Wednesday, June 07, 2017, 10:00-12:00: Cooling was split/routed from two bottom lines with tees and run to the turbo pump.

Thursday, July 13, 2017, 12:48

NOTE: hot lab reached 27degrees every day this week and went up to 28C today! 

This is with the small portable fan running.

27C was reached even with both evaporators off.

When at 28C: evap2 = ~1500C and evap1 = 35A

 Thursday, July 20, 2017, 15:58

Hot lab reached 30C today.

Small fan off - unsure if able to run due to contamination spread...

Both evap1 and evap2 were under vacuum but had not initiated ramping up yet.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Thursday, July 13, 2017, 12:48 NOTE: hot lab reached 27degrees every day this week and went up to 28C today!  This is with the small portable fan running. 27C was reached even with both evaporators off. When at 28C: evap2 = ~1500C and evap1 = 35A  Thursday, July 20, 2017, 15:58 Hot lab reached 30C today. Small fan off - unsure if able to run due to contamination spread... Both evap1 and evap2 were under vacuum but had not initiated ramping up yet.

 Thursday, July 27, 2017, 09:06

There was a broken valve motor affecting all ISAC rooms - temporary fix in place.

Ventilation in ISAC hot lab has been increased.

Temperature back to a reasonable level - currently sitting at 22C!

 Thursday, September 07, 2017, 11:00 -12:00

The roughing pump was disconnected from Evaporator 1, along with the exhaust/ventilation. No contamination was found on swipes.

The oil was refilled.

The roughing pump was then moved away from the PLC to allow access for Dave Morris. The RP can be reconnected and tested after the PLC work is complete.

Work permit # I2017-09-07-1

Wednesday, September 20, 2017, 08:00: 

-A new ion gauge was installed yesterday afternoon and the old one removed. The old IG was found to be contaminated (300 cpm) and as of 20/09/2017, it is double bagged and stashed underneath the evaporator for the time being. 

Completed under work permit: I2017-09-19-9

-The roughing pump was reconnected this morning without issue.

 Thursday, September 21, 2017, 11:32

Copper plate attached to TBHT to allow current to be applied.

Started pumping down this a.m.

Roughing pump sounds normal.

Currently Ion Gauge times out before turning on, will attempt again later when lower vacuum achieved...

 Monday, September 25, 2017, 13:30

Ion Gauge hadn't been fully hooked up via eipcs yet.

Ramped down last week/ vented/ hooked up ion gauge in epics/ restarted IOC - now updated and good to go.

Started pumping down again this a.m.

Roughing pump sounds normal.

Ion gauge working well!

IGP1 = 2.7e-5 Torr

 Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 09:20

Cooled down, vented in air and opened up yesterday.

TBHT ran well -  readout on power supply and readout on striptool were very close.

Roughing pump ran smoothly - nothing other than usual problems.

Sometimes when roughing pump is 1st turned on it chokes up and sounds TERRIBLE. At this point if you turn it off and leave it for a few seconds then try turning it on again it usually works fine.

Ion gauge ran well - direct readout vs striptool readout are slightly off because the direct readout is in mBar and the striptool in Torr.

One minor thing noticed with the new ion gauge - when water is turned on the vacuum increases very minorly by ~5e-8 Torr.

This wouldn't show up with the old Ion Gauge - maybe the new one is slightly more sensitive?

Otherwise everything ran great 

 Tuesday, November 07, 2017, 11:55

Interlocks limits updated/ changed to 100mTorr for both TGHT and TBHT by Ray

 Tuesday, November 07, 2017, 11:58

Noise levels were checked with monitor by Terry.

Max readings in lab reached ~83dB but sat between 70-78dB in most areas.

This is under limit for requirement to wear ear protection [85dB].

To reach limit - noise levels would need to increase drastically.

Conclusion: ear protection not required in lab.

Recommended if working in there for long periods of time for personal preference, but not a requirement.

 Tuesday, November 07, 2017, 14:34

LP-FEBIAD used several years ago for temperature measurements is used for this test.

3xTa heat shields on container, incl center block - these heat shields have remained on there since the last round of tests in 2014?

Old version of LP container with larger center block.

Will heat TBHT to 290A and report data.

Loaded into evap1 and pumped down this a.m

IGP1 = 7.73e-6 Torr

Wednesday, November 08, 2017, 13:20

Tapped up to 290A manually.

TBHT epics controls = 287.7A, 2.45V

TBHT power supply = 290.4A, 2.46V

IGP1 epics = 2.51e-6 Toor

IGP1 direct readout = 3.18e-6 Torr

TP = 26.1C

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min

 Thursday, November 09, 2017, 11:41

Vented in air.

TBHT test went well. 

See attachment for data collected.

 Wednesday, November 22, 2017, 11:05

Eye wash installed yesterday, simple attachment on sink spout.

Easy to use, simply twist attachment 180 degrees.

Water for tap can be turned on before or after twist.

Adjust pressure/ temperature accordingly.

Auto shut-off for eye-wash at ~38C [100F] - no accidental eye-burning when trying to wash eyes!

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Wednesday, January 10, 2018, 14:44 Circles from cast 1 were used, the same as the last round of 1stepUCx [see elog i.d. 164] A 14mm punch was used to punch out circles from the cast. 35 circles were packed into a graphite sample container. 35 x UO2/C circles = 5.75 g Graphite container = 5.38 g Graphite container is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down.

 Friday, January 12, 2018, 07:43

IGP1 = 0.0266 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.92V

Voltage has been climbing consistently since it has reached it's max setpoint, gone up ~0.8V in ~18hrs

Carbonization complete.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min

Will update later with more information on this process.

 Friday, January 12, 2018, 09:47

Turned the turbo pump back on, to ensure safe cooling.

 Wednesday, February 28, 2018, 15:19

Last two rounds of materials in evap1 have tripped off the TGHT in epics within minutes of the target reaching 520A.

Loaded an empty target boat, no heat shields.

Will ramp up with same speed as last two samples to see how TGHT reacts and whether a trip is induced or not.

Currently pumping down now.

 Thursday, March 01, 2018, 13:53

IGP1 = 9.6e-7 Torr

Tapped up to 100A @ 1.0A/s, waited ~6min

IGP1 = 1.77e-6 Torr

Tapped up 40A/min to 140A, waited ~2min

Tapped up 40A/min to 180A, waited ~2min

Tapped up @ a rate of 1.0A/s for 40sec, then wait 20sec. Used this rate consistently up to 520A.

TGHT = 520A, 5.75V

Friday, March 02, 2018, 10:09 

TGHT = 520A, 5.81V this morning.

TGHT still on! 

No trip induced.

IGP1 = 1.7e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min

 Thursday, March 05, 2018, 14:07

Container removed, test complete.

 Tuesday, June 26, 2018, 09:30. Gloves on evap 1 changed out. 

The original right one was otrn. Left was o but worn. Both replaced with new gloves.

Thursday, July 05, 2018, 13:24

Target container was previously coated and sintered with TaC, also wrapped with Ta heat shields (see Evap2 elog# 410).

Loaded 201 discs of UCx with 7.27 cm in length + 5 extra discs for QC samples. 

One end-cap (coated/sintered TaC) inserted right, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down.

Left side is OPEN; a spring is inserted to hold the discs in place.

Chamber is currently being pumped down. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 495A/8.85V and TBHT to 230A/3.26V (same parameters used for sintering the container, evap2 elog#410).

Vacuum initial setting:

Good Vac = 5.0 e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 8.0 e-5 Torr.

pressure level will be monitored accordingly...

Auto-ramping setting

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 495A

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 230A.

 Thursday, July 05, 2018, 16:50

Tapping up TGHT to 40 A/0.49 V and TGHT to 40A/0.64V.

Vac slowly increasing from 5.0 e-6 Torr. 

Initiate auto-heating

 Tuesday, July 10, 2018, 10:46

Holding TGHT at 495A/5.3V for over 25 hours.  Pressure at 2.9e-6 Torr.

Initiate autocooling TGHT at 2A/min, TBHT 1.0A/min

 Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 17:12

Target was removed from the Evap; it is now in the Ar glovebox.  End cap is inserted. 

Target is ready for installation.

Wednesday, July 11, 2018, 17:41

Cast prepared by Marla (see note in Hotlab)

Target boat contained about 50g UO2 powder. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 520A.

Vacuum limit stop at 3.0 e-4 Torr, backing off at 6.0e-4 Torr. 

Chamber is currently being pumped down

 Thursday, July 12, 2018, 10:45

Pressure at 8.9e-7 Torr. 

Initiate auto ramping TGHT at 0.1A/min to reach 580A (will monitor vacuum to ensure complete carbonization)

 Wednesday, July 18, 2018, 10:23

TGTH at 369A/3.7V, carbonization in progress. 

Pressure limited was set to 5.0e-5 Torr; change limit to 6e-4 Torr (as indicated above)

Increase ramping rate to 0.2A/min.

 Thursday, July 19, 2018, 12:12

Completion of the U-carbonization has been reached. 

Cooling down TGHT at 2A/min

Chamber will be vented in Ar and materials will be transferred to Ar glovebox

Friday, August 03, 2018, 17:44

Target consists of 230 UCx discs, total packing length of 7.1cm. 

Container was previously coated/sintered with TaC (see elog #415) in Evap#2 with TGHT set to 450A/7.5V and TBHT 230A/4.2

Vacuum initial setting:

Good Vac = 5.0 e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 8.0 e-5 Torr.

pressure level will be monitored accordingly...

Auto-ramping setting

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 450A

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 230A.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.Good

 Monday, August 06, 2018, 00:04

Pressure at 3.6e-6 Torr. 

Initiate autoramping.

 Friday, August 10, 2018, 11:02

TGHT/TBHT have been at 450A(4.5V)/230A(2.9) for over 15 hours.

Pressure is stabilized at 5.2e-6 Torr. 

Initiated auto-cooling at 2A/min for TGHT and 1A/min for TBHT.

Saturday, September 29, 2018, 18:52

Cast is from Jar#1.  (see process sheet for details)

Target boat contains about 50g UO2 powder. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 520A; fast tapping can be done, see elog#211, or set to autoramping with higher vacuum limit (1setup UCx process with pressure up to 60mTorr, see elog #210)

Chamber is currently being pumped down

 Saturday, September 29, 2018, 21:21

Pressure at 2.6e-5 Torr.

Tapping up TGHT in process

 Saturday, September 29, 2018, 21:32

Tapped to 80A/0.65V.  Wait for vacuum to stabilize.

 Saturday, September 29, 2018, 21:42

Pressure stabilized at 2.5mTorr.

Tapping up to 90A/0.701V

Saturday, September 29, 2018, 21:44

Pressure stabilized at 2.7m Torr; tapping up to 100A/0.77V

Saturday, September 29, 2018, 23:57

TGHT at 520A/4394V (see attachment for striptool capture).  Pressure at 163mTorr and coming down.

 Sunday, September 30, 2018, 12:56

At around midnight, pressure was coming down from 160 mTorr to 21 mTorr before TGHT tripped off (see attachment#2).

I suspect the TP was working too hard causing it to trip.

Pressure at 2.1e-6 Torr. 

Using auto-ramping.  Set good vac at 2.0e-4 Torr, bad vac at 5.0e-4 Torr.  Ramping TGHT at 2A/min to reah 520A.

 Sunday, September 30, 2018, 17:11

Pressure limiting at 0.2 mTorr as TGHT slowly ramping up, currently at 442A;  (see attachment#3).

 Monday, October 01, 2018, 21:15

TGHT was held at 520A for at least a day.  Vac at 3.7e-6 Torr.  Ramping down TGHT at 2A/min.

Thursday, October 11, 2018, 18:06

Target consists of 284 UCx discs, total packing length of 8.0 cm. 

Container was previously coated/sintered with TaC (see elog #417) in Evap#2 with TGHT set to 400A and TBHT 230A, but there was a problem with the readback.  Will ramp up TGHT to 400A to see if the carbonization is complete; if not, additional 50A on TGHT can be applied.

One end-cap is inserted on the right, wrt to the ionizer, and left end is open. 

Vacuum initial setting:

Good Vac = 5.0 e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 8.0 e-5 Torr.

pressure level will be monitored accordingly...

Auto-ramping setting

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 400A (or addtional of 50 A if required as mentioned above)

TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 230A.

 Chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Friday, October 12, 2018, 15:35

Chamber has pumped down to 1.8e-6 Torr. 

Stepping up TGHT and TBHT to 40A.

 Friday, October 12, 2018, 17:07

TGHT/TBTH was held at 40A reaching max pressure of 1.7e-5 before slowly coming down. 

Initiated autoramping.

 Thursday, October 18, 2018, 11:10

TGHT reached to 400A/3.98V, pressure is coming down from the upper limit at around 320A which indicated the carbonization is approaching to completion (see attachment#1).  However, two more out-gassing steps are typically observed as TGHT reached around 450 A (see previous UCx conditioning process).  Currently the pressure is at 1.04 e-5 torr. 

Auto-ramping TGHT to 450A at 1A/min, continue to observe the vacuum...

 Thursday, October 18, 2018, 12:57

TGHT reached to 450A/4.6V. Pressure is coming down from 1.6 e-5 Torr. (see attachment#2).  Will remain at this heating current until pressure reached to mid 10-6 torr.

John Wong wrote:

Thursday, October 11, 2018, 18:06 Target consists of 284 UCx discs, total packing length of 8.0 cm.  Container was previously coated/sintered with TaC (see elog #417) in Evap#2 with TGHT set to 400A and TBHT 230A, but there was a problem with the readback.  Will ramp up TGHT to 400A to see if the carbonization is complete; if not, additional 50A on TGHT can be applied. One end-cap is inserted on the right, wrt to the ionizer, and left end is open.  Vacuum initial setting: Good Vac = 5.0 e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 8.0 e-5 Torr. pressure level will be monitored accordingly... Auto-ramping setting TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 400A (or addtional of 50 A if required as mentioned above) TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 230A.  Chamber is currently being pumped down.  Friday, October 12, 2018, 15:35 Chamber has pumped down to 1.8e-6 Torr.  Stepping up TGHT and TBHT to 40A.  Friday, October 12, 2018, 17:07 TGHT/TBTH was held at 40A reaching max pressure of 1.7e-5 before slowly coming down.  Initiated autoramping.  Thursday, October 18, 2018, 11:10 TGHT reached to 400A/3.98V, pressure is coming down from the upper limit at around 320A which indicated the carbonization is approaching to completion (see attachment#1).  However, two more out-gassing steps are typically observed as TGHT reached around 450 A (see previous UCx conditioning process).  Currently the pressure is at 1.04 e-5 torr.  Auto-ramping TGHT to 450A at 1A/min, continue to observe the vacuum...  Thursday, October 18, 2018, 12:57 TGHT reached to 450A/4.6V. Pressure is coming down from 1.6 e-5 Torr. (see attachment#2).  Will remain at this heating current until pressure reached to mid 10-6 torr.

 Friday, October 19, 2018, 10:00

TRIUMF had a total power outage, the TBHT  and TGHT current had been ramped down already.

Marla Cervantes wrote:

John Wong wrote: Thursday, October 11, 2018, 18:06 Target consists of 284 UCx discs, total packing length of 8.0 cm.  Container was previously coated/sintered with TaC (see elog #417) in Evap#2 with TGHT set to 400A and TBHT 230A, but there was a problem with the readback.  Will ramp up TGHT to 400A to see if the carbonization is complete; if not, additional 50A on TGHT can be applied. One end-cap is inserted on the right, wrt to the ionizer, and left end is open.  Vacuum initial setting: Good Vac = 5.0 e-5 Torr, Bad vac = 8.0 e-5 Torr. pressure level will be monitored accordingly... Auto-ramping setting TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 400A (or addtional of 50 A if required as mentioned above) TGHT: 60 wait time, 0.2A/min, final 230A.  Chamber is currently being pumped down.  Friday, October 12, 2018, 15:35 Chamber has pumped down to 1.8e-6 Torr.  Stepping up TGHT and TBHT to 40A.  Friday, October 12, 2018, 17:07 TGHT/TBTH was held at 40A reaching max pressure of 1.7e-5 before slowly coming down.  Initiated autoramping.  Thursday, October 18, 2018, 11:10 TGHT reached to 400A/3.98V, pressure is coming down from the upper limit at around 320A which indicated the carbonization is approaching to completion (see attachment#1).  However, two more out-gassing steps are typically observed as TGHT reached around 450 A (see previous UCx conditioning process).  Currently the pressure is at 1.04 e-5 torr.  Auto-ramping TGHT to 450A at 1A/min, continue to observe the vacuum...  Thursday, October 18, 2018, 12:57 TGHT reached to 450A/4.6V. Pressure is coming down from 1.6 e-5 Torr. (see attachment#2).  Will remain at this heating current until pressure reached to mid 10-6 torr.    Friday, October 19, 2018, 10:00 TRIUMF had a total power outage, the TBHT  and TGHT current had been ramped down already.

  Sunday, October 21, 2018, 1:00 pm

the pumps went out, and the communication with the IEVAP was recovered on Sunday, the vacuum was 160 mTorr,

the pumps were turned on again.