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DOE OSTI2011

Electron-helium scattering in Debye plasmas

Electron-helium scattering in weakly coupled hot-dense (Debye) plasma has been investigated using the convergent close-coupling method. The Yukawa-type Debye-Hueckel potential has been used to describe plasma Coulomb screening effects. Benchmark results are presented for momentum transfer cross sections, excitation, ionization, and total cross sections for scattering from the ground and metastable states of helium. Calculations cover the entire energy range up to 1000 eV for the no screening case and various Debye lengths (5-100 a{sub 0}). We find that as the screening interaction increases, the excitation and total cross sections decrease, while the total ionization cross sections increase.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

WE-H-BRA-06: Experimental Investigation of RBE for Lung Cancer Cell Lines as a Function of Dose and LET in Proton, Helium and Carbon Beams

Purpose: Investigate and quantify the effect of dose and LET on the RBE of protons, helium and carbon ions. Methods: High throughput, high accuracy experimental setups were custom designed to investigate the Relative Biological Effectiveness (RBE) dependence on the dose and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) values for proton, helium and carbon ion beams. The experiment was conducted at the HIT facility in collaboration with the DKFZ in Heidelberg/Germany. Clonogenic assays of two human lung cancer cell lines, H460 and H1437, were investigated in this study. γH2AX foci staining on the H460 cell line was also undertaken to facilitate the study of differential DNA double-strand break induction and repair between low-design available at the HIT facility. Specific points along the Bragg curve corresponding to well-defined doses and LET values were chosen by appropriate selection of the pre-absorber thicknesses. With a setup design for horizontal beam lines we were able to minimize ion scattering in the cell plate, resulting in narrower energy spectra and hence LET distributions in the Bragg peak and in the distal falloff regions, compared to the earlier experiments. Results: Approximately 16,000 samples of cancer cells were irradiated during 23 hours of beam time. The preliminary results of the survival curves for both cell lines show a distinct dependence on LET for a given dose with decreased survival fractions at increasing LET values, encountered at the Bragg peak and in the distal falloff. Conclusion: Our preliminary findings are indicative of the importance of novel variable-RBE models for proton therapy and provide insight into the RBE of heavy ions for possible future heavy ion therapy facilities in the US. Funding support: SINF 2015/16.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2017

Complementary study of the internal porous silicon layers formed under high-dose implantation of helium ions

The surface layers of Si(001) substrates subjected to plasma-immersion implantation of helium ions with an energy of 2–5 keV and a dose of 5 × 10{sup 17} cm{sup –2} have been investigated using high-resolution X-ray reflectivity, Rutherford backscattering, and transmission electron microscopy. The electron density depth profile in the surface layer formed by helium ions is obtained, and its elemental and phase compositions are determined. This layer is found to have a complex structure and consist of an upper amorphous sublayer and a layer with a porosity of 30–35% beneath. It is shown that the porous layer has the sharpest boundaries at a lower energy of implantable ions.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2017

New hardware and software platform for experiments on a HUBER-5042 X-ray diffractometer with a DISPLEX DE-202 helium cryostat in the temperature range of 20–300 K

Huber-5042 diffractometer with a closed-cycle Displex DE-202 helium cryostat is a unique scientific instrument for carrying out X-ray diffraction experiments when studying the single crystal structure in the temperature range of 20–300 K. To make the service life longer and develop new experimental techniques, the diffractometer control is transferred to a new hardware and software platform. To this end, a modern computer; a new detector reader unit; and new control interfaces for stepper motors, temperature controller, and cryostat vacuum pumping system are used. The system for cooling the X-ray tube, the high-voltage generator, and the helium compressor and pump for maintaining the desired vacuum in the cryostat are replaced. The system for controlling the primary beam shutter is upgraded. A biological shielding is installed. The new program tools, which use the Linux Ubuntu operating system and SPEC constructor, include a set of drivers for control units through the aforementioned interfaces. A program for searching reflections from a sample using fast continuous scanning and a priori information about crystal is written. Thus, the software package for carrying out the complete cycle of precise diffraction experiment (from determining the crystal unit cell to calculating the integral reflection intensities) is upgraded. High quality of the experimental data obtained on this equipment is confirmed in a number of studies in the temperature range from 20 to 300 K.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Crystal-Chemical Features of Diamonds Implanted with Helium Ions

Implantation of high-energy helium ions into crystals of natural colorless diamonds colors them bright yellow, brown, or black, depending on the implantation dose. The nature of the induced fantasy color and crystal-chemical features of the implanted diamonds have been investigated by IR spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It is established that the radiation effect of helium ions on the diamond crystal structure results in the transformation of nitrogen-vacancy centers in its bulk with the formation of new A-type color centers, as well as the formation of carbon nanoclusters with the sp{sup 2} hybridization of bonds (which is typical of graphite) in black diamonds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2017

Ionization-Excitation of helium-like ions by high-energy electrons

The differential and total cross sections are calculated for the ionization of helium-like ions that is accompanied by the excitation of residual ions to ns states owing to an electron impact. Nonrelativistic perturbation theory in electron–electron interaction with Coulomb functions used for a zero-order approximation underlies these calculations. The expressions obtained in this way have a universal character. They are applicable at moderate values of the target charge number Z and high energies of incident electrons. A comparison with total cross sections calculated for the helium atom within various theoretical approaches is performed.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Breakdown in helium in high-voltage open discharge with subnanosecond current front rise

Investigations of high-voltage open discharge in helium have shown a possibility of generation of current pulses with subnanosecond front rise, due to ultra-fast breakdown development. The open discharge is ignited between two planar cathodes with mesh anode in the middle between them. For gas pressure 6 Torr and 20 kV applied voltage, the rate of current rise reaches 500 A/(cm{sup 2} ns) for current density 200 A/cm{sup 2} and more. The time of breakdown development was measured for different helium pressures and a kinetic model of breakdown in open discharge is presented, based on elementary reactions for electrons, ions and fast atoms. The model also includes various cathode emission processes due to cathode bombardment by ions, fast atoms, electrons and photons of resonant radiation with Doppler shift of frequency. It is shown, that the dominating emission processes depend on the evolution of the discharge voltage during the breakdown. In the simulations, two cases of voltage behavior were considered: (i) the voltage is kept constant during the breakdown; (ii) the voltage is reduced with the growth of current. For the first case, the exponentially growing current is maintained due to photoemission by the resonant photons with Doppler-shifted frequency. For the second case, the dominating factor of current growth is the secondary electron emission. In both cases, the subnanosecond rise of discharge current was obtained. Also the effect of gas pressure on breakdown development was considered. It was found that for 20 Torr gas pressure the time of current rise decreases to 0.1 ns, which is in agreement with experimental data.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Measurement of ion beam angular distribution at different helium gas pressures in a plasma focus device by large-area polycarbonate detectors

The paper presents an experimental study and analysis of full helium ion density angular distributions in a 4-kJ plasma focus device (PFD) at pressures of 10, 15, 25, and 30 mbar using large-area polycarbonate track detectors (PCTDs) (15-cm etchable diameter) processed by 50-Hz-HV electrochemical etching (ECE). Helium ion track distributions at different pressures, in particular, at the main axis of the PFD are presented. Maximum ion track density of ~4.4 × 10{sup 4} tracks/cm{sup 2} was obtained in the PCTD placed 6 cm from the anode. The ion distributions for all pressures applied are ring-shaped, which is possibly due to the hollow cylindrical copper anode used. The large-area PCTD processed by ECE proves, at the present state-of-theart, a superior method for direct observation and analysis of ion distributions at a glance with minimum efforts and time. Some observations of the ion density distributions at different pressures are reported and discussed.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2018

Simulation of the Plasma Afterglow in the Discharge Gap of a Subnanosecond Switch Based on an Open Discharge in Helium

The phenomenon of subnanosecond electrical breakdown in a strong electric field observed in an open discharge in helium at pressures of 6–20 Torr can be used to create ultrafast plasma switches triggering into a conducting state for a time shorter than 1 ns. To evaluate the possible repetition rate of such a subnanosecond switch, it is interesting to study the decay dynamics of the plasma remaining in the discharge gap after ultrafast breakdown. In this paper, a kinetic model based on the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision method is used to study the dynamics of the plasma afterglow in the discharge gap of a subnanosecond switch operating with helium at a pressure of 6 Torr. The simulation results show that the radiative, collisional-radiative, and three-body collision recombination mechanisms significantly contribute to the afterglow decay only while the plasma density remains higher than 10{sup 12} cm{sup −3}; the main mechanism of the further plasma decay is diffusion of plasma particles onto the wall. Therefore, the effect of recombination in the plasma bulk is observed only during the first 10–20 μs of the afterglow. Over nearly the same time, plasma electrons become thermalized. The afterglow time can be substantially reduced by applying a positive voltage U{sub c} to the cathode. Since diffusive losses are limited by the ion mobility, the additional ion drift toward the wall significantly accelerates plasma decay. As U{sub c} increases from 0 to +500 V, the characteristic time of plasma decay is reduced from 35 to 10 μs.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2019

Optical and Kinetic Characteristics of an Atmospheric Pressure Pulsed Discharge in Helium with Iron Vapor

The emission spectrum of a near-cathode plasma of a pulsed discharge in atmospheric pressure helium reveals spectral lines of electrode material. Numerical simulation of the kinetics by the Monte Carlo method shows that starting with a fraction of percent, the addition of iron atoms to helium strongly affect the ionization-drift characteristics of electrons in gas.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2016

Development of miniaturized, spectroscopically assisted Penning gauges for fractional helium and hydrogen neutral pressure measurements

Direct measurements of the helium (He) fractional neutral pressure in the neutral gas around fusion devices is challenging because of the small mass difference between the abundant D2 molecules and the He atoms which will be produced by D-T fusion. To study He exhaust, Penning gauges were used to measure total neutral pressure assisted by spectroscopy to resolve the D and He partial pressures. In this contribution, initial results are shown from developing this technique into a miniaturized configuration for direct in-situ measurements in the divertor of fusion devices. The configuration is based off a gauge originally designed for the National Spherical Tokamak Experiment-Upgrade (NSTX-U). The goal of this new miniaturized design it to reduce the space required by the gauge on the device and use of the inherent magnetic field of the machine rather than permanent magnets inside the gauge, enabling it to be adapted into a system that can be extended directly into the divertor region. The feasibility test of the method for NSTX-U and the Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) stellarator are surveyed. For W7-X, a commercial Penning Gauge has been installed on an outboard vacuum flange as a generic feasibility test in the neutral gas environment of a stellarator. At an integration time of 25s, helium lines can be seen down to 10^-5 mbar and H-alpha lines down to 10^-6 mbar. Successful measurement of the total as well as the fractional neutral pressures of He and H has been shown. A first prototype of the miniature Penning gauge has been tested in Madison and shows a near linear power law scaling between current and pressure: I = C*P^n with n = 1.0 - 1.2. Pressure measurements were achieved starting at 10^-3 mbar and down to 10^-6 mbar. A modular gauge is being assembled, which allows easy interchangeability of the anode to test new anode geometries, in order to improve optical access and increase spectroscopic sensitivity. This shall enable an increase of the time resolution of the spectroscopically assisted fractional neutral pressure measurements to up to 1kHz.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2015

INVESTIGATION OF HELIUM FLOW LAMINARIZATION AT HIGH TEMPERATURES AND HIGH PRESSURES IN A GRAPHITE FLOW CHANNEL

Abstract: Forced convection experiments were performed with helium to investigate thermal hydraulic phenomena in a heated graphite test section. Flow regimes include turbulent, transition and laminar flows with Reynolds numbers between 500 and 5,000. Experiments were performed with upward flow at different helium temperatures and pressures up to 550 oC and 61 bar, respectively, various flow rates (50-500 SLPM), and heater power up to 6.5 kW. The analyses of the experimental data showed significant reductions in the Reynolds number of up to 50% over the 2.7 m test section between the gas inlet and outlet. Flow laminarization caused by intense heating was defined to occur when the local Nusselt number decreased below 20% of the Nusselt number based on the Gnielinski correlation. In this study, a flow laminarization criterion was considered based on a dimensionless acceleration parameter (Kv) and buoyancy parameter (Bo). Experiments involved high heating rates leading to the wall-to-bulk temperature ratios ranging from 1.8 to 3.4, dimensionless heat flux (q+) from 1x10^-4 to 7x10^-3 and buoyancy parameter (Bo) from 0.001 to 0.5. The latter range covers a value of Bo˜0.1 that has previously been suggested to correspond to the onset of the influence of the buoyancy force.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2017

2017 Status report-Tritium aging studies on stainless steel: Effect of hydrogen, tritium and decay helium on the fracture-toughness properties of stem, cup and block forgings

The materials of construction of tritium reservoirs are forged stainless steels. During service, the structural properties of the stainless steel change over time because of the diffusion of tritium into the reservoir wall and its radioactive decay to helium-3. This aging effect can cause cracks to initiate and grow which could result in a tritium leak or delayed failure of a tritium reservoir. Numerous factors affect the tendency for crack formation and propagation and are being investigated in this program. The goal of the research is to provide relevant fracture mechanics data that can be used by the design agencies in their assessments of tritium reservoir structural integrity. In this status report, new experimental results are presented on the effects of tritium and decay helium on the cracking properties of specimens taken from actual tritium reservoir forgings instead of the experimental forgings of past programs. The properties measured are more representative of actual reservoir properties because the microstructure of the specimens tested are more like that of the actual tritium reservoirs. The program was designed to measure the effects of material variables on tritium compatibility and includes two stainless steels (Type 304L and 316L stainless steel), multiple yield strengths (360-500 MPa), and multiple forging shapes (Stem, Cup, and Block).

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

Helium Sample Loop Monitoring System (Final Report)

C-CDE was requested to assist with a gas analysis system for the Northstar helium flow loop experimental design. The system was requested due to concerns that the lubricating oils in the blower unit could potentially contaminate the helium loop piping system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2024

Oxygen Limit for Flammability of a Gas Mixture of Helium – Hydrogen – Oxygen in the U.S. Department of Energy Standard Canister

The radiolytic breakdown of residual free, physisorbed, and chemisorbed waters is anticipated in the sealed dry storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), releasing H 2 gas into the initial cover gas of helium. For aluminum-clad SNF (ASNF) in particular, the expected total hydrogen in the canister is enough to dominate the cover gas mixture if fully released, and based on experimental rates of H 2 generation, H 2 percentages exceeding the lower flammability limit appear likely. However, no evidence of radiolytic generation of O 2 has been observed to date, so the potential for flammability is averted due to the lack O 2 . Lack of oxygen has been credited for avoiding flammability in some existing storage and transportation approaches for SNF and other waste. This report reviews literature on flammability limits with a focus on the limiting oxygen concentration to provide technical underpinnings to refine a flammability criterion for gas mixtures of helium, hydrogen, and oxygen where the oxygen is expected to be the limiting species. While there is general consensus on H 2 flammability limits at standard temperature and pressure, the decay heat and gas generation within ASNF sealed dry storage canisters could push them to elevated temperatures and pressures, so the goal is to identify an oxygen threshold that will bound the behavior over the temperature and pressure range of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Standard Canister. The information reviewed in this document supports the criterion that the oxygen concentration in a He-H 2 -O 2 mixture should be less than 1.5% to avoid flammability at temperatures and pressures relevant to sealed dry storage of ASNF in the DOE Standard Canister, i.e., up to 343°C (650°F) and 500 psig, respectively. Note that while data covering the full range of temperature at atmospheric pressure and nearly the full range of pressure at room temperature were available, data for the combined effects was available only at moderate temperatures and pressures; the recommended 1.5% O 2 threshold is based on the breadth of available data reported here and apparent trends therein.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

DOE OSTI2016

Energetic Study of Helium Cluster Nucleation and Growth in 14YWT through First Principles

First principles calculations have been performed to energetically investigate the helium cluster nucleation, formation and growth behavior in the nano-structured ferritic alloy 14YWT. The helium displays strong affinity to the oxygen:vacancy (O:Vac) pair. By investigating various local environments of the vacancy, we find that the energy cost for He cluster growth increases with the appearance of solutes in the reference unit. He atom tends to join the He cluster in the directions away from the solute atoms. Meanwhile, the He cluster tends to expand in the directions away from the solute atoms. A growth criterion is proposed based on the elastic instability strain of the perfect iron lattice in order to determine the maximum number of He atoms at the vacancy site. We find that up to seven He atoms can be trapped at a single vacancy. However, it is reduced to five if the vacancy is pre-occupied by an oxygen atom. Furthermore, the solute atoms within nanoclusters, such as Ti and Y, will greatly limit the growth of the He cluster. A migration energy barrier study is performed to discuss the reduced mobility of the He atom/He cluster in 14YWT

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Direct Write of 3D Nanoscale Mesh Objects with Platinum Precursor via Focused Helium Ion Beam Induced Deposition

The next generation optical, electronic, biological, and sensing devices as well as platforms will inevitably extend their architecture into the 3rd dimension to enhance functionality. In focused ion beam induced deposition (FIBID), a helium gas field ion source can be used with an organometallic precursor gas to fabricate nanoscale structures in 3D with high-precision and smaller critical dimensions than focused electron beam induced deposition (FEBID), traditional liquid metal source FIBID, or other additive manufacturing technology. In this work, we report the effect of beam current, dwell time, and pixel pitch on the resultant segment and angle growth for nanoscale 3D mesh objects. We note subtle beam heating effects, which impact the segment angle and the feature size. Additionally, we investigate the competition of material deposition and sputtering during the 3D FIBID process, with helium ion microscopy experiments and Monte Carlo simulations. Our results show complex 3D mesh structures measuring ~300 nm in the largest dimension, with individual features as small as 16 nm at full width half maximum (FWHM). These assemblies can be completed in minutes, with the underlying fabrication technology compatible with existing lithographic techniques, suggesting a higher-throughput pathway to integrating FIBID with established nanofabrication techniques.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2016

CAN HELIUM ENVELOPES CHANGE THE OUTCOME OF DIRECT WHITE DWARF COLLISIONS?

A pivotal feature for the viability of white dwarf (WD) collisions as SN Ia progenitors is that a significant fraction of the mass is highly compressed to the densities required for efficient {sup 56}Ni production before the ignition of the detonation wave. Previous studies have employed model WDs composed of carbon–oxygen (CO), whereas WDs typically have a non-negligible helium envelope. Given that helium is more susceptible to explosive burning than CO under the conditions of WD collision, a legitimate concern is whether or not early time He detonation ignition can lead to early time CO detonation, drastically reducing {sup 56}Ni synthesis. We investigate the role of He in determining the fate of WD collisions by performing a series of two-dimensional hydrodynamics calculations. We find that a necessary condition for non-trivial reduction of the CO ignition time is that the He detonation birthed in the contact region successfully propagates into the unshocked shell. We determine the minimal He shell mass as a function of the total WD mass that upholds this condition. Although we utilize a simplified reaction network similar to those used in previous studies, our findings are in good agreement with detailed investigations concerning the impact of network size on He shell detonations. This allows us to extend our results to the case with more realistic burning physics. Based on the comparison of these findings against evolutionary calculations of WD compositions, we conclude that most, if not all, WD collisions will not be drastically impacted by their intrinsic He components.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗