documents were used to provide supplementary information. The information provided includes a brief summary of the solvent degradation issues which have been observed in the H-Canyon solvent extraction cycles and resulting process safety concerns. The solvent recovery processes for the three cycles of solvent extraction used in the H-Canyon were subsequently described including the process equipment which consists of the continuous and batch solvent washers, pumps, and tanks. A final section is provided on the monitoring and analysis of solvent quality based on the previous work performed at the SRNL for NIOWAVE and past research and development activities performed to support the solvent extraction processes in both the SRS F-Canyon and H-Canyon facilities.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Irradiation of Sintered Mo Disks with Presence of Organic Impurities in He Gas Flow

Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne) is assisting NorthStar Medical Technologies in the development of a domestic supply of 99 Mo. Specifically, the present study focuses on the production of 99 Mo-feed solution used by the RadioGenix™ 99m Tc generator. During the target-irradiation phase of production, impurities can potentially be introduced into the feed, and can lead to disturbance of ligand- 99m Tc complexation chemistry and contamination of the final radiopharmaceutical that directly interacts with the patient. To address this issue, Argonne performed irradiations and chemical processing to identify whether the potential contamination of He flow with hydrocarbon oil during irradiation affects the radiochemical purity of the final K 2 MoO 4 (K 2 TcO 4 ) in 5M KOH solution. To mimic the conditions of real irradiation at NorthStar, Argonne used its electron linear accelerator and Van de Graaff facilities, heated the target and oil source to >800°C, and controlled oxygen in the presence of He during irradiation. Following irradiation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and carbon analysis (CA) were used to detect carbon contamination on the solid targets. The radiochemical purity of the dissolved targets was studied via thin-layer paper chromatography (TLC). As a result of these experiments, small regions of the surface of some irradiated disks were found to be high in carbon, but the total carbon content was still negligible in comparison to the reference sample, which had experienced no irradiation or contact with oil. The summarized results from the SEM, CA, and TLC tests lead to the conclusion that even an excess of oil and heating during irradiation do not affect the radiochemical purity of the final product.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2022

Print or order a LANSCE 50th anniversary poster [Poster]

To mark the anniversary of LANSCE and its five decades of cutting-edge science, the National Security Research Center’s graphic designer Gabriella Smith (from CEA-CAS) illustrated a commemorative poster now available for display. The LANSCE (the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center) facility houses one of the nation’s most powerful linear accelerators, which are used to improve safety and security as well as advance technology in stockpile sustainment, modern materials and manufacturing, and threat mitigation, among other areas. Now-deceased Lab scientist Louis Rosen, who is featured prominently on the poster, first proposed creating this major experimental science facility, said NSRC Archivist-Historian Madeline Whitacre (WRS-NSRCMS)

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Physical Sciences Vistas Perspectives on LANSCE Issue 2, 2022

What’s LANSCE? The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center is a facility at the Lab with one of the nation’s most powerful linear accelerators, which is a half-mile in length. What’s an accelerator? An accelerator is a machine that uses electric or time-varying magnetic fields to accelerate nuclear particles to high velocities.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Purification and Concentration of 99 Mo from a UREX raffinate

The medical isotope 99m Tc ( t ½ = 6.0 h) accounts for over 80% of isotopes used in diagnostic nuclear medicine today and is normally derived from its transient equilibrium parent 99 Mo ( t ½ = 66 h). To reduce U.S. dependence on 99 Mo derived from HEU by foreign suppliers, the NNSA/M3 program—under the American Medical Isotope Production Act—has been tasked with facilitating the work of domestic 99 Mo suppliers that do not utilize HEU. Superconducting electron linear accelerators with high-Z converter targets can generate bremsstrahlung photons and neutron fluxes that can induce photonuclear reactions and LEU fission. After sufficient production intervals, targets can be rotated out and processed while another batch is irradiated. The process flow chemistry is shown in Figure 1. The irradiated U 3 O 8 targets are retrieved and dissolved in HNO 3 ; the volatile fission products are expelled and captured during this step. The HNO 3 liquor bearing the uranyl, fission and activation products is injected into the UREX suite of liquid-liquid extraction banks. The uranyl is partitioned in typical fashion using tri-$\textit{n}$-butyl phosphate (TBP) in a hydrocarbon diluent. The raffinate—comprising mainly 99 Mo and fission products—is then injected into the MoLLE (Molybdenum Liquid-Liquid Extraction) flowsheet, where the Mo is selectively extracted by an organophosphorous acid extractant such as di-(2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid) (HDEHP). Trace amounts of Nb, Zr, Np, I, and Te are co-extracted. The Mo is stripped using acetohydroxamic acid (AHA) and fed onto an anion exchange column. Following a series of hydroxide, HCl, and oxalic acid wash steps, the Mo can be recovered in NaOH/NaCl. A manuscript describing this process chemistry in more detail was recently published.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

LAMP Manufacturing Survey (Final Report)

This report presents the results of a market manufacturing survey performed for fabricating radiofrequency quadrupoles (RFQ) and Drift Tube Linear Accelerator (DTL) components needed for the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) Modernization Project (LAMP). A review on existing RFQs and DTLs with their parameters, a summary of specific capabilities needed to manufacture them, the common issues during the fabrication process, their consequences, and resolutions to these problems is presented in this report. The goal of this study is to identify potential collaborators and companies capable of manufacturing the necessary accelerator equipment, while minimizing cost and schedule risks that could impact the future modernization of the LANSCE facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Final Report: Next Generation Diamond Drumhead X-Ray Optics

Problem / Opportunity Statement: Future high-impact scientific applications at synchrotron and Free-Electron Laser (FEL) X-ray sources require the development of processing and mounting methods for ultra-thin diamond crystals to meet the most challenging needs of pioneering research at next generation light source facilities. These methods should be capable of manufacturing crystal plates as thin as 10 micrometers over an area of a few mm2, and with a surface cut in different crystal orientations, such as the diamond {100}, {111}, {110} and {113} planes. Project Purpose and Approach: In Phase I, Great Lakes Crystal Technologies (GLCT) partnered with Stonybrook University (SUNY) to created thin diamond drumhead crystals. The purpose of the Phase I project is to transfer the drumhead membrane window etching technology from SUNY to GLCT. Testing of a device using the beamline at Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory was initially planned, however, a delay on the part of a third party service provided required us to get beamline testing done at Argonne National Laboratory. Phase I Taskwork: Testing of a high purity diamond plate thinning and etching process was performed. By SUNY and GLCT. Plates were sent to a third party service provider for thinning to ~100 microns, however, delays required that GLCT develop an in-house thinning process to complete the taskwork. GLCT successfully developed this in-house capability even though it was initially planned to be part of the Phase II Taskwork. Multiple practice and deliverable plates were provided to SUNY to be etched into the target drumhead devices. GLCT practiced and refined an in-house plate thinning process and produced five plates with thicknesses in the 60 – 150 micron range. Processing of the plates has begun and will continue in a no-cost extension period necessitated by the third party service provider delay. GLCT also procured and installed a reactive ion etching/inductively coupled plasma system. In addition, one of the thinned plates was measured at the Applied Photon Source at APL for a pre-processing assessment of the crystalline strain. After processing the plate into a drumhead and annealing, a post-processing assessment of the strain will be performed. Phase I Results: The initial data from GLCT’s plate thinning process development, SUNY’s drumhead etching processing, and characterization at APS/ANL demonstrate our teams capabilities to achieve the project goals. Commercial Applications & Benefits: The proposed technology will benefit advanced x-ray science performed at BNL and the 70+ additional advanced beamlines around the world. There are also a number of medical and homeland security applications which could benefit from the technology.

Quayle, Paul↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design of a 10 MeV beamline at the Upgraded Injector Test Facility for e-beam irradiation

Electron beam irradiation near 10 MeV is suitable for wastewater treatment. The Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) at Jefferson Lab is a CW superconducting linear accelerator capable of providing an electron beam of energy up to 10 MeV and up to 100 µA current. This contribution presents the beam transport simulations for a beamline to be used for the irradiation of wastewater samples at the UITF. The simulations were done using the code General Particle Tracer with the goal of obtaining an 8 MeV electron beam of radius (3-σ) of ~2.4 cm. The achieved energy spread is ~74.5 keV. The space charge effects were investigated when the bunch charge is varied to be up to 1000 times and the results showed that they do not affect the beam quality significantly.

Li, X.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of High Performance Medium Velocity Superconducting Elliptical Cavities for Hadron Linacs

There is a solid scientific need for continuous wave (CW) proton or heavy ion linear accelerators (linacs) in the energy range up to about 1 GeV per nucleon (GeV/u). Only superconducting (SC) cavities can provide cost-efficient acceleration in CW mode. While low velocity, bc < 0.5 (b is the relative velocity of a charged particle and c is the speed of light), and high velocity, bc > 0.9, SC accelerating structures are established, there is a need in high-performance medium velocity SC accelerating structures. Currently, no superconducting (SC) CW proton or ion accelerators operate in the medium velocity range. We have developed a robust technology for producing high-performance medium-velocity elliptical cavities operating in the frequency range between 600 and 700 MHz. The project was performed in collaboration with Fermi and Argonne National Laboratories. The 5-cell, βopt = 0.65, 644 MHz elliptical cavities built at MSU have been used for this research. An advanced surface treatment method based on nitrogen doping to achieve a high-quality factor and a high accelerating gradient has been demonstrated. The surface treatment has been performed at ANL, and nitrogen doping at FNAL. A stable resonance control with the slow and fast tuner system has also been verified. FNAL developed a dedicated resonance control system for the stable operation of the combined tuner.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Deployable Cryocooler Based Cryomodule

Superconducting Radio Frequency (SRF) linear accelerators (linacs) have shown tremendous promise in extending the intensity frontier of particle accelerator technology. However, they are large and complex systems, requiring a central refrigeration system and complex piping to distribute liquid helium and nitrogen to the accelerating cavities. In response to these problems, RadiaBeam Technologies, LLC. proposes to develop a small mobile cryomodule that can be safely deployed to its planned field location. The scope of this work is to provide RadiaBeam with the specifications for a complete 650 MHz RF cavity model that can be incorporated into a compact SRF accelerator. Fermilab’s contribution will involve sharing contact resistance measurements, design parameters, and solid models. Design parameters will include the cavity frequency and gradient, length of the linac, number of cryocoolers, etc. This will ensure that the design is useful for practical linacs. A complete cryomodule design is envisioned. Radiabeam will design the cryomodule based on input from Fermilab’s experience on conduction cooling and the needs for a compact SRF accelerator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗