Thursday, February 08, 2018, 14:50

35 circles from cast#2 of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container.

35 x UO2/C circles = 4.76 g

Graphite container = 5.3 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 new Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

 Friday, February 09, 2018, 10:40

Initial IGP1 = 4.54e-7 Torr

Tapped up entire process manually to 520A in 25 min

TGHT = 520 A, 5.49 V

Vacuum coming down indicating carbonization process complete.  

Current suddenly tripped off from 520 A to 0 A.

There was not a power outage.

There was good vacuum.

Water cooling did not trip off 

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Thursday, February 08, 2018, 14:50 35 circles from cast#2 of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container. 35 x UO2/C circles = 4.76 g Graphite container = 5.3 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 new Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down.  Friday, February 09, 2018, 10:40 Initial IGP1 = 4.54e-7 Torr Tapped up entire process manually to 520A in 25 min TGHT = 520 A, 5.49 V Vacuum coming down indicating carbonization process complete.   Current suddenly tripped off from 520 A to 0 A. There was not a power outage. There was good vacuum. Water cooling did not trip off

 Friday, February 09, 2018, 16:49

The power supply was tested and its working normally.

Apparently a glitch on EPICS caused the tripped off.

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Marla Cervantes wrote:  Thursday, February 08, 2018, 14:50 35 circles from cast#2 of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container. 35 x UO2/C circles = 4.76 g Graphite container = 5.3 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 new Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down.  Friday, February 09, 2018, 10:40 Initial IGP1 = 4.54e-7 Torr Tapped up entire process manually to 520A in 25 min TGHT = 520 A, 5.49 V Vacuum coming down indicating carbonization process complete.   Current suddenly tripped off from 520 A to 0 A. There was not a power outage. There was good vacuum. Water cooling did not trip off     Friday, February 09, 2018, 16:49 The power supply was tested and its working normally. Apparently a glitch on EPICS caused the tripped off.

 Friday, February 09, 2018, 17:00

Target remained in EVAP1 for 2 hours at 0 A to ensure cooling.

EVAP1 was vented with Ar and the target was removed from EVAP1.

Graphite container seems unbroken.

Ta boat looks unbroken.

 Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 11:39

35 circles of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container.

35 x UO2/C circles = 5.74 g

Graphite container = 5.20 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

 Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 15:30

Initial IGP1 = 2.73x10e-6 Torr

Tapped up entire process manually to 520 A in 30 min

TGHT = 520 A, 5.41 V

Vacuum coming down nicely indicating carbonization process complete.

Current trip off after 5 min of being at 520 A.

 Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 15:32

EVAP1 vented with Argon and the target was removed.

Target was transferred to glove box.

Ta boat and graphite container look unbroken.

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 11:39 35 circles of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container. 35 x UO2/C circles = 5.74 g Graphite container = 5.20 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down.  Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 15:30 Initial IGP1 = 2.73x10e-6 Torr Tapped up entire process manually to 520 A in 30 min TGHT = 520 A, 5.41 V Vacuum coming down nicely indicating carbonization process complete. Current trip off after 5 min of being at 520 A.  Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 15:32 EVAP1 vented with Argon and the target was removed. Target was transferred to glove box. Ta boat and graphite container look unbroken.

 Friday, March 02, 2018, 16:31

A test was performed in EVAP1 (see log ID 194):

- A Ta boat without Ta shielding was submitted to 520 A and it remained at that current point overnight.

-No trip off

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Marla Cervantes wrote:  Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 11:39 35 circles of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container. 35 x UO2/C circles = 5.74 g Graphite container = 5.20 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down.  Tuesday, February 13, 2018, 15:30 Initial IGP1 = 2.73x10e-6 Torr Tapped up entire process manually to 520 A in 30 min TGHT = 520 A, 5.41 V Vacuum coming down nicely indicating carbonization process complete. Current trip off after 5 min of being at 520 A.  Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 15:32 EVAP1 vented with Argon and the target was removed. Target was transferred to glove box. Ta boat and graphite container look unbroken.  Friday, March 02, 2018, 16:31 A test was performed in EVAP1 (see log ID 194): - A Ta boat without Ta shielding was submitted to 520 A and it remained at that current point overnight. -No trip off

 Monday, March 12, 2018, 9:13

35 circles from cast#2 of 14 mm diameter were packed into a graphite sample container.

35 x UO2/C circles = 5.21 g

Graphite container = 6.85 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

 Monday, March 12, 2018, 13:57

Initial IGP1 = 4.79e-7 Torr

Tapped up entire process manually to 520A in 30 min

TGHT = 520 A, 5.32 V

Vacuum coming down indicating carbonization process complete.  

Will remain at max setpoint for 1 hrs to ensure full carbonization before cooling down.

 Monday, March 12, 2018, 14:57 

Cooling down rate used 3 A/10s.

 Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 18:22

Vented with Ar and removed from EVAP1

 Thursday, May 10, 2018, 16:00 

Graphite insert fully loaded with UCx was loaded into previously TaC coated target container.

No end caps on Ta target container.

Weight of graphite tube + UCx discs = 27 g

Currently pumping down in evap1.

Friday, May 11, 2018, 11:41 

IGP1 = 1.13e-6 Torr

Good vac at 3.0e-4, bad vac at 6.0e-4 Torr.

Tapped up manually to 100A.

Pressure increased to ~2e-5 Torr

Vacuum stabilized after 40 min

IGP1 = 1e-5 Torr

Initiating auto ramp for TGHT @ 20 A/min to a max setpoint of 520 A

Initiating auto ramp for TBHT @ 10 A/min to a max setpoint of 245 A

Preassure increased o 1e-4 Torr and the auto ramp was aborted

After 8 min IGP1 = 3e-5 Torr

Initiating auto ramp for TGHT @ 10 A/min to a max setpoint of 520 A

Initiating auto ramp for TBHT @ 5 A/min to a max setpoint of 245 A

The vacuum is more stable.

TBHT reached 230 A at 13:00

TGHT reached 520 A at 13:24

Final pressure 1.15e-4 Torr

Target will stay at max current point for a week.

 Friday, May 18, 2018, 18:31

Evap1 was vented in Ar and UCx target was transferred to the glove box

 Friday, May 18, 2018, 18:32

35 circles of 14 mm diameter of cast #3 were packed into a graphite sample container.

40 x UO2/C circles = 4.58 g

Graphite container mass = 6.95 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

Saturday, May 19, 2018, 07:30 

Initial IGP1 = 6.27e-7 Torr

 Tapped to 80A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

 Waited 4 min for vacuum to stabilize.

 Tapped to 100 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

 Waited 12 min for vacuum

Tapped to 400 A at 25A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 25 A

Tapped to 520 A at 20A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 20 A

Pressure dropping indicates carbonization complete.

Current tripped off, vacuum was ok, water cooling was ok.

Saturday, May 19, 2018, 10:00 

Current was returned to 520 A manually

Tapped to 100 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A 

Tapped to 400 A at 25A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 25 A

Tapped to 520 A at 20A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 20 A

The discs will stay at max current for 4 hrs

 Saturday, May 19, 2018, 18:31

Vented with Argon and removed form evaporator 1

Friday, May 25, 2018, 15:34 

D-shaped discs were cut from cast 3

A 13mm punch was used to punch out discs from pre-cut strips using the old method.

The target consists of 205 discs with 10 cm in length - all single discs, no packs.

205 x UO₂/C discs = 22.04 g

Graphite insert with caps 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 is pumping down.

 Saturday, May 26, 2018, 10:39

Current tapped manually to 80 A at 1A/s in 10 A blocks with a waiting period of 20 s between each increment

18 min waiting for pressure stabilization

Current tapped to 100 A in same rate

Saturday, May 26, 2018, 10:51 

After 9 min current was reduced to 60 A to reduce pressure.

Cuerrent was tapped to 100 A

After 10 min the rate was increased to 25 A each 20 s until 450 A

The rate was changed to 10 A each 2 min until 500 A

Last 20 A were tapped after 1 min 

Saturday, May 26, 2018, 15:41 

After 4hrs the current was reduced in a rate of 10 A /min

Monday, May 28, 2018, 12:45 

EVAPI was vented with Ar and UCx was transferred to glove box.

 Friday, June 01, 2018, 11:20

Target boat was previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Two small C-inserts of ~2cm length were placed on Ta boat

Sample 1-sc: 15 discs of cast 3 made with 1-step cast method (UCx+foil 1.437 g)

Sample 2-sc: 24 discs from rejected discs of 2-step casting (UCx+foil 1.585 g)

Ta boat was wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield

The chamber is currently pumping down.

TGHT will be ramped up to 495A [same parameters used to reach 1910C in evap2 when sintering TaC coating - elog410 evap2]

Monday, June 04, 2018, 11:27 

IG1 = 4e-7 Torr

Tapped up manually to 35A

Waited 1hr

Vacuum stable.

IG1 = 8.02e-7 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp (0.1 A/min) up to 80 A

 Tuesday, June 07, 2018, 15:47

Vacuum stable

IG1 = 7.02e-7 Torr.

Changing auto-ramp to 0.02 A/min up to 140 A

Thursday, June 07, 2018, 15:49 

Vacuum stable 5.5e-7 Torr

Current 139 A, voltage 1.25 V

Changing auto-ramp to 0.1 A/min up to 495 

Saturday, June 9, 2018, 10:41 

The material stayed 4 hours at 495 A

Auto-ramp set to -1 A/min down to 0 A 

Monday, June 11, 2018, 17:43 

EVAPI was vented with Ar and UCx was transferred to glove box

 Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 18:20

35 circles of 14 mm diameter of cast #4 were packed into a graphite sample container.

30 x UO₂/C circles = 4.07 g

Graphite container mass = 5.3 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 10:29 

Initial IGP1 = 6.43e-7 Torr

Tapped to 80A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

Waited 5 min for vacuum to stabilize.

Tapped to 90 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

Waited 5 min to tap to 100 A 

Waited 14 min for vacuum to stabilize

Tapped to 400 A at 25A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 25 A

Tapped to 520 A at 20A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 20 A

Max pressure ~0.06 Torr 

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 18:20 35 circles of 14 mm diameter of cast #4 were packed into a graphite sample container. 30 x UO2/C circles = 4.07 g Graphite container mass = 5.3 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down. Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 10:29  Initial IGP1 = 6.43e-7 Torr Tapped to 80A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A Waited 5 min for vacuum to stabilize. Tapped to 90 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A Waited 5 min to tap to 100 A  Waited 14 min for vacuum to stabilize Tapped to 400 A at 25A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 25 A Tapped to 520 A at 20A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 20 A Max pressure ~0.06 Torr

 Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 11:08

Pressure was dropping indicating full carbothermal reduction but the current tripped off to 0 A.

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Marla Cervantes wrote:  Tuesday, June 12, 2018, 18:20 35 circles of 14 mm diameter of cast #4 were packed into a graphite sample container. 30 x UO2/C circles = 4.07 g Graphite container mass = 5.3 g Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat. Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered. Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1. Chamber currently pumping down. Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 10:29  Initial IGP1 = 6.43e-7 Torr Tapped to 80A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A Waited 5 min for vacuum to stabilize. Tapped to 90 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A Waited 5 min to tap to 100 A  Waited 14 min for vacuum to stabilize Tapped to 400 A at 25A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 25 A Tapped to 520 A at 20A/30s with 30 s waiting period each 20 A Max pressure ~0.06 Torr   Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 11:08 Pressure was dropping indicating full carbothermal reduction but the current tripped off to 0 A.

 Wednesday, June 13, 2018, 12:23

The problem was reported to controls group

After 1 hour at 0 A, the autoramp was set to 4 A/min up to 520 A

The current and voltage are increasing accordingly.

The material will stay 4 hours at max point.

Thursday, June 14, 2018, 09:14 

After 4 hours the auto ramp was set to -1A/min to 0 A

Thursday, June 14, 2018, 14:47 

The IEVAP  was vented with Ar and the UCx was trasnferred to the glove box.

 Friday, June 15, 2018, 16:39

35 circles of 14 mm diameter of cast #3 were packed into a graphite sample container.

35 x UO₂/C circles = 4.07 g

Graphite container mass = 5.3 g

Graphite tube is placed inside a target boat.

Boat previously coated with TaC and sintered.

Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3 used Ta foils for heat shielding and the boat was installed in Evap1.

Chamber currently pumping down.

 Saturday, June 16, 2018, 15:00

Tapped to 80A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

Waited 5 min for vacuum to stabilize.

Tapped to 90 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

Waited 14 min for vacuum to stabilize

Tapped to 100 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting period each 10 A

Tapped to 520 A at 20A/20s with 20 s waiting period each 20 A

 Tuesday, June 19, 2018, 15:51 

 The material will be in the evap for a week

Wednesday, June 27, 2018, 09:53 

 The IEVAP  was vented with Ar and the UCx was trasnferred to the glove box.

 Friday, August 17, 2018, 11:17

Four discs of UCx produced with the 1-step casting method were placed in a glass jar.

The mass of the discs was 0.400 g.

The glass jar with the discs were placed in the heating chamber of the IEVAP.

Currently IEVAP is pumping down until vacuum is in the order of  ~10^-6 Torr.

Friday, August 17, 2018, 16:28 

Final vacuum: 9.5x10^-6 Torr

IEVAP's heating chamber will be vented with air and the materials will be taken out.

 Friday, August 17, 2018, 17:27

Material was transferred to the glove box

 Monday, September 03, 2018, 10:17

Graphite insert fully loaded with UCx was loaded into previously TaC coated target container.

No end caps on Ta target container.

Weight of graphite tube + UCx discs = 27.118 g

Currently pumping down in evap1.

Tuesday, September 04, 2018, 10:17 

IGP1 = 4.02e-6 Torr

Tapped up TBHT and TGHT manually to 100 A @1 A/s with pauses of 20 s.

Wait for 40 min to pressure to stabilize.

Max pressure 1.38e-4 Torr.

Final pressure 5.93e-5 Torr.

Tuesday, September 04, 2018, 11:46 

Good vacuum 5e-1 Torr

Bad vacuum 8e-1 Torr

Initiating auto ramp for TGHT @ 10 A/min to a max setpoint of 520 A

Initiating auto ramp for TBHT @ 5 A/min to a max setpoint of 245 A

 After achieving 520 A with auto ramp, manually tapped to 599 A.

Manually tapped back to 550 A.

Monday, October 22, 2018, 17:55 

UO2/C green was prepared , September 24, 2018

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.11 g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 374.03 g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.13 g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 62.45 g 

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 [2 reused, 1 new] and installed in evap1.

Currently pumping down.

 Tuesday, October 23, 2018, 15:38

IGP1 = 2.44e-6 Torr,

Tapped to 60 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting every 10 A,

Waited 28 min to vacuum to stabilize,

tapped to 80 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting every 10 A,

max pressure 7x10-3 Torr, waited 50 min to vacuum to drop

Tapped to 100 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting every 10 A,

max pressure 4x10-2 Torr, tapped current to 80 A,

The pressure was dropping, when it was at 2x10-2 Torr, the current tripped off.

IGP1 = 1x10-4 Torr

Tapped back to 60 A at 10A/10s with 20 s waiting every 10 A,

waited 5 min to tap to 80 A at same rate

waited 5 min to tap to 100 A at same rate

waited 25 min to vacuum to drop from 2e-2 Torr to 8e-4Torr

Tapped to 110 A at same rate

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.