John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Friday, October 17, 2014, 11:47 Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered. It's is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block. The target consists of 255 discs of UCx with 10.5cm in length. A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted right, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the left is open with a removable half-cap to allow out-gassing. The chamber was pumped down overnight. TGHT will be ramped up to 520A - keep heating the current for 4-5 hours. Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac. Auto ramp at 0.1A/min.  Friday, October 17, 2014, 13:25 IG1 = 2.6e-6 Torr Manually stepped up to 35A Waited ~1hr15 IG1 = 4.2e-6 Torr Initiating auto-ramp.    Monday, October 20, 2014, 14:10 There were two big power bumps occurred on Saturday Oct 18 and wiped all the IOC/PLC on the Evaporators.   All the system, including TGHT/pumps/EPICS/Alarm handlers were found off.  The ion gauge was turned on this morning and showed the pressure was around 16mTorr. (see attachment). The pump has been turned back on; pressure is currently at 3.5e-6 Torr. Ramping up TGHT...  Monday, November 03, 2014, 12:05 TGHT has reached to 580A and the target has conditioned at that current for about 3 days.  Cooling down at 2A/min.  Wednesday, November 05, 2014, 16:40 UCx conditioning complete. Target is now in the Ar-glove box.  End caps are inserted but need to be expanded. Need to insert Re foil prior to assembly.

 Monday, November 10, 2014, 13:48

UCx was being assembled, but as one of the endcaps was being expanded, the target container broke [friday nov 7th].

attempting to recover the materials and re-load into a new container now...

 Monday, November 10, 2014, 15:52

new target materials weight total [incl graphite] = 23.368g

(33.994g of materials taken out of broken target)

 Monday, January 26, 2015, 11:19

UO2/C green was prepared Jan 20, 2015. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40 on Jan 21, 2015.

The cast was let dry over the weekend and peeled off the glass nicely Jan 26, 2014. [see attached picture]

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.32g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 494.52g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.02g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 60.33g

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Wednesday, January 28, 2015, 11:33

change of plan.

there will be several interruptions over the course of the next month including a planned power outage and water shut off.

therefore UO2/C cannot be carbonized as these interruptions  will trip off the system when UO2/C would be at max temperature.

EVAP1 is now turned off and the flakes will be stored in the fume hood until further notice.

 Thursday, April 09, 2015, 16:03

EVAP1 has been cleaned.

Target boat has been reloaded into evap1 and currently pumping down.

Will initiate ramp up tomorrow.

 Friday, April 10, 2015, 08:05

IGP1 = 1.7e-6 Torr

Tapped up manually to 35A.

Waited ~2hrs, vacuum stable.

IGP1 = 9.7e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, April 20, 2015, 11:20

TGHT reahed 520A, 5.78V on the weekend.

The boat has been sitting at max setpoint for 4.5hours.

Carbonization process is complete [See attachment].

IGP1 = 3.4e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-cool at 2A/min.

 Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 16:20

Vented in Ar and opened up today.

Now in glove box.

 Monday, May 11, 2015, 11:58

UC2 flakes produced = 46.477g

Friday, March 20, 2015, 15:17 

Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered.

It's is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block.

The target consists of 225 discs of UCx with 9.2cm in length.

Packing step was skipped for first time, loaded singular discs into target container, no binder holding discs together.

A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the right is open.

The chamber is currently pumping down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 520A - keep heating the current for 4-5 hours.

Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.

Auto ramp at 0.1A/min.

 Monday, March 23, 2015, 09:09

IOC has been rebooted.

Ion gauge won't turn on - goes into drive, then times out...

 Monday, March 23, 2015, 15:06

Both filaments in IG1 are burnt out.

EVAP1 will be vented tomorrow morning.

UCx will be placed in the pelican case under argon while the filaments are being replaced in the morning.

 Tuesday, March 24, 2015, 11:27

Vented in argon and placed target in pelican case.

Ion gauge replaced this morning.

Continued purging evap1 and re-installed UCx back into evap1.

Currently pumping back down.

 Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 09:38

IG1 = 8.65e-7 Torr

Tapped up evap1 manually to 40A.

Waited ~20min.

Vaccuum stable.

IGP1 = 7.75e-7 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Wednesday, April 01, 2015, 15:07

TGHT has reached 520A, 5.82V - YAY!

Will continue to heat overnight and initiate ramp-down/ cooling tomorrow morning.

Slightly shorter time frame to reach max setpoints than normal - possibly due to lack of binder/ skipping packing process.

Great timing before the long weekend 

 Thursday, April 02, 2015, 09:20

Target has been conditioned at max setpoints for 20hours.

Auto-cooling ramp down initiated at 2.0A/min.

 Thursday, April 09, 2015, 16:02

Vented in argon and removed from evap1 tuesday.

Appears as though some discs may be slightly displaced, pictures to follow...

 Monday, May 11, 2015, 11:45

UO2/C green was prepared May 6, 2015. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40 on May 7, 2015.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely May 8, 2014 and finished drying over the weekend. [see attached picture]

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.44g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 444.23g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.05g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.23g

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 08:40

IG1 = 3e-6 Torr

Tapping up manually to 35A...

Tuesday, May 12, 2015, 12:18

Waited ~2.5hrs.

Vacuum stable.

IG1 = 1.3e-5 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, May 25, 2015, 09:29

TGHT reached max setpoints on the 22nd.

IGP1 = 2.2e-6 Torr.

TGHT = 520A, 5.28V

Carbonization process is complete [see attachment].

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 08:47

Vented in argon and opened up yesterday afternoon.

Uranium flakes in glove box.

 Wednesday, May 27, 2015, 16:09

UC2 flakes produced = 47.647g

Laura Lambert wrote:

John Wong wrote: Laura Lambert wrote:  Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 13:28 Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered. It's is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block. The target consists of 221 discs of UCx with 7.5cm in length. A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the right is open - discs are held on with Ta wire spring. The chamber is currently pumping down. TGHT will be ramped up to 520A at 0.1A/min Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.  Tuesday, June 30, 2015, 14:43 IG1 = 1.8e-5 Torr. Tapped up manually to 30A. Vacuum stable; IG1 = 1.2e-5 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp.  Thursday, July 02, 2015, 08:41 EVAP1 was tripped off due to backflow preventer test this morning. IG1 - 4.2e-6 Torr. Tapping back-up manually before re-initiating auto-ramp.  Thursday, July 02, 2015, 11:49 Tapped up manually to 85A, 0.65V IG1 = 3.6e-6 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp.    Thursday, July 02, 2015, 12:58 NOTE:  Before venting the EVAP1 chamber, the Ar line must disconnect from Peter's sampling chamber (inside the fumehood) and connect back to the EVAP.     Friday, July 03, 2015, 13:42 water valve tripped off at ~1pm, which subsequently tripped off the TGHT [see photo] currently trying to figure out what caused this to occur before re-starting....  Friday, July 03, 2015, 14:47 All water valves look good, flow is good. WV turned back on, TGHT turned back on.  Tapped back up manually to 20A. IG1 = 2.3e-6 Torr Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min with a max setpoint of 150A over the weekend. Will continue to ramp up monday.   Approved by Peter Kunz.  Monday, July 06, 2015, 09:29 TGHT reached 150A 1.5hrs ago. Vacuum stable. IG1 = 2.7e-5 Torr. Re-starting auto-ramp at 0.1A/min with a max setpoint of 520A.

 Wednesday, July 08, 2015, 10:44

The carbonization process is complete; chamber vacuum is stabilizing at 9.5e-6 Torr. 

Currently TGHT is at 430A.  Increased TGHT ramping rate to 1A/min.  Target should be at max current (520A) in 1.5 hours, so TGHT can be ramped down around 4:30pm today. 

 Wednesday, July 08, 2015, 16:36

TGHT at 520A/5.884V for over 4 hours.  Pressure coming down, currently at 1.42e-5 Torr. 

Initiated cooling at -2A/min. 

Chamber can be vented in Ar tomorrow and the target will be inspected.

Thursday, July 09, 2015, 17:08  

The target was taken out from the evaporator and inspected. 

Some "burnt" marks on the ionization legs can be observed and also the centre support leg is bent.  (see photos#1)

Not sure if the centre leg came in bent after machining or it happened during the carbonization process??  Do not have photos of the container before the process to compare.  

A few things to note…  During the process, the power supply did tripped off twice due to the cooling water valve shut off. (see photo#2).  An assumption is that sudden cool down of the hot target might have caused the quenching effect. 

No other visible damage.  

End caps are inserted and ready for assembly.

Link to photos:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c1ake0fu4x7lckc/AAD0F8TVRrpCbbHquEvSkyYIa?dl=0

John Wong wrote:

Thursday, July 30, 2015, 17:10 The mixture of UO2/C was prepared on July 13, 2015.  See screen shot for more info.  The material is loaded into a target boat and wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield.   Chamber is currently being pumped down Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.  Friday, July 31, 2015, 14:33 Chamber has been pumped down overnight, currently at 3.3e-6 Torr. Manually stepping up to 35A. Set auto ramping TGHT to 200A at 0.1A/min for over the long weekend.  This current should be safe to just burn off the organic binder but not to start the carbonization process.  Wednesday, August 05, 2015, 11:05    TGHT reached 200A about 5 hours ago.  Organic burn out is complete.   Begin carbonization:  Increase TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min rate.

 Tuesday, August 11, 2015, 08:38

IGP1 = 6.8e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.5V

TGHT sat at max setpoint for ~15hours

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, August 12, 2015, 16:02

Vented in Argon and opened up this afternoon.

Transferred into glove box.

 Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 11:02

UO2/C green was prepared Aug 11, 2015. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40 on Aug 12, 2015.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely Aug 14, 2014 and finished drying over the weekend. [see attached picture]

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.34g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 343.60g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.14g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.42g

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

Chamber has been pumped down overnight, currently at IG1 = 2.5e-6 Torr.

Manually stepping up to 35A.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Wednesday, August 19, 2015, 14:05

Waited ~2.5hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 1.2e-5 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, August 31, 2015, 09:38

EVAP 1 tripped off saturday 29th, due to a power outage with TGHT = ~450A at time of trip-off.

EVAP1 lost vacuum for ~4.5hrs [see archived photo]

Visual check performed of EVAP1 - OK.

IGP1 = 6.4e-7 Torr.

Re-initiating carbonization process.

 Monday, August 31, 2015, 10:05

Tapped up manually to 30A.

Vacuum stable.

Initiating auto-ramp at 2.0A/min to a final setpoint of 200A.

 Monday, August 31, 2015, 11:33

Increased max setpoint to 250A at 2.0A/min.

According to the archive, step 1 of the carbonization process was complete and vacuum dropped at ~TGHT = 250A

Vacuum still stable IGP1 = 2.7e-6 Torr.

Once 250A achieved, changed auto ramp to 0.2A/min with a final setpoint of 300A over lunch.

Will tap up manually after lunch.

 Monday, August 31, 2015, 13:07

IGP1 = 1.66e-6 Torr.

TGHT = 262A, 2.3V

Turning off auto-ramp, taking over manually...

 Monday, August 31, 2015, 16:15

Tapped up manually to TGHT = 355A, 3.5V

IGP1 = 5.8e-6 Torr.

Re-initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min with a final setpoint of 520A

 Wednesday, September 02, 2015, 09:04

IG1 = 7.5e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.53V

TGHT remained at max setpoints ~12.5hours.

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Thursday, September 03, 2015, 11:55

UCx vented in Ar, removed from evap1 and currently in glove box this morning.

Will measure quantity obtained this afternoon.

 Thursday, September 03, 2015, 13:27

Attached are a few notable striptool screenshots from the entire carbonization process.

UCxflk_08 = 46.926g

 Monday, September 14, 2015, 15:28

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.31g

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

 Wednesday, September 16, 2015, 17:55

The work in the B2 level is done; the nuclear ventilation for the evaporators is now operational. 

Tried to turn on the backing pump, but failed. 

Submitted an fault #8428 to vacuum group

 Thursday, September 17, 2015, 12:23

Vacuum group responded to the e-fault, and a new pump is installed.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Friday, September 18, 2015, 14:12

Chamber pressure is at 3.0e-6 Torr.

TGHT stepped up to 30A.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Friday, September 18, 2015, 16:05

Pressure stabilized at 3.6e-5 Torr. 

Initiate autoramping

 Monday, September 21, 2015, 11:38

TGHT was found tripped off at 50A on Saturday at about 6am; the backing pump gauge went up to 150mTorr at the same time (see attachment)

Note that a refurbished backing pump was installed before starting this process.  It could be a leak somewhere; will let vacuum group to inspect this. 

 Monday, September 21, 2015, 15:34

Vacuum group took a look at the pump.  It was the bleeding valve that was not properly close while the pump was installed.  So after some period of running, the valve got loosen from the pump's vibration and caused the leak. 

The pump is now back to operational. 

Chamber is being pumped again.  Once the vacuum is good, TGHT will be stepped up to 50A and autoramping will be initiated once it's ready.

 Monday, September 21, 2015, 17:51

TGHT at 50A, IG at 3.6e-6 Torr.

Initiated autoramping.

 Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 10:11

TGHT has reached to 520A/5.36V.  The carbonization process is complete, vacuum at 3.29e-6 Torr, BP at 12mTorr. (see attachment#2)

Initiated auto-cooling at 2A/min.

John Wong wrote:

Thursday, October 15, 2015, 15:52 Target container previously sintered with TaC in Evap#2 - Target current at 440A, temp measured at 1900C.  A few tests on the temp measured were done (see Evap#2 elog #251 & 252).  Note:  This is the new design container with a small back block. Container is loaded with 245 discs of UC2; measured disc length 7.5 cm A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the right is open - discs are held on with Ta wire spring. 3 layers of Ta-heat shield is used.  Target heater will be ramped up to 440A (according to the achieved temperature from Evap#2).  Ramping rate at 0.1A/min. Monitor closely on the vacuum around 400A to see if the carbonization process is complete.  Chamber is currently being pumped down.   Friday, October 16, 2015, 10:33 Chamber has pumped down to 2e-6 Torr.  Stepping up TGHT to 70A/0.23V.   Friday, October 16, 2015, 14:55 TGHT stepped up to 70A, pressure went to max 5.7e-5 Torr and it's coming down. Initated autoramping.  (good vac at 5e-5 Torr, bad at 6.0e-5 Torr)  Thursday, October 22, 2015, 12:26 TGHT has reached 440A/4.403V and stablized for about 5 hours.  Pressure started coming down at around 370A which indicated the ending of the carbonization process.  Currently vacuum is at 5.6e-6 torr.  Initiated cooling down process at 2A/min.

 Monday, October 26, 2015, 16:18

Target vented in argon, taken out and currently in glove box.

Target looks good, last one of the year! 

Endcaps inserted and need to be expanded, Rh foil still needs to be added.

 Wednesday, December 02, 2015, 14:08

UO2/C was cast onto a graphite sheet in the fume hood and let dry.

Initial UO2 powder used = 25.11g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 243.44g before use)

Graphite powder used = 5.16g

A 13mm punch was used to punch out discs from an 11mm wide strip.

5 discs were packed into one end of the graphite tube and a single 1cmx2cm strip was placed in the other end.

graphite tube = 4.57g

5 x UO2/C discs = 0.62g

2cm x 1cm strip = 0.21g

the graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

Pumping down overnight.

Thursday, December 03, 2015, 09:23 

IG1 = 5.7e-6 Torr.

Stepped up manually to 60A.

Waited ~1hr45, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 6.3e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Monday, December 07, 2015, 10:45

UO2/C reached 520A yesterday and has remained at max setpoint for 15hrs.

IG1 = 5.2e-6 Torr.

TGHT = 520A, 5.35V

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, December 09, 2015, 10:09

Vented in argon and took the materials out yesterday.

Currently sitting in glove box.

All five discs and strip had fallen out of graphite tube and were sitting directly on the target boat.

^not sure if due to removal of heat shields [moving target boat around shook materials out of tube] or if this happened during carbonization process.

materials stuck to graphite foil fairly well, able to handle foils with tweezers and inspect without materials flaking off.

lightly scraped top of discs with spatula - no materials flaked off.

minor cracks are visible on discs.

graphite tube shows no visible changes.

 Thursday, December 10, 2015, 08:54

Filled graphite tube with 34 UO2/C discs cast onto graphite.

34 discs = 4.10g

graphite tube = 4.64g

IG1 = 2.8e-6 Torr.

Stepped up manually to 35A.

Waited ~1hr15, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 5.8e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

 Monday, December 14, 2015, 08:58

IG1 = 3.9e-6 Torr.

TGHT = 520A, 5.7

UO2/C reached 520A yesterday and has remained at max setpoint for ~12hrs.

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Friday, December 18, 2015, 15:37

Vented in argon and removed from evap1

Graphite tube appears golden in colour [ see photo attached]

Materials spilled out of graphite tube, could be partially due to movement of target boat between evaporator and glove box and removal of heat shields.

Black graphite tube in weigh boat behind target is the graphite tube from the first round in evap1, shows a comparison in colour difference between the two rounds.

The difference between round 1 and round2:

-round1 contained 5 single discs packed together and a single 1cm/2cm square on the other end

-round2 contained 34 discs packed together consuming the whole graphite tube

All other parameters ie. max setpoints, were the same.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Thursday, February 18, 2016, 15:34 Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered. Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block - same method as for sintering TaC coating [new wrapping method-see elog112 eva2]. The target consists of 244 discs of UCx with 7.8cm in length. A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the right is open The chamber is currently pumping down. TGHT will be ramped up to 520A at 0.1A/min Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.  Friday, February 19, 2016, 08:28 IG1 = 4.7e-6 Torr Tapped up manually to 35A. Waited ~1hr, vacuum stable IG1 = 3.8e-6 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp.    Friday, February 26, 2016, 10:26 Target has been heated at 520A for 10 hrs. Vacuum at 5.3e-6 Torr.  Initiated cool down at 1A/min.  Remember to vent with Ar.

 Monday, February 29, 2016, 16:15

Vented in Ar.

Target removed from evap1 this morning.

Currently sitting in glovebox.

Weird red discharge on the end of the right side, inside the container [wrt ionizer tube into page] - same side with no endcap during carbonization.

Materials look good, both endcaps inserted.

Rh foil still needs to be implanted.

 Wednesday, March 02, 2016, 10:13

The discoloration appears to be a simple change in the morphology of the TaC coating, future tests would need to be done to confirm this estimation.

This should not effect the container/ target.

See photo attached.

 Tuesday, March 08, 2016, 10:01

UO2/C green was prepared March 2, 2016.

This was the first time using the new rack built for holding multiple casts [see photo attached]

The cast peeled off the glass nicely March 3, 2014 and finished drying over the weekend. [see attached picture]

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.03g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 218.54g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.14g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 60.08g 

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1.

Chamber has been pumped down overnight, currently at IG1 = 4.5e-6 Torr.

Manually stepping up to 35A...

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

Tuesday, March 08, 2016, 16:01

Waited ~3hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 1.4e-5 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, March 21, 2016, 08:33

IG1 = 1.9e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.13V

TGHT remained at max setpoints for ~63.5hrs [over the weekend].

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Thursday, March 24, 2016, 10:19

vented in argon and removed from evap1.

stored in glove box.

total flakes produced: 46.26g

Tuesday, April 05, 2016, 10:58

UO2/C green was prepared March 31, 2016.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely April 1, 2016 and finished drying over the weekend. [see attached picture]

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.47g (Inventory R-00835A, UO2 + bottle = 168.33g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.05g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 59.50g 

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in evap1 yesterday.

Chamber has been pumped down overnight, currently at IG1 = 3.7e-6 Torr.

Manually stepping up to 35A...

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

Tuesday, April 05, 2016, 15:04

Waited ~4hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 8.5e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Friday, April 15, 2016, 13:50

IG1 = 3.2e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.15V

TGHT remained at max setpoints for ~10hrs

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Monday, April 18, 2016, 11:08

vented in argon and removed from evap1.

stored in glove box.

will measure flakes produced tomorrow...

 Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 15:32

UC2 flakes produced = 45.99g

 Tuesday, April 19, 2016, 09:47

Temperature measurements have been taken in evap2 on target containers. 

Previously all UCx targets have been conditioned in evap1 at 520A. The respective target containers TaC coating was sintered in evap2 at a different current.

All future UCx targets will now be conditioned in evap1 at the same current required to reach 1900C in evap2 when sintering the TaC coating on the container to be used for the respective target.

ie. If a container is being sintered in evap2 at 450A [1900C], this same container is used for UCx - then that specific UCx target will be conditioned in evap1 at 450A.

Confirm full carbonization has been achieved by following with the vacuum on the strip tool and make sure the final vacuum comes down at the end of the whole process.

 Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 15:05

Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered.

Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block - new wrapping method-see elog112 evap2

The target consists of 200 discs of UCx with 7.4cm in length [4 packs of 5 + 180 single discs].

A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down.

The right side is open with a TaC coated spring to help hold materials in.

The chamber is currently pumping down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 460A at 0.1A/min [same current used to reach 1900C in evap2 when sintering TaC coating - elog291 evap2]

Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.

 Thursday, May 19, 2016, 09:25

IG1 = 3.4e-6 Torr

Tapped up manually to 35A

Vacuum stable.

IG1 = 3.5e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 13:05

Target has been heated at 460A, 4.5V for 5 hrs.

Vacuum at 6.4e-6 Torr. 

Initiated cool down at 1A/min. 

 Friday, May 27, 2016, 11:14

UCx done.

Vented in Ar and put in glove box yesterday.

Looked inside before inserting 2nd endcap - clean view all the way through the materials to the endcap/ not much visible shifting.

Ta coated spring helped hold materials in place.

Slightly darker markings on legs of container on side that was open in evap1.

2nd endcap put in.

Ready for assembly.

Monday, July 11, 2016, 15:54

Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered.

Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block - new wrapping method-see elog112 evap2

The target consists of 216 discs of UCx with 7.6cm in length [4 packs of 5 + 196 single discs].

A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down.

The right side is open with a TaC coated spring to help hold materials in.

The chamber is currently pumping down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 410A at 0.1A/min [same current used to reach 1900C in evap2 when sintering TaC coating - elog308 evap2]

Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.

 Tuesday, July 12, 2016, 08:50

IG1 = 5.3e-6 Torr

Tapped up manually to 35A

Vacuum stable.

IG1 = 5.25e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Friday, July 15, 2016, 16:59

With evap2 not working, water was turned off to check valves...this tripped off evap1 since this also turned off the water to evap1.

TGHT was ~115A when evap1 tripped off.

Vacuum stable = 2.9e-6 Torr.

Tapped back up manually to 115A, 1.08V

Vacuum stable = 2.8e-6 Torr.

Restarting auto ramp at 0.1A/min.

 Friday, July 22, 2016, 16:25

Target has remained at max setpoints for 4.5days.

TGHT = 410A, 3.99V

IG1 = 2.5e-6 Torr

Voltage has wavered a small amount, between 3,91V-4.02V; this can be seen in the photo attached of the screenshot of the striptool.

Conditioning process is now complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Tuesday, July 26, 2016, 16:48

Vented in Ar and currently transfering into glove box

will update elog tomorrow...

 Wednesday, July 27, 2016, 14:56

had a few problems with the transfer chamber in the glove box, but managed to get the target into the glove box okay last night.

was exposed to oxygen for minimal amount of time - transfer chamber wasnt flushing properly/ leak in james bond box

John Wong wrote:

Monday, September 12, 2016, 17:30 A bunch of end caps (12?) and a long Ta-wire in spring sharp  were coated with TaC coating and wrapped in a small sheet of graphite foil.  Container is then wrapped with a sheet of Ta heat shield. These caps and wires will be sintered in Evap 1, so they may be prompted to contamination from the uranium processes.  I have no choice but to use Evap1 to do this work since we are falling behind with the schedule.   In the future, please have all the materials (targets, end caps, binder, etc) well prepared.  I do not know what is the required current to sinter the caps since there is no temp measurement.  So, the best is to go with how the container was sintered, 580A.  Monday, September 12, 2016, 17:36 Chamber has been pumped down to mid 10-6 Torr.  Auto ramp to 580A at 2A/min.

 Tuesday, September 20, 2016, 10:41

vented in air and removed from evap1

managed to remove carefully using napkins and not touching boat directly with gloves as to avoid contamination.

endcaps and springs look good, fully sintered

one endcap looks like coating has started to peel off, possibly due to too thick of a TaC coating pre-sintering. see photos attached.

Friday, September 23, 2016, 16:01

*Note: materials were scaled back small amount since only 48.5g of UO2 was left in bottle when usually 50g required to make slurry

UO2/C green was prepared September 22, 2016.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely September 23, 2016 and loaded into evap1.

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time.

Initial UO2 powder used = 48.52g (Inventory R-00835A, no more UO2 left in bottle! Empty bottle = 68.33g)

Graphite powder used = 9.78g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 59.21g 

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet.

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in evap1 today.

Chamber is currently pumping down, will remain under vacuum over weekend and initiate ramping process monday.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-5 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-5 Torr.

Monday, September 26, 2016, 13:52

IG1 = 1.56e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 35A

Waited ~1.5hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 1.23e-5 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp

 Friday, October 07, 2016, 13:19

TGHT tripped off oct 5th at 7pm   alarm handlers were not on, so pager never went off

TGHT was at ~450A and vacuum stable when it tripped off

Reason for this is currently unknown

Ion gauge didn't trip off, neither did the water

Auto-ramping at 2.0A/min back up to 400A currently...

 Friday, October 07, 2016, 16:30

TGHT was ramped up to 420A at 2.0A/min today

IG1 = 4.9e-5 Torr

Changed ramping rate to 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a final setpoint of 520A

Alarm handlers on: if anything happens over weekend pager will go off

Tuesday, October 11, 2016, 10:30 

IG1 = 1.2e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.35V

TGHT has remained at max setpoint for ~2.5days

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, October 12, 2016, 16:23

Vented in Ar and opened up evap1 this morning.

Stored in glove box.

Flakes look good, ~45g produced.

 Wednesday, October 19, 2016, 16:47

Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered.

Container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block using one single foil/ layer

The target consists of 165 discs of UCx with 5.4cm in length

Materials: 4 packs of 5 {all made with 'modified' UC2cast} + 145 single discs{20 from 'modified cast'}

A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down.

The right side is open with a TaC coated spring to help hold materials in.

The chamber is currently pumping down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 430A at 0.1A/min [same current used to reach 1900C in evap2 when sintering TaC coating - elog327 evap2]

Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac.

Thursday, October 20, 2016, 10:11

Tapped up manually to 40A

Vacuum stable.

IG1 = 4.45e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, October 24, 2016, 11:19

TGHT = 254A, 2.46V

Still ramping up...~half way to final setpoint

Vacuum dropped, looks good, IG1 = 6.77e-6 Torr

 Wednesday, October 26, 2016, 09:38

Target has remained at max setpoints for ~16hrs.

TGHT = 430A, 4.25V

IG1 = 2.3e-6 Torr

Conditioning/ re-carbonization process is now complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Thursday, October 27, 2016, 15:35

UCx done.

Vented in Ar and transferred to glove box.

Looked inside before inserting 2nd endcap - clean view all the way through the materials to the endcap/ no visible shifting.

Ta coated spring helped hold materials in place, materials expanded minimally ~0.5cm

Pushed materials back to desired length.

Successfully removed a single disc for further analysis.

Second endcap now in with 2x graphite foils.

Both endcaps need expanding.

Ready for assembly.

Requires Rh foil - to be inserted during assembly.