Thursday, August 22, 2013, 17:31

1st attempt:

UO2/C green was prepared on Aug 14, 2013 (wed).  The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40.

The cast was let dry until Aug 26 (Mon) - couldn't peel off from the glass. 

2nd attempt:

So, scrapped off cast, mixed with 30ml H20 in the WC jar, re-milled for 3 hrs, and cast/let dry over night  - SAME SHIT! couldn't peel off!  Don't understand why?!

3rd attempt:

scrapped off, added the additional compositions:

1g PEG400,1g Glycerol, 10g 7% PVA, 2ml n-butanol, 2ml methonal, 20ml DI H2O.

Re-milled for 3 hours, cast and let dry!  Wahlaa... it works! (See attachment#1: pretty uranium pancake!)

However... During this process, some lost of uranium was resulted.  The slurry was more viscous than normal.  Some material was stuck to the WC jar wall and the balls.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.14g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 795.56 before use)

Graphite powder used = 10g.

1st attempt dried UO2/C + organic  mass = 55.75g

2nd attempt = didn't measure

3rd attempt + additional org mass = 44.5g  (expecting to loss more uranium from the scraping/sticking to jar/balls)

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

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 3-Ta layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1 on Aug 22, 2013.

Chamber is currently being pumped down. IG1 @ 2.4e-4 Torr.

Target 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, August 26, 2013, 11:28

Chamber has been pumped down over the weekend.  IG currently @ 5.2e-6 Torr, BP @ 38mTorr.

Stepped up TGHT to 30A/0.151V. 

 Monday, August 26, 2013, 12:28

TGHT has been at 30A for almost 50 min.  Pressure has gone up but stabled at ~ 3.7e-5 Torr.

Initiated auto-ramping...

 Monday, September 09, 2013, 15:35

The carbonization process has come to an end. 

TGHT is at 520A for almost a day; IG currently at 1.3e-5 Torr (coming down), see attachment #2.

Auto cooling initiated at 2A/min.

The chamber will be vented with Ar.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Thursday, August 01, 2013, 16:16 The target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered in Evap 2. The target is loaded with 210 discs of UCx (material from batch # 04 - 05032013) Total length = 7.2cm The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block. A regular TaC coated / sintered endcap is inserted on left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing out of the page. The right end is open with no cap. The chamber is pumping down. Instructions for conditioning the UCx target: 1. TGHT will need to heat up to ~ 175A to burn off the organics.     Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac. The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min. 2. Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 3. Purge the glovebox with argon gas. 4. Vent the chamber with Ar gas. Close the valve when it is completely vented. 5. Remove the target. Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap. 6. Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge. 7. Install the target back 8. Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process. 9. Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min. 10. Once the TGHT reach to 175A. Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min. 11. At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours. 12. Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 13. Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min. 14. Vent the chamber with argon gas. Close the valve when it is completely vented. 15. Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange james bond box" and transport to the Ar-glove box. Done!

 Monday, August 05, 2013, 07:51

Chamber has been pumped down over the weekend.  IG1 currently at 2.65e-6 Torr,

Stepped up TGHT to 20A. 

Monday, August 05, 2013, 08:01  

Vacuum seems stable.  

Initiated auto-ramping for TGHT to reach 175A at 1A/min. 

 Sunday, August 11, 2013, 21:23

TGHT has reached to 175A; target has heated at that current for ~28hours.  

Vacuum is currently at 2.9e-6 Torr, BP @ 31mTorr. 

Cooling target down to 0A at 2A/min. 

The chamber will be vented in Ar tomorrow for cleaning. 

 Monday, August 12, 2013, 17:37 (Interesting day....Close call )

Early this morning, the target was removed from the chamber.  As it was transferred to the "orange" seal-box, half the length of the UCx discs fell out from the opening end of the container. 

The discs and the target were transferred to the Ar-glove box.  Tried to fill back the discs but only a few could get in; most of the discs were cracked;

Used the recently prepared UC flakes from Batch#5-18062013 to fill up the target. 

Total length remained the same ~7.2 cm.

The chamber was cleaned;

The target is now installed back in the chamber, and it's currently being pumped down.

The right end remains open (wrt. the ionizier pointing out of the page). 

TGHT will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min for the full conditioning.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, 07:51  

Chamber has pumped down to 5.1e-6 Torr. 

Stepping up TGHT to 50A, monitoring pressure... 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, 08:08  

Vac @ 8.6e-6 Torr and slowly going up. 

Increase TGHT to 80A. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, 08:38  

Pressure reached to 6.4e-5 Torr and came down. 

Initiated auto heating.  TGHT max to 520A at 0.1A/min. 

 Monday, August 19, 2013, 10:56

TGHT has reached to max current @ 520A, and heated over the weekend. (See attachment #1)

IG1 currently @ 4.5e-6 Torr, BP @ 33mTorr

Cooling down in progress, rate @ 2A/min.

 Thursday, August 22, 2013, 17:27

Target was removed from the chamber yesterday. 

It looks good and the assembly is underway....

This process is completed.

Thursday, August 01, 2013, 16:16

The target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered in Evap 2.

The target is loaded with 210 discs of UCx (material from batch # 04 - 05032013)

Total length = 7.2cm

The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block.

A regular TaC coated / sintered endcap is inserted on left, wrt the ionizer tube pointing out of the page. The right end is open with no cap.

The chamber is pumping down.

Instructions for conditioning the UCx target:

1. TGHT will need to heat up to ~ 175A to burn off the organics.

    Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac. The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min.

2. Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

3. Purge the glovebox with argon gas.

4. Vent the chamber with Ar gas. Close the valve when it is completely vented.

5. Remove the target. Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap.

6. Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge.

7. Install the target back

8. Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process.

9. Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min.

10. Once the TGHT reach to 175A. Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min.

11. At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours.

12. Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

13. Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min.

14. Vent the chamber with argon gas. Close the valve when it is completely vented.

15. Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange james bond box" and transport to the Ar-glove box.

Done!

John Wong wrote:

Peter Kunz wrote:   1. stage - burning off organics complete 2. stage - carbonization began 1-8 am 2013/07/02  Thursday, July 11, 2013, 16:11 EPICS was down and wiped out all the strip tools, but Evap stayed on.  Data archivers showed the system was down at around mid-night on July 10 - no data was archived for 12 hours.  TGHT has stayed at 520A (max) for at least 4 hours since I started the Evap EPICS back. Vacuum is currently at 7.7e-6 Torr.  The carbonization process is complete. Auto-cool down in process - at 1A/min.

 Monday, July 15, 2013, 09:43

The TGHT reached to zero on Friday and the chamber has been left under vacuum over the weekend, currently at 1.3e-6 Torr.

The chamber will be vented in Ar and the UC2 flakes will be transported into the Ar-glove box.

The process is complete

Peter Kunz wrote:

1. stage - burning off organics complete 2. stage - carbonization began 1-8 am 2013/07/02

 Thursday, July 11, 2013, 16:11

EPICS was down and wiped out all the strip tools, but Evap stayed on.  Data archivers showed the system was down at around mid-night on July 10 - no data was archived for 12 hours. 

TGHT has stayed at 520A (max) for at least 4 hours since I started the Evap EPICS back.

Vacuum is currently at 7.7e-6 Torr. 

The carbonization process is complete.

Auto-cool down in process - at 1A/min.

1. stage - burning off organics complete

2. stage - carbonization began 1-8 am 2013/07/02

Laura Lambert wrote:

Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 14:35 UO2/C green was prepared on June 18, 2013 and let dry over the weekend. UO2 powder used = 50.25g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 845.94g - before use) Graphite powder used = 10.0g The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet. The Ta-target boat was wrapped with a 3-Ta heat shields and installed in the Evap#1 on June 24, 2013 The chamber has been pumped down IG1 currently at 4.6E-06 torr     Target will be ramped up to 520A at the rate of 0.1A/min Vacuum limit stop at 5.0E-05 torr, backing off at 6.0E-05 torr

 Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 16:26

TGHT was stepped up to 30A for about 1hr and lowered to 20A before the pressure went up t0 ~ 1.5e-5 Torr.

Auto ramping initiated...

 Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 14:35

UO2/C green was prepared on June 18, 2013 and let dry over the weekend.

UO2 powder used = 50.25g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 845.94g - before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.0g

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

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with a 3-Ta heat shields and installed in the Evap#1 on June 24, 2013

The chamber has been pumped down

IG1 currently at 4.6E-06 torr

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

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0E-05 torr, backing off at 6.0E-05 torr

Laura Lambert wrote:

John Wong wrote: Thursday, May 30, 2013, 16:16 The target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered in Evap 2. The target is loaded with 250 discs of UCx (material from batch#03_02042013) Total length = 8.9cm The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block. A regular TaC coated/sintered endcap is inserted on left, wrt to the ionizer tube pointing out of the page.  The right end is open with no cap.  (Did not use a D-cap... trying out this method.  Need to be careful when handling the target!) The chamber is dumping down.  Instructions for conditioning the UCx target: 1.  TGHT will need to heat up to ~175A to burn off the organics.        Parameter setup:  5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0-5 bad vac.  The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min. 2.  Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 3.  Purge the glovebox with argon gas.  4.  Vent the chamber with Ar gas.  Close the valve when it is completely vented. 5.  Remove the target.  Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap.  6.  Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge. 7.  Install the target back 8.  Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process. 9.  Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min. 10.  Once the TGHT reach to 175A.  Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min. 11.  At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours. 12.  Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 13.  Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min 14.  Vent the chamber with argon gas.  Close the vavle when it is completely vented. 15.  Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange box" and transport to the Ar-glove box. Done!  Friday, May 31, 2013, 18:17 Chamber has pumped down to 6.7e-6 Torr.  Ramping up TGHT to 175A.  Wednesday, June 05, 2013, 11:14 TGHT reached to 227A/1.99V. (see attachment#1) TGHT is ramping down to 0A  to clean up the chamber before continue with the conditioning.      Wednesday, June 05, 2013, 16:45 Glove box purged with Ar, ~30min Chamber vented with Ar Target removed. chamber cleaned with TCE. Chamber pumped back down IG1 currently at 1.4E-4 torr See attachment 1 before chamber was cleaned     Thursday, June 06, 2013, 11:38 Chamber has been pumped down overnight IG1 currently at 4.7E-06 Torr, BP at 30 mTorr TGHT will be ramped up to 220A at 1A/min

 Thursday, June 06, 2013, 16:53

TGHT has reached to 220A; continue ramping up to 520A at 0.1A/min rate.

 Monday, June 10, 2013, 12:28

TGHT has reached to 520A; target has been heated at the current over the weekend.

IG is stabilizing at 3.7e-6 Torr. 

Initiating auto-cooling to 0A at 2A/min.

Chamber will be vented in Ar tomorrow.

 Monday, June 10, 2013, 17:50

TGHT reached to 0A. See attachment #1 for the overall process. 

John Wong wrote:

Thursday, May 30, 2013, 16:16 The target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered in Evap 2. The target is loaded with 250 discs of UCx (material from batch#03_02042013) Total length = 8.9cm The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block. A regular TaC coated/sintered endcap is inserted on left, wrt to the ionizer tube pointing out of the page.  The right end is open with no cap.  (Did not use a D-cap... trying out this method.  Need to be careful when handling the target!) The chamber is dumping down.  Instructions for conditioning the UCx target: 1.  TGHT will need to heat up to ~175A to burn off the organics.        Parameter setup:  5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0-5 bad vac.  The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min. 2.  Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 3.  Purge the glovebox with argon gas.  4.  Vent the chamber with Ar gas.  Close the valve when it is completely vented. 5.  Remove the target.  Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap.  6.  Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge. 7.  Install the target back 8.  Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process. 9.  Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min. 10.  Once the TGHT reach to 175A.  Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min. 11.  At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours. 12.  Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min. 13.  Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min 14.  Vent the chamber with argon gas.  Close the vavle when it is completely vented. 15.  Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange box" and transport to the Ar-glove box. Done!  Friday, May 31, 2013, 18:17 Chamber has pumped down to 6.7e-6 Torr.  Ramping up TGHT to 175A.  Wednesday, June 05, 2013, 11:14 TGHT reached to 227A/1.99V. (see attachment#1) TGHT is ramping down to 0A  to clean up the chamber before continue with the conditioning.

 Wednesday, June 05, 2013, 16:45

Glove box purged with Ar, ~30min

Chamber vented with Ar

Target removed. chamber cleaned with TCE.

Chamber pumped back down

IG1 currently at 1.4E-4 torr

See attachment 1 before chamber was cleaned

Thursday, June 06, 2013, 11:38

Chamber has been pumped down overnight

IG1 currently at 4.7E-06 Torr, BP at 30 mTorr

TGHT will be ramped up to 220A at 1A/min

Thursday, May 30, 2013, 16:16

The target container was previously coated with TaC and sintered in Evap 2.

The target is loaded with 250 discs of UCx (material from batch#03_02042013)

Total length = 8.9cm

The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block.

A regular TaC coated/sintered endcap is inserted on left, wrt to the ionizer tube pointing out of the page.  The right end is open with no cap. 

(Did not use a D-cap... trying out this method.  Need to be careful when handling the target!)

The chamber is dumping down.

 Instructions for conditioning the UCx target:

1.  TGHT will need to heat up to ~175A to burn off the organics. 

      Parameter setup:  5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0-5 bad vac.  The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min.

2.  Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

3.  Purge the glovebox with argon gas. 

4.  Vent the chamber with Ar gas.  Close the valve when it is completely vented.

5.  Remove the target.  Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap. 

6.  Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge.

7.  Install the target back

8.  Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process.

9.  Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min.

10.  Once the TGHT reach to 175A.  Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min.

11.  At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours.

12.  Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

13.  Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min

14.  Vent the chamber with argon gas.  Close the vavle when it is completely vented.

15.  Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange box" and transport to the Ar-glove box.

Done!

 Friday, May 31, 2013, 18:17

Chamber has pumped down to 6.7e-6 Torr. 

Ramping up TGHT to 175A.

 Wednesday, June 05, 2013, 11:14

TGHT reached to 227A/1.99V. (see attachment#1)

TGHT is ramping down to 0A  to clean up the chamber before continue with the conditioning.

Monday, May 06, 2013, 14:29

UO2/C green was prepared on May 2, 2013 and let dry over the weekend.

UO2 powder used = 50.36g   (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 896.30)

Graphite powder used = 10g

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

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 3-Ta heat shields and installed in the Evap#1

The chamber is currently being down down.

The target 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 07, 2013, 11:12

Currently, IG @ 5.6e-6 Torr; BP @ 25mTorr.  Vacuum spikes intermittently...

Stepping up TGHT to 50A.  After about 15 min, vacuum climbed up to 5.5e-5 Torr. 

Lowered TGHT to 25A, and continue heating at that current...

 Tuesday, May 07, 2013, 12:18

Vacuum is coming down to 2.6e-5 Torr.

Auto-heating initiated...

 Friday, May 24, 2013, 14:19

The carbonization process has come the end.

TGHT has reached to 520A for ~14hrs. 

IG1 @ 6.34e-6 Torr, BP @ 25mTorr.

Autocooling is initiated; ramping rate @ 1A/min.

The chamber will be remained under vacuum, and will be vented in Ar next week.

 Monday, May 27, 2013, 14:11

The chamber was vented with Ar. 

UC2 was transfered to the Ar glovebox. 

Evap#1 is off.

 Wednesday, May 29, 2013, 17:14

See attachment#1 for TGHT vs IG1 data retrieval.

Tuesday, April 02, 2013, 17:25

UO2/C green was prepared on Mar 11, 2013.

UO2 powder used = 50.32g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 896.16

Graphite powder used = 10.00g

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

The target boat was wrapped with 3 -Ta heat shields and installed in the Evap#1.

The chamber is currently being pumped down.

The target 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, April 03, 2013, 11:28

IG1 currently at 3.56e-6 Torr, BP at 28mTorr.

Tabbing up TGHT to 50A.

After 20 mins, IG got up to 7.5e-5 torr (tripping at 8e-5 Torr).  Lower TGHT to 20A. 

Initiated autoramping...

 Monday, April 15, 2013, 14:33

The domestic water will be shut off tomorrow, April 16 at 07:00 for ARIEL work.  The evaporator cooling water will be shut off; therefore the process must stop for now.

TGHT is current at 315.5A, IG1 at 5.2e-5 Torr. 

Cooling down at 1A/min.

 Tuesday, April 16, 2013, 16:28

The cooling water is back online.  The carbonization process will continue...

TGHT will be ramped up to 300A at 2A/min.  Then the ramping rate will changed to 0.1A/min to have TGHT reach to 520A.

IG is currently at 1.2e-6 Torr.

 Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 10:53

TGHT continues to ramp at 0.1A/min.

 Sunday, April 21, 2013, 22:11

The synthesis of UC2 is complete. 

Auto cooling is initiated.  Ramping down at 1A/min.

The chamber will be vented with Ar tomorrow.

Thursday, October 25, 2012, 14:50

Previous sintering BeO tests, pellets 1 to 4 were done in Evaporator#2.

3 BeO pellets were made.  Each weights about 1.3g (including org mass). 

A piece of Re foil (0.002" thick) is used as the under layer to protect the reaction between Be(g) and the Ta-boat.  (see attachment#1)

Another layer of Ta-foil is used as the heat-shield to wrap around the Ta-boat.

The chamber is currently being pumped down. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 600A (~1360C) at 0.2A/min.

The pressure, voltage and current will be closely monitored. 

If the Ta-boat survives, the TGHT will continue to ramp up to max 800A (~1580C).

 Friday, October 26, 2012, 11:15

Chamber has been pumped down over night. 

IG1 @ 8.93e-6 Torr. 

Auto-ramping parameter:

Good Vac @ 2.0e-5 Torr, Bad Vac @ 3.0e-5 Torr.

rate @ 0.2A/min. 

 Tuesday, October 30, 2012, 10:57

TGHT has reached to 370A. The organic binder has burnt off. 

The pressure came down to  6.6e-6 Torr, but it is slowly going up to 8.6e-6 Torr (something is outgassing... Dissociation of BeO --> Be(g) + O(g) ?).  BP @ 39mTorr.  (see attachment#2).

 Wednesday, October 31, 2012, 12:07

TGHT has reached to 600A/6.338V for just over 6 hours.  IG is slowly coming down fro 1.2e-5 Torr.  BP @ 38mTorr. (see attachment #3)

 Wednesday, October 31, 2012, 16:49

Vacuum is coming down to 8.49e-6Torr.  TGHT has stayed at 600A/6.24V for over 11hrs.  (see attachment #4)

Auto-cooling initiated at 1A/min. 

The chamber will be vented tomorrow and the material will be inspected.

 Thursday, November 01, 2012, 10:57

TGHT has reached to 0A.  Vacuum holding at 1.9e-6Torr.

Turning off P/S and pumps prior to venting chamber.

Friday, August 24, 2012, 16:40

Target is loaded with 245 discs of UCx (material from batch#02-13062012),

Tot length = 9.1 cm. 

The container is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the back block. 

A regular TaC-coated endcap is inserted on one end and the other is inserted with a D-cap

The chamber is currently begin pumped down.

 Instructions (while I'm on vacation)

1.  TGHT will need to heat up to ~175A to burn off the organics. 

      Parameter setup:  5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0-5 bad vac.  The auto-ramping rate is set to 0.1A/min.

2.  Once the organics have burnt off, ramp down the TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

3.  Purge the glovebox with argon gas for at least 5 mins. 

4.  Vent the chamber with Ar gas.  Close the valve when it is completely vented.

5.  Remove the target.  Be careful the left end (view from the top) is open with the D-cap. 

6.  Clean the chamber with TCE and remove all the gunge.

7.  Install the target back

8.  Pump down the chamber to at least low 10e-6 Torr before begin the final carbonization process.

9.  Auto-ramp the TGHT current to 175A at 1A/min.

10.  Once the TGHT reach to 175A.  Auto-ramp TGHT to 520A at 0.1A/min.

11.  At 520A, keep heating the target for at least 4-5 hours.

12.  Auto ramp TGHT to 0A at 2A/min.

13.  Purge the glovebox with argon for at least 5 min

14.  Vent the chamber with argon gas.  Close the vavle when it is completely vented.

15.  Remove the target from the chamber and put in the "orange box" and transport to the Ar-glove box.

Done!

 Monday, August 27, 2012, 11:26

The chamber has been pumped down over the weekend.  Vac is currently at 3.45e-6 Torr. 

Auto-ramping TGHT to 55A at 0.25A/min.

 Monday, August 27, 2012, 16:24

TGHT reached to 55A and stayed for about 2 hours.  Vacuum went up to 1.9e-5 Torr and it's slowly coming down. 

Increase auto ramping to 175A at 0.1A/min.

Thursday, July 19, 2012, 17:09

UO2/C green was prepared on June 13, 2012. 

UO2 powder used = 50.32g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 946.48g left)

Graphite powder used = 10.00g

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

The target boat was wrapped with 3 Ta-heat shield and installed in the Evap#1. 

The chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Friday, July 20, 2012, 09:50

IG1 currently at 6.2e-6 Torr, BP @ 31mTorr. 

The target will be ramped up to 520A at 0.1A/min. 

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

TGHT tabbed up to 50A.  Not much of change in the vacuum.

Initiated autoramping..

Friday, July 20, 2012, 10:18  

TGHT tripped up at 51A due to high vacuum.  

Lowered TGHT to 30A and begin auto ramping.  Pressure is holding at 7e-5 Torr. 

 Wednesday, July 25, 2012, 11:57

TGHT has reached to 100A, and the vacuum is starting to come down from the high limit, 5e-5 Torr. (see attachment#1).  

The organic burn-off is almost to complete and the carbonization process will begin soon. 

Tuesday, August 07, 2012, 12:18

The carbonization process is completed.  The target heater reached to 520A (local 515A,5.17V), vacuum at 4.0 e-6 Torr. (see attachment #2)

Cooling down is in process at 2A/min.

 Tuesday, August 07, 2012, 17:44

TGHT has reached to 0A.  IG currently @ 1.3e-6 Torr, BP @ 34mTorr. 

The chamber will be vented with Ar gas tomorrow and the UC2 flakes will be transfer to the Ar-glove box.