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.

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.

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, 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. 

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.

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

Marla Cervantes wrote:

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 waited 3 min  to tap to 120 A at same rate waited 1 min  to tap to 130 A at same rate waited 1 min  to tap to 140 A at same rate   waited 15 min to pressure to drop from 6e-2 Torr to 7e-4 Torr   Changing manual rate to 10A/10s with waiting periods of 1 min, current was increased from 140 A to 260 A with this rate.   Changing manual rate to 20A/10s with waiting periods of 30 s, current was increased from 260 A to 480 A with this rate.   Waiting 4 min for the pressure to increase.   Changing the rate to 5A/30s, tapped until 510 A,   Changing the waiting period to 1 min, kept tapping to 530 A,   The pressure was dropping, when it was at 2x10-2 Torr, the current tripped off   The vacuum limit is 5e-1 Torr, and the pressure was dropping, there was no reason for the current to trip.   The pumps seems to be fine in the hot lab.

 Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 17:51

Rod from controls checked on the system, seems that the controls are not the cause of the trip

Rod suggested that the power supply might be overheating, 

thermocouples were installed on the surface of the power supply to register the temperature during the process

Tapping the current up again at accelerated rate see spread sheet for details.

Since pressure was not decreasing the current was increased to 595 A (rate 1A/min) [see figure CT-2]

The power supply's maximum temperature was 32.7 C which is a difference of 9.7 degrees with respect to the initial temperature. 

The target will remain at maximum temperature overnight.

Marla Cervantes wrote:

Marla Cervantes wrote: 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 waited 3 min  to tap to 120 A at same rate waited 1 min  to tap to 130 A at same rate waited 1 min  to tap to 140 A at same rate   waited 15 min to pressure to drop from 6e-2 Torr to 7e-4 Torr   Changing manual rate to 10A/10s with waiting periods of 1 min, current was increased from 140 A to 260 A with this rate.   Changing manual rate to 20A/10s with waiting periods of 30 s, current was increased from 260 A to 480 A with this rate.   Waiting 4 min for the pressure to increase.   Changing the rate to 5A/30s, tapped until 510 A,   Changing the waiting period to 1 min, kept tapping to 530 A,   The pressure was dropping, when it was at 2x10-2 Torr, the current tripped off   The vacuum limit is 5e-1 Torr, and the pressure was dropping, there was no reason for the current to trip.   The pumps seems to be fine in the hot lab.  Wednesday, October 24, 2018, 17:51 Rod from controls checked on the system, seems that the controls are not the cause of the trip Rod suggested that the power supply might be overheating,  thermocouples were installed on the surface of the power supply to register the temperature during the process Tapping the current up again at accelerated rate see spread sheet for details. Since pressure was not decreasing the current was increased to 595 A (rate 1A/min) [see figure CT-2] The power supply's maximum temperature was 32.7 C which is a difference of 9.7 degrees with respect to the initial temperature.  The target will remain at maximum temperature overnight.

 Thursday, October 25, 2018, 09:07

Carbothermal reduction completed

IGP1 =  1.22e-5 Torr

Maximum power supply's temperature 33.3 C

Ramping current down at 2 A/min.

Monday, October 29, 2018, 12:30

Transferring  UCx to glove box

Mass = 48.384 g

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

 Tuesday, April 17, 2018, 10:30

UO2/C green was prepared April 12th, 2018

The cast peeled off the glass nicely April 13th, 2018

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.56g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 626.28g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.38g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.40g 

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

Chamber pumped down overnight.

IGP1 = 8.4e-7 Torr

Tapped up to 35A, 0.46V

Waited ~135min, vacuum stable.

IGP1 = 1.6e-5 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.2A/min

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A.

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

 Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 09:21

IGP1 = 9.6e-6 Torr

TGHT = 245A, 2.10V

Vacuum stable, increasing ramping rate to 0.5A/min.

 Thursday, April 19, 2018, 08:35

IGP1 = 3.21e-6 Torr

Materials have finished carbonizing.

TGHT = 520A, 4.97V

Evap1 has remained at max setpoints for ~6.5hrs

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Thursday, May 10, 2018, 10:33

Materials were vented in Ar and transferred to glove box on April 20th

 Tuesday, October 10, 2017, 14:11

UO2/C green was prepared Oct 4th, 2017

The cast peeled off the glass nicely Oct 6th, 2017

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.26g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 676.34g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.12g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.30g 

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 [reused] and installed in evap1 this morning.

Chamber currently pumping down.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A.

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

 Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 09:06

IGP1 = 1.74e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 35A, 0.29V

Waited ~70min, vacuum stable.

IGP1 = 6.9e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.2A/min

 Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 13:06

IGP1 = 3.1e-4 Torr

TGHT = 61A, 0.49V

Vacuum stable.

Changing vacuum limits.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-4 Torr, backing off at 8.0e-4 Torr.

 Thursday, October 12, 2017, 08:31

IGP1 = 1.06e-5 Torr

TGHT = 275A, 2.55V

Vacuum stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 0.5A/min.

 Thursday, October 12, 2017, 09:03

IGP1 = 1.47e-5 Torr

TGHT = 290A, 2.70V

Vacuum stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 1.0A/ 30sec.

 Friday, October 13, 2017, 08:30

IGP1 = 5.8e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 4.98V

Vacuum stable.

Carbonization process complete!

Evap1 has remained at max setpoints for ~17hrs

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Tuesday, October 17, 2017, 15:01

TGHT had sat at 0A for at least 24hrs.

At ~3:30-4am this morning everything tripped off. The only thing remained on was the roughing pump.

Power bump? Did someone accidentally turn it off? Will follow up on this...

Vacuum was sitting at ~3.5e-2Torr when I noticed today.

Most vacuum had been lost, but there was still a small vacuum - materials should be okay.

Purged and vented in Ar.

Transferred materials to glove box.

 Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 09:25

UO2/C green was prepared Sept 20th, 2017.

The cast peeled off the glass Sept 22nd, 2017 - not quite enough 'special' ingredient.

UO2 stuck to glass around edges of cast - a lot of flakes produced while peeling off.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.00g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 726.38g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.03g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 60.38g 

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 [reused from last 1stepUCx] and installed in evap1 yesterday afternoon.

Chamber pumped down overnight.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A.

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

IG1 = 3.5e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 30A, 0.43V

Waited ~50min, vacuum stable.

IGP1 = 8.6e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min

 Wednesday, September 27, 2017, 13:28

IGP1 = 1.4e-5 Torr

TGHT = 38.5A, 0.48V

Vacuum stable.

Changing vacuum limits and ramping rate.

Vacuum limit stop at 2.0e-4 Torr, backing off at 5.0e-4 Torr.

Increasing ramping rate to 0.2A/min.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 08:41

IGP1 = 3.26e-5 Torr

TGHT = 174A, 1.71V

Vacuum stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 0.5A/min.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 09:56

IGP1 = 4.85e-5 Torr

TGHT = 195A, 1.92V

Vacuum initially climbed a small amount with last increase, has started to decrease - vacuum stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 1.0A/min.

Thursday, September 28, 2017, 10:30  

IGP1 = 5.3e-5 Torr

TGHT = 220A, 2.18V

Vacuum increased slightly again with faster ramping rate.

Vacuum now dropping - stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 2.0A/min.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 11:07

IGP1 = 6.35e-5 Torr

TGHT = 302A, 3.09V

Vacuum increased slightly again with faster ramping rate.

Vacuum now dropping - stable.

Increasing ramping rate to 2.5A/min.

Thursday, September 28, 2017, 11:45

IGP1 = 1.67e-4 Torr

TGHT = 380A, 4.04V

Vacuum increased normally at slow rate for first half hour.

~30min into the 2.5A/min rate increase, vacuum started to climb much faster.

Paused auto-ramp for few min to allow vacuum to stabilize.

Vacuum decreasing - stable.

IGP1 = 1.4e-4 Torr

Decreasing ramping rate to 0.5A/min for next hour while unable to watch.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 13:20

IGP1 = 1.93e-4 Torr

TGHT = 425A, 4.58V

Vacuum stable.

Changing vacuum limits and ramping rate.

Increasing ramping rate 1.0A/min.

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

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 14:06

IGP1 = 3.1e-4 Torr

TGHT = 456A, 4.93V

Vacuum stable.

Changing vacuum limits and ramping rate.

Changing ramping rate to 0.5A/ 30sec.

Vacuum limit stop at 4.0e-4 Torr, backing off at 7.0e-4 Torr.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 14:44

IGP1 = 4.0e-4 Torr

TGHT = 468A, 5.07V

Vacuum stable.

Changing vacuum limits.

Vacuum limit stop at 5.0e-4 Torr, backing off at 8.0e-4 Torr.

 Thursday, September 28, 2017, 15:49

TP thermocouple = 28.1C

IGP1 = 5.0e-4 Torr

TGHT = 485A, 5.25V

Vacuum stable.

Changing ramping rate for overnight heating.

Decreasing ramping rate to 0.5A/min.

 Friday, September 29, 2017, 09:11

TP thermocouple = 26.1C

IGP1 = 5.0e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.60V

Vacuum stable.

Carbonization process complete!

Evap1 has remained at max setpoints for ~13hrs

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Tuesday, October 03, 2017, 10:09

Vented in Ar and transferred from evap1 to glove box yesterday.

 Monday, June 12, 2017, 11:41

UO2/C green was prepared June 7th, 2017.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely June 8th, 2017.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.10g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 776.36g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.06g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 62.98g 

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

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 1 long layer of heat shield [reused from last carbonization] and installed in evap1 this morning.

Chamber pumped down.

Target boat will be ramped up to 520A.

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

IG1 = 1.58e-5 Torr

Tapped up to 30A, 0.21V

Waited ~1hr45, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 8.59e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min

 Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 10:32

IG1 = 5.0e-5 Torr

TGHT = 65A, 0.47V

Vacuum currently yo-yo-ing, but stable.

Changing vacuum limits.

Vacuum limit stop at 2.0e-4 Torr, backing off at 5.0e-4 Torr.

Increasing ramping rate to 0.2A/min.

Thursday, June 15, 2017, 16:24  

IG1 = 1.96e-4 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.18V

TGHT has reached 520A, the vacuum remains at it's limit.

Vacuum usually drops and stabilizes slightly before the max setpoint is reached indicating carbonization process complete.

Since vacuum remains high, this indicates the carbonization remains incomplete.

Conditions have changed such as vacuum limits, which has greatly sped up the process.

This increase in speed could have an impact on the current at which the carbonization occurs.

Increasing max setpoint to 530A and re-initiating auto-ramp.

 Friday, June 16, 2017, 08:32

Vacuum stable, started decreasing when TGHT reached 530A - carbonization process complete.

Evap1 has remained at max setpoints for ~11hrs, but has remained at low vacuum for ~5hrs.

IG1 = 5.56e-6 Torr

TGHT = 530A, 5.31V

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

TP = 24.9C, RT = 24.3C

*note TP now has water cooling as well as fan pointed at it for this entire process

 Monday, June 19, 2017, 16:16

Vented in Ar and transferred from evap1 to glove box this a.m

UC2 flakes produced = 48.66g

 Friday, March 03, 2017, 08:53

UO2/C green was prepared Feb 28th, 2017.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely March 2nd, 2017 and loaded into evap1.

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

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.08g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 977.24g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.05g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 63.21g 

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 pumped down overnight.

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.

IG1 = 3.2e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 35A, 0.40V

Waited ~5hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 6.8e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp

 Monday, March 06, 2017, 08:47

Evap1 tripped off fri night.

See attached screenshot of strip tool.

Had continued to ramp up and was at ~340A, but since the power supply had tripped off this was not actually being applied.

TGHT set back to zero, auto-ramp turned off.

Will investigate further before re-starting...

 Tuesday, March 07, 2017, 09:50

Have not figured out reasoning behind power trip.

According to controls, there were no power bumps at that time.

Water was still on - had not tripped off.

Tapped back up manually to 40A yesterday morning.

Remained at 40A overnight.

IG1 = 4.46e-6 Torr this morning.

TGHT = 40A, 0.38V

Re-initiated auto-ramp.

 Monday, March 13, 2017, 15:46 by AM

IG1 = 5.2E-5 Torr

TGHT= 436A 4.28V

Thursday, March 16, 2017, 08:37 by AM

TGHT reached 520A @ 5.37V this morning. Vacuum  at 6.2E-6 Torr

Friday, March 17, 2017, 08:21 by AM

520A @ 5.37V this morning. Vacuum  at 2.2E-6 Torr

Ramping down

 Tuesday, November 29, 2016, 16:13

UO2/C green was prepared Nov 23rd, 2016.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely Nov 24th, 2016 and finished drying over the weekend.

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

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.61g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 1028.05g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.16g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.94g 

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

A new Ta target boat is being used due to the previous one being old and is now very expanded.

The last round of flakes being carbonized [UC2flk_13] showed a slight change in current and power from previous carbonization process', also indicating the target boat should be retired.

The new boat has only been used once in evap1 to sinter some endcaps earlier in the year.

This target boat is slightly different than the old one because both ends are open, no endcaps are attached to the boat.

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

Chamber is currently pumping 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, November 30, 2016, 13:09

IG1 = 3.2e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 35A, 0.34V

Waited ~2hrs, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 8.7e-6 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp

 Monday, December 12, 2016, 09:15

Vacuum stable - carbonization process complete.

Evap1 remained at max setpoints over wknd

IG1 = 1.47e-6 Torr

TGHT = 520A, 5.12V

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Tuesday, December 13, 2016, 16:30

Vented in Ar and opened up evap1 today.

As previously mentioned this new target boat has no endcaps and one can see in the photo more materials have dispersed onto the sides of evap1

These materials appear to be mostly graphite since there are no visible holes through the graphite wrapping that surrounds the UC2 flakes.

Stored in glove box.

 Monday, November 07, 2016, 13:29

UO2/C green was prepared Nov 3rd, 2016.

This is the first cast made with the new batch of UO2 [but from the same purchase as the last batch]

The cast peeled off the glass nicely Nov 4th, 2016 and finished drying over the weekend.

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

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.16g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 1078.15g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.03g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 60.91g 

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, IG1 = 2.4e-5 Torr.

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, November 08, 2016, 07:43

IG1 = 2.4e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 35A, 0.50V

Waited ~50min, vacuum stable.

IG1 = 1.3e-5 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp

Laura Lambert wrote:

Monday, November 07, 2016, 13:29 UO2/C green was prepared Nov 3rd, 2016. This is the first cast made with the new batch of UO2 [but from the same purchase as the last batch] The cast peeled off the glass nicely Nov 4th, 2016 and finished drying over the weekend. Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time. Initial UO2 powder used = 50.16g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 1078.15g before use) Graphite powder used = 10.03g Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.91g  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, IG1 = 2.4e-5 Torr. 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, November 08, 2016, 07:43 IG1 = 2.4e-6 Torr Tapped up to 35A, 0.50V Waited ~50min, vacuum stable. IG1 = 1.3e-5 Torr Initiating auto-ramp

 Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 09:59

TGHT reached to 520A/5.12V; however the pressure was still remained high at the limit 5.0e-5 Torr which indicating that the carbonization process isn't complete yet.

Increase TGHT to 520A at a ramping rate of 0.1A/min.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Monday, November 07, 2016, 13:29 UO2/C green was prepared Nov 3rd, 2016. This is the first cast made with the new batch of UO2 [but from the same purchase as the last batch] The cast peeled off the glass nicely Nov 4th, 2016 and finished drying over the weekend. Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls, consistent with every time. Initial UO2 powder used = 50.16g (Inventory R-01032A, UO2 + bottle = 1078.15g before use) Graphite powder used = 10.03g Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 61.91g  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, IG1 = 2.4e-5 Torr. 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, November 08, 2016, 07:43 IG1 = 2.4e-6 Torr Tapped up to 35A, 0.50V Waited ~50min, vacuum stable. IG1 = 1.3e-5 Torr Initiating auto-ramp    Tuesday, November 15, 2016, 09:59 TGHT reached to 520A/5.12V; however the pressure was still remained high at the limit 5.0e-5 Torr which indicating that the carbonization process isn't complete yet. Increase TGHT to 520A at a ramping rate of 0.1A/min.

 Wednesday, November 16, 2016, 11:55

*John increased maxTGHT setpoint to 530A not 520A

When the TGHT reached 520A, the vacuum was still at it's limit. Usually the vacuum starts to drop and stabilize slightly before the max setpoint is reached.

In the photo from UCx_flk10 at ~490A, the vacuum started to drop indicating the carbonization process was complete.

In the image posted from the current carbonization process one can see the vacuum was still at its limit when the TGHT reached its max set point of 520A meaning the carbonization process remains incomplete.

 Thursday, November 17, 2016, 07:36

Vacuum still high, carbonization remains incomplete.

Remained at 530A for ~18hrs

TGHT = 530A, 5.24V

IG1 = 3.8e-5 Torr

Increasing max setpoint to 540A.

 Thursday, November 17, 2016, 13:54

Vacuum remains high after ramping up to 540A, IG1 = 4.5e-5 Torr - still not fully carbonized

TGHT = 540A, 5.36V

Increasing max setpoint to 550A

 Thursday, November 17, 2016, 15:29

Vacuum still high

Increasing max setpoint to 580A

See excel to confirm this remains under 4kW

Wouldn't want to go much above 4kW otherwise container will break

 Friday, November 18, 2016, 13:14

Vacuum stable and decreasing - carbonization process complete.

Evap1 has remained at max setpoints for ~6.5hrs

IG1 = 5.6e-6 Torr

TGHT = 580A, 5.69V

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min

 Monday, November 21, 2016, 16:20

Vented in Ar and opened up evap1 today.

Stored in glove box.

UC2 flakes produced = 47.23g

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.