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At least 595 records · Page 33
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

Note: Versatile sample stick for neutron scattering experiments in high electric fields

We present a versatile high voltage sample stick that fits into all cryomagnets and standard cryostats at the Swiss Spallation Neutron Source, Paul Scherrer Institut, and which provides a low effort route to neutron scattering experiments that combine electric field with low temperature and magnetic field. The stick allows for voltages up to 5 kV and can be easily adapted for different scattering geometries. We discuss the design consideration and thermal behavior of the stick, and give one example to showcase the abilities of the device.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of a 33 kV, 20 A long pulse converter modulator for high average power klystron

Research, design, and development of high average power, long pulse modulators for the proposed Indian Spallation Neutron Source are underway at Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology. With this objective, a prototype of long pulse modulator capable of delivering 33 kV, 20 A at 5 Hz repetition rate has been designed and developed. Three Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) based switching modules driving high frequency, high voltage transformers have been used to generate high voltage output. The IGBT based switching modules are shifted in phase by 120° with respect to each other. The switching frequency is 25 kHz. Pulses of 1.6 ms pulse width, 80 μs rise time, and 70 μs fall time have been achieved at the modulator output. A droop of ±0.6% is achieved using a simple segmented digital droop correction technique. The total fault energy transferred to the load during fault has been measured by conducting wire burn tests and is found to be within 3.5 J.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Plastic fiber scintillator response to fast neutrons

The Neutron Imaging System at NIF uses an array of plastic scintillator fibers in conjunction with a time-gated imaging system to form an image of the neutron emission from the imploded capsule. By gating on neutrons that have scattered from the 14.1 MeV DT energy to lower energy ranges, an image of the dense, cold fuel around the hotspot is also obtained. An unmoderated spallation neutron beamline at the Weapons Neutron Research facility at Los Alamos was used in conjunction with a time-gated imaging system to measure the yield of a scintillating fiber array over several energy bands ranging from 1 to 15 MeV. The results and comparison to simulation are presented.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

A radial collimator for a time-of-flight neutron spectrometer

We have engineered and installed a radial collimator for use in the scattered beam of a neutron time-of-flight spectrometer at a spallation neutron source. The radial collimator may be used with both thermal and epithermal neutrons, reducing the detected scattering intensity due to material outside of the sample region substantially. The collimator is located inside of the sample chamber of the instrument, which routinely cycles between atmospheric conditions and cryogenic vacuum. The oscillation and support mechanism of the collimator allow it to be removed from use without breaking vacuum. We describe here the design and characterization of this radial collimator.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nonuniform radiation damage in permanent magnet quadrupoles

We present data that indicate nonuniform magnetization loss due to radiation damage in neodymium-iron-boron Halbach-style permanent magnet quadrupoles. The proton radiography (pRad) facility at Los Alamos uses permanent-magnet quadrupoles for magnifying lenses, and a system recently commissioned at GSI-Darmsdadt uses permanent magnets for its primary lenses. Large fluences of spallation neutrons can be produced in close proximity to these magnets when the proton beam is, intentionally or unintentionally, directed into the tungsten beam collimators; imaging experiments at LANL’s pRad have shown image degradation with these magnetic lenses at proton beam doses lower than those expected to cause damage through radiation-induced reduction of the quadrupole strength alone. We have observed preferential degradation in portions of the permanent magnet quadrupole where the field intensity is highest, resulting in increased high-order multipole components.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2014

Choppers to optimise the repetition rate multiplication technique on a direct geometry neutron chopper spectrometer

In recent years the use of repetition rate multiplication (RRM) on direct geometry neutron spectrometers has been established and is the common mode of operation on a growing number of instruments. However, the chopper configurations are not ideally optimised for RRM with a resultant 100 fold flux difference across a broad wavelength band. This paper presents chopper configurations that will produce a relative constant (RC) energy resolution and a relative variable (RV) energy resolution for optimised use of RRM. The RC configuration provides an almost uniform ΔE/E for all incident wavelengths and enables an efficient use of time as the entire dynamic range is probed with equivalent statistics, ideal for single shot measurements of transient phenomena. The RV energy configuration provides an almost uniform opening time at the sample for all incident wavelengths with three orders of magnitude in time resolution probed for a single European Spallation Source (ESS) period, which is ideal to probe complex relaxational behaviour. These two chopper configurations have been simulated for the Versatile Optimal Resolution direct geometry spectrometer, VOR, that will be built at ESS.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Probing cosmic-ray acceleration and propagation with H{sub 3}{sup +} observations

As cosmic rays traverse the interstellar medium (ISM) they interact with the ambient gas in various ways. These include ionization of atoms and molecules, spallation of nuclei, excitation of nuclear states, and production of pions among others. All of these interactions produce potential observables which may be used to trace the flux of cosmic rays. One such observable is the molecular ion H{sub 3}{sup +}-produced via the ionization of an H{sub 2} molecule and its subsequent collision with another H{sub 2}-which can be identified by absorption lines in the 3.5-4 μm spectral region. We have detected H{sub 3}{sup +} in several Galactic diffuse cloud sight lines and used the derived column densities to infer ζ{sub 2}, the cosmic-ray ionization rate of H{sub 2}. Ionization rates determined in this way vary from about 7×10{sup −17} s{sup −1} to about 8×10{sup −16} s{sup −1}, and suggest the possibility of discrete sources producing high local fluxes of low-energy cosmic rays. Theoretical calculations of the ionization rate from postulated cosmic-ray spectra also support this possibility. Our recent observations of H{sub 3}{sup +} near the supernova remnant IC 443 (a likely site of cosmic-ray acceleration) point to even higher ionization rates, on the order of 10{sup −15} s{sup −1}. Together, all of these results can further our understanding of the cosmic-ray spectrum both near the acceleration source and in the general Galactic ISM.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Study of the {sup 10}B(p,α){sup 7}Be reaction through the indirect Trojan Horse method

Boron abundances in stellar atmospheres, as well as berillium and lithium ones, can give useful hints for non-standard transport processes discrimination in stars. They can also be relevant for understanding several astrophysical processes (e.g. primordial nucleosynthesis and spallation reactions in ISM). A comprehensive study of Li Be B abundances can therefore confirm or not the presence of non-standard mixing processes in stellar envelopes. For this reason nuclear processes producing or depleting boron isotope abundance need to be studied at astrophysical energies. The {sup 10}B(p,α){sup 7}Be reaction has been studied by means of the Trojan Horse Method. The Trojan Horse Method was thus applied to the {sup 10}B(d,α{sup 7}Be)n reaction, studied at 24 MeV. The obtained results will be discussed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Hybrid superconducting neutron detectors

A neutron detection concept is presented that is based on superconductive niobium (Nb) strips coated by a boron (B) layer. The working principle of the detector relies on the nuclear reaction, {sup 10}B + n → α + {sup 7}Li, with α and Li ions generating a hot spot on the current-biased Nb strip which in turn induces a superconducting-normal state transition. The latter is recognized as a voltage signal which is the evidence of the incident neutron. The above described detection principle has been experimentally assessed and verified by irradiating the samples with a pulsed neutron beam at the ISIS spallation neutron source (UK). It is found that the boron coated superconducting strips, kept at a temperature T = 8 K and current-biased below the critical current I{sub c}, are driven into the normal state upon thermal neutron irradiation. As a result of the transition, voltage pulses in excess of 40 mV are measured while the bias current can be properly modulated to bring the strip back to the superconducting state, thus resetting the detector. Measurements on the counting rate of the device are presented and the basic physical features of the detector are discussed.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical modeling of the SNS H{sup −} ion source

Ion source rf antennas that produce H- ions can fail when plasma heating causes ablation of the insulating coating due to small structural defects such as cracks. Reducing antenna failures that reduce the operating capabilities of the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) accelerator is one of the top priorities of the SNS H- Source Program at ORNL. Numerical modeling of ion sources can provide techniques for optimizing design in order to reduce antenna failures. There are a number of difficulties in developing accurate models of rf inductive plasmas. First, a large range of spatial and temporal scales must be resolved in order to accurately capture the physics of plasma motion, including the Debye length, rf frequencies on the order of tens of MHz, simulation time scales of many hundreds of rf periods, large device sizes on tens of cm, and ion motions that are thousands of times slower than electrons. This results in large simulation domains with many computational cells for solving plasma and electromagnetic equations, short time steps, and long-duration simulations. In order to reduce the computational requirements, one can develop implicit models for both fields and particle motions (e.g. divergence-preserving ADI methods), various electrostatic models, or magnetohydrodynamic models. We have performed simulations using all three of these methods and have found that fluid models have the greatest potential for giving accurate solutions while still being fast enough to perform long timescale simulations in a reasonable amount of time. We have implemented a number of fluid models with electromagnetics using the simulation tool USim and applied them to modeling the SNS H- ion source. We found that a reduced, single-fluid MHD model with an imposed magnetic field due to the rf antenna current and the confining multi-cusp field generated increased bulk plasma velocities of > 200 m/s in the region of the antenna where ablation is often observed in the SNS source. We report here on comparisons of simulated plasma parameters and code performance using more accurate physical models, such as two-temperature extended MHD models, for both a related benchmark system describing a inductively coupled plasma reactor, and for the SNS ion source. We also present results from scaling studies for mesh generation and solvers in the USim simulation code.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Maintenance and operation procedure, and feedback controls of the J-PARC RF-driven H{sup −} ion source

In order to satisfy the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) second stage requirements of an H{sup −} ion beam of 60mA within normalized emittances of 1.5πmm•mrad both horizontally and vertically, a flat top beam duty factor of 1.25% (500μs×25Hz) and a life-time of longer than 1month, the J-PARC cesiated RF-driven H{sup −} ion source was developed by using an internal-antenna developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The maintenance and operation procedure to minimize the plasma chamber (PCH) replacement time on the beam line, which is very important to maximize the J-PARC beam time especially for an antenna failure, is presented in this paper. The PCH preserved by filling argon (Ar) gas inside after pre-conditioning including pre-cesiation to produce the required beam at a test-stand successfully produced the required beam on the beam line with slight addition of cesium (Cs). The methods of the feedback controls of a 2MHz-RF-matching, an H{sup −} ion beam intensity and the addition of Cs are also presented. The RF-matching feedback by using two vacuum variable capacitors (VVCs) and RF-frequency shift produced the almost perfect matching with negligibly small reflected RF-power. The H{sup −} ion beam intensity was controlled within errors of ±0.1mA by the RF-power feedback. The amount of Cs was also controlled by remotely opening a Cs-valve to keep the RF-power lower than a settled value.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Emittance measurements for optimum operation of the J-PARC RF-driven H{sup −} ion source

In order to satisfy the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) second stage requirements of an H{sup −} ion beam of 60mA within normalized emittances of 1.5πmm•mrad both horizontally and vertically, a flat top beam duty factor of 1.25% (500μs×25Hz) and a life-time of longer than 1month, the J-PARC cesiated RF-driven H{sup −} ion source was developed by using an internal-antenna developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). The transverse emittances of the source were measured with various conditions to find out the optimum operation conditions minimizing the horizontal and vertical rms normalized emittances. The transverse emittances were most effectively reduced by operating the source with the plasma electrode temperature lower than 70°C. The optimum value of the cesium (Cs) density around the beam hole of the plasma electrode seems to be proportional to the plasma electrode temperature. The fine control of the Cs density is indispensable, since the emittances seem to increase proportionally to the excessiveness of the Cs density. Furthermore, the source should be operated with the Cs density beyond a threshold value, since the plasma meniscus shape and the ellipse parameters of the transverse emittances seem to be changed step-function-likely on the threshold Cs value.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Rod-filter-field optimization of the J-PARC RF-driven H{sup −} ion source

In order to satisfy the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) second-stage requirements of an H{sup −} ion beam of 60mA within normalized emittances of 1.5πmm•mrad both horizontally and vertically, a flat top beam duty factor of 1.25% (500μs×25Hz) and a life-time of longer than 1month, the J-PARC cesiated RF-driven H{sup −} ion source was developed by using an internal-antenna developed at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). Although rod-filter-field (RFF) is indispensable and one of the most beam performance dominative parameters for the RF-driven H{sup −} ion source with the internal-antenna, the procedure to optimize it is not established. In order to optimize the RFF and establish the procedure, the beam performances of the J-PARC source with various types of rod-filter-magnets (RFMs) were measured. By changing RFM’s gap length and gap number inside of the region projecting the antenna inner-diameter along the beam axis, the dependence of the H{sup −} ion beam intensity on the net 2MHz-RF power was optimized. Furthermore, the fine-tuning of RFM’s cross-section (magnetmotive force) was indispensable for easy operation with the temperature (T{sub PE}) of the plasma electrode (PE) lower than 70°C, which minimizes the transverse emittances. The 5% reduction of RFM’s cross-section decreased the time-constant to recover the cesium effects after an slightly excessive cesiation on the PE from several 10 minutes to several minutes for T{sub PE} around 60°C.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Recent progress in plasma modelling at INFN-LNS

At Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare - Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (INFN-LNS), the development of intense ion and proton sources has been supported by a great deal of work on the modelling of microwave generated plasmas for many years. First, a stationary version of the particle-in-cell code was developed for plasma modelling starting from an iterative strategy adopted for the space charge dominated beam transport simulations. Electromagnetic properties of the plasma and full-waves simulations are now affordable for non-homogenous and non-isotropic magnetized plasma via “cold” approximation. The effects of Coulomb collisions on plasma particles dynamics was implemented with the Langevin formalism, instead of simply applying the Spitzer 90° collisions through a Monte Carlo technique. A wide database of different cross sections related to reactions occurring in a hydrogen plasma was implemented. The next step consists of merging such a variety of approaches for retrieving an “as-a-whole” picture of plasma dynamics in ion sources. The preliminary results will be summarized in the paper for a microwave discharge ion source designed for intense and high quality proton beams production, proton source for European Spallation Source project. Even if the realization of a predictive software including the complete processes involved in plasma formation is still rather far, a better comprehension of the source behavior is possible and so the simulations may support the optimization phase.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Recent performance of and plasma outage studies with the SNS H{sup −} source

Spallation Neutron Source ramps to higher power levels that can be sustained with high availability. The goal is 1.4 MW despite a compromised radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ), which requires higher radio frequency power than design levels to approach the nominal beam transmission. Unfortunately at higher power the RFQ often loses its thermal stability, a problem apparently enhanced by beam losses and high influxes of hydrogen. Delivering as much H{sup −} beam as possible with the least amount of hydrogen led to plasma outages. The root cause is the dense 1-ms long ∼55-kW 2-MHz plasma pulses reflecting ∼90% of the continuous ∼300 W, 13-MHz power, which was mitigated with a 4-ms filter for the reflected power signal and an outage resistant, slightly detuned 13-MHz match. Lowering the H{sub 2} gas also increased the H{sup −} beam current to ∼55 mA and increased the RFQ transmission by ∼7% (relative)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2015

Laser surface modification of medical grade alloys for reduced heating in a magnetic resonance imaging environment

Nanoscale surface modification of medical grade metallic alloys was conducted using a neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser-based dopant diffusion technique. The objective of this approach was to minimize the induction heating by reducing the absorbed radio frequency field. Such an approach is advantageous in that the dopant is diffused into the alloy and is not susceptible to detachment or spallation as would an externally applied coating, and is expected to not deteriorate the mechanical and electrical properties of the base alloy or device. Experiments were conducted using a controlled environment laser system with the ability to control laser properties (i.e., laser power, spot size, and irradiation time) and dopant characteristics (i.e., temperature, concentration, and pressure). The reflective and transmissive properties of both the doped and untreated samples were measured in a radio frequency (63.86 MHz) magnetic field using a system comprising a high power signal generator, a localized magnetic field source and sensor, and a signal analyzer. The results indicate an increase in the reflectivity of the laser-treated samples compared to untreated samples. The effect of reflectivity on the heating of the alloys is investigated through a mathematical model incorporating Maxwell’s equations and heat conduction.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

Characterization of the CW starter plasma RF matching network for operating the SNS H{sup −} ion source with lower H{sub 2} flows

The Spallation Neutron Source H{sup −} ion source is operated with a pulsed 2-MHz RF (50-60 kW) to produce the 1-ms long, ∼50 mA H{sup −} beams at 60 Hz. A continuous low power (∼300 W) 13.56-MHz RF plasma, which is initially ignited with a H{sub 2} pressure bump, serves as starter plasma for the pulsed high power 2-MHz RF discharges. To reduce the risk of plasma outages at lower H{sub 2} flow rates which is desired for improved performance of the following radio frequency quadrupole, the 13.56-MHz RF matching network was characterized over a broad range of its two tuning capacitors. The H-α line intensity of the 13.56-MHz RF plasma and the reflected power of the 13.56-MHz RF were mapped against the capacitor settings. Optimal tunes for the maximum H-α intensity are consistent with the optimal tunes for minimum reflected power. Low limits of the H{sub 2} flow rate not causing plasma outages were explored within the range of the map. A tune region that allows lower H{sub 2} flow rate has been identified, which differs from the optimal tune for global minimum reflected power that was mostly used in the past.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2018

Design of a facility for the in situ measurement of catalytic reaction by neutron scattering spectroscopy

Catalysis is a critical enabling science for future energy needs. The next frontier of catalysis is to evolve from catalyst discovery to catalyst design, and for this next step to be realized, we must develop new techniques to better understand reaction mechanisms. To do this, we must connect catalytic reaction rates and selectivities to the kinetics, energetics, and dynamics of individual elementary steps and relate these to the structure and dynamics of the catalytic sites involved. Neutron scattering spectroscopies offer unique capabilities that are difficult or impossible to match by other techniques. Additionally, the current study presents the development of a compact and portable instrumental design that enables the in situ investigation of catalytic samples by neutron scattering techniques. The developed apparatus was tested at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) in Oak Ridge National Laboratory and includes a gas handling panel that allows for computer hookups to control the panel externally and online measurement equipment such as coupled GC-FID/TCD (Gas Chromatography-Flame Ionization Detector/Thermal Conductivity Detector) and MS (Mass Spectrometry) to characterize offgassing while the sample is in the neutron scattering spectrometer. This system is flexible, modular, compact, and portable enabling its use for many types of gas-solid and liquid-solid reactions at the various beamlines housed at the SNS.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗