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

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 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.

John Wong wrote:

John Wong wrote: 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      Friday, August 23, 2013, 15:08 The chamber wasn't pumping down well; there was a problem with the seal on the lid. Rick M. replaced it.  The chamber is currently being pumped down;  it seems OK!

 Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 12:13

The TGHT reached zero on Monday and the chamber was left under vacuum overnight at 1.3e-6 Torr.

The chamber was accidentally vented in air until ~25mTorr for ~10min, then it was quickly pumped down again for ~10min before it was vented in Ar.

The chamber was vented in Ar and the UC2 flakes were transported into the Ar-glove box.

The process is complete 

Laura Lambert wrote:

Thursday, September 19, 2013, 15:35 UO2/C green was prepared on Aug 17, 2013. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40. The cast was let dry until Aug 19, 2013. Initial UO2 powder used = 49.97g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 745.42 before use) Graphite powder used = 10.12g Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 59.62g 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 Sept 19, 2013. Chamber is currently being pumped down. IG1 @ 9.97e-12T. 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

 Friday, September 20, 2013, 13:48

Chamber has been pumped down overnight.  IG at 6.2e-6 Torr, BP @ 32mT.

Stepping up TGHT to 30A.

 Friday, September 20, 2013, 15:12

TGHT auto ramping initiated.  

 Monday, October 07, 2013, 14:09

TGHT has reached to 520A/5.5V.

Vac at 7.7e-6 Torr. 

The carbonization process is complete.

Auto-cooling is initiated at 2A/min, and the chamber will be vented in Ar after the target is cooled.

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 13:36

*update* RENAME: batch #07 - 09192013 to UC2Flk_00 used for UCx#11

Friday, October 04, 2013, 15:37

A LP target container is coated with TaC.  The container is wrapped with 3 layers to heat shield.  

This container will be used for the graphite tube test.  

Chamber is being pumped down.

 The HS cooling water valves are open and no leaks are detected. 

TGHT will be ramped up to 580A at 0.2A/min

TBHT will be ramped up to 230A at 0.2A/min.

The temperature will be monitored and measured. 

 Friday, October 11, 2013, 18:00

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

The target is loaded with ??? discs of UCx (material from batch #???)

Total length = ???

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.

The conductivity of the TGHT circuit will be measured with a copper bar shunt.

Monday, December 02, 2013, 16:00: Pumping down. 

Tuesday, December 03, 2013, 09:40: Stepped current up to 600A. Impedance of system ~0.7 mOhm. See attached graph for P(I).

Tuesday, December 03, 2013, 12:06: Stopped turbo. Vacuum at 1.3E-5 Torr

Wednesday, December 04, 2013, 09:20: Copper bar removed from vacuum chamber.

Test finished.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote: Thursday, January 23, 2014, 16:26   A new target boat was sprayed with TaC coating and let dry, the coating appeared slightly bubbly once dried [see attached photos]. The target boat was wrapped with 3-layers of Ta-heat shield. The boat was installed in Evap#1, chamber is currently being pumped down overnight.    Friday, January 24, 2014, 14:42 Chamber was pumped down to 5.9e-6 Torr overnight. TGHT was stepped up to 35A. Waited 20min, vacuum consistently stable, auto-ramp initiated at 0.2A/min and max setpoint to 580A. Good vacuum: 5e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum: 6e-5 Torr.

 Monday, January 27, 2014, 11:01

TGHT reached 580A over the weekend.

TGHT auto-cooldown initiated at 2.0A/min.

 Tuesday, January 28, 2014, 15:51

Chamber cooled down overnight, vented and opened up this morning.

Target boat looks good! [See attached photos]

 Wednesday, February 05, 2014, 14:13

1st attempt:

UO2/C green was prepared on Feb 4, 2014 [tues]. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40.

The cast was let dry until Feb 5, 2014 [wed] - the cast was cracked and too much WD40 was used because there were oil patches [see attached photo: cast1]; however, the cast peeled off the glass very nicely.

2nd attempt:

Due to cracked and oil patches, decided to re-mill and try again.

Scrapped off cast, added the additional compositions:

1g PEG400, 1g Glycerol, 14g 5% PVA, 2mL n-butanol, 2mL methanol, 20mL DI H2O

Re-milled for 3 hours and cast onto glass coated with slightly less WD40.

Before even allowing cast to dry, can see the slurry is far too thick. The slurry would not spread at all.

Will let dry overnight and attempt to scrape off and re-mill with more DI H2O tomorrow.

 Thursday, February 06, 2014, 10:57

Second cast was a lot thicker, but peeled off the glass nicely, will not re-cast. [see attached photo: cast2]

Some material was stuck to the WC jar wall and the balls, same as previously.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.24g (Inventory R-00855A UO2 + bottle = 695.52g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.05g

1st attempt = did not measure

2nd attempt dried UO2/C + organic mass = 46.56g (expecting to lose more uranium from re-casting a second time/ sticking to jar + balls)

The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet. [see attached photo: target boat]

The Ta-target boat was wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in EVAP1.

Chamber us currently being pumped down.

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.

 Friday, February 07, 2014, 10:15

Chamber has pumped down overnight. IG1 currently @ 2.4e-6 Torr.

 Stepped up TGHT to 35A/0.187V.

Friday, February 07, 2014, 12:02 

TGHT sat at 35A for 2hrs. Pressure took a while to fully stabilize, currently sitting at 1.9e-5 Torr [see attached photo: pre auto-ramp]

Initiating auto-ramping.

 Monday, February 24, 2014, 13:37

TGHT reached max setpoint of 520A on friday night.

Power = 5.45V

IGP1 = 3.2e-6 Torr.

Carbonization process is complete.

Initiating auto-cooling at 2.0A/min.

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 13:41

update rename: batch #09 - 02062014 to UC2Flk_01

Laura Lambert wrote:

John Wong wrote: Tuesday, March 04, 2014, 15:43 Theses endcaps (4) were previously sinterred in Evap#2 but some surfaces were not fully sinterred. (See Evaporator2 E-log ID119: https://elog.triumf.ca/TIS/Evaporator_2/119) The endcaps are inserted in a target boat wrapped with 3 heat-shields.  Chamber is currently being pumped down.  TGHT will be rampped up to 580A and heat for >4hrs.    Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 10:20 IGP1 = 9.2e-7 Torr. TGHT was stepped up to 35A and stabilized after half an hour. Auto-ramp initiated at 2.0A/min, max setpoint = 580A. Vacuum started to climb too fast, auto-ramp aborted. Will step up manually...  Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 12:18 Slowly stepped up to 100A manually. Vacuum stable. Initiating auto-ramp at 1.0A/min  Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 13:17 IGP1 = 9.8e-6 Torr. Current = 200A Vacuum stable. Stepping ramping rate up to 2.0A/min.  Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 16:12 IGP1 = 4.6e-5 Torr, TGHT = 548A Stopped auto-ramp to allow vacuum to settle back down. Waited ~10min IGP1 = 3.6e-5 Torr Re-initiating auto-ramp at 2.0/min

 Wednesday, March 05, 2014, 23:02

End caps have been heated for 6.5 hours at 580A. Vac @ 7.4e-6 Torr. 

Auto-cooilng initiated at 2A/min. 

 Thursday, March 06, 2014, 14:48

The TaC on the endcaps is fully sinterred. (see attachment#1).

 Monday, March 24, 2014, 17:50

UO2/C cast was prepared on March 21 and let dry over the weekend.  The cast looks pretty good, and it 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.

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

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, March 25, 2014, 15:55

Chamber has been pumped down to 6.8e-6 Torr. BP 47mTorr.

Stepping up TGHT 35A/0.264V.  Vac stabilizing at 6.0e-5 Torr. 

Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 17:43

Auto-ramping initiated.

 Friday, April 11, 2014, 11:49

TGHT reached to max 520A.

Carbonization process is complete (see attachment)

IG at 9.3e-6 Torr.

 Cooling down TGHT at 2A/min

Will vent the chamber with Ar on Monday

 Monday, April 14, 2014, 16:41

UC2 flakes was removed from the chamber and transferred in to the Ar glovebox.

Evap off.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 14:50

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#09_06022014)

Total length = 9.3cm

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, so the right end is open with no cap to allow out-gassing.

(Did not use a D-cap... This worked for UCx#8. Need to be careful when handling the target!)

The chamber is being dumping down.

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

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

 Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 16:41

Vacuum at 1.5 e-5 Torr.  Stepped up TGHT to 25A.

 Wednesday, April 30, 2014, 17:42

Pressure 9.2 e-6 Torr.  Initiate auto-heating.

 Friday, May 16, 2014, 16:02

Conditioning complete. (see attachment)

End-caps need to be expended before assembly.

Friday, June 13, 2014, 15:02

Target container was previously coated and sintered with TaC.  It's wrapped with 3-layers of Ta heat shield, including the center block.

The target consists of 280 discs of UCx with 9cm in length.

A regular TaC coated/sintered endcap is inserted on right, wrt to the ionizer tube pointing down, so the left end is open with no cap to allow out-gassing.

The chamber is being dumping down.

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

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

 Friday, June 13, 2014, 16:26

Pressure at 1.9e-5 Torr. 

Initiate auto-ramping- stepping up from 0A at 0.1A/min - leaving for the weekend.

 Wednesday, June 25, 2014, 11:45

TGHT has reached 520A and target has been conditioned at that current for 13hrs. 

Auto-cooling initiated at 2A/min.

Once the target is cooled, the chamber will be vented in Ar.

 Friday, July 04, 2014, 10:06

Process is complete.  Target is stored in the Ar-glove box and ready for assembly.

Friday, July 04, 2014, 10:13

Target boat contains 4 set of samples.  Each sample consists of 5pack ThO2/Nb.  (see photos).

The container is wrapped with 3 layers of heat shield. 

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

Chamber has been pumped over night, pressure at 4.20e-6 Torr.

The purpose of this test:

1.  Will the Ta- target boat survive at that current?

2.  How will ThO2 sintered?  Shrinkage? Grain-growth? mass loss? density? SEM will be done later.

3.  How will the pressure behave at the max operating temperature (or current)?

  Friday, July 04, 2014, 12:29

Stepped up TGHT to 40A,  Vac went to max at 3.5e-5 Torr and is coming down.

Auto-ramping initiated. 

 Tuesday, August 19, 2014, 10:20

Sample was successfully sinterred to 520A. 

SEM on raw, treated powder, and sintered samples were perform.  Pressure vs current plot can also be found. (see attachments)

More information can be found here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fj78m7tyy7mj99p/AABfm-fQMeoaWhf6HjT8Vzn1a

John Wong wrote:

Friday, July 04, 2014, 10:13 Target boat contains 4 set of samples.  Each sample consists of 5pack ThO2/Nb.  (see photos). The container is wrapped with 3 layers of heat shield.  TGHT will be ramped up to 520A at 0.1A/min. Chamber has been pumped over night, pressure at 4.20e-6 Torr. The purpose of this test: 1.  Will the Ta- target boat survive at that current? 2.  How will ThO2 sintered?  Shrinkage? Grain-growth? mass loss? density? SEM will be done later. 3.  How will the pressure behave at the max operating temperature (or current)?   Friday, July 04, 2014, 12:29 Stepped up TGHT to 40A,  Vac went to max at 3.5e-5 Torr and is coming down. Auto-ramping initiated.

Wednesday, July 09, 2014, 13:55

TGHT reached 520A tuesday morning. [see attached archive screenshot]

Initiated auto-cool at 1.0A/min tuesday afternoon.

Vented in air and took samples out of EVAP1 wednesday morning. [see attached sample photo]

 Thursday, August 14, 2014, 17:54

Target container consists of 240 discs of ThO2/Nb discs.  The container is not required to be wrapped with Ta-heat shields.  

One end cap is inserted on the left end (wrt to the ionizer pointing into the page).  

The chamber is currently being pumped down.  

TGHT will be heated up to 520A, ramping rate at 0.1A/min.

 Friday, August 15, 2014, 15:55

A sampling filter has been installed by RPG; this will be used to analyze any volatile particle releases out from the target. 

An alpha monitor is being install on the exhaust line; air sample will be collected for further analyzse.  

Vacuum has come down to 7.2 e-6 Torr.  

Target heat will be ramped up on Monday since it is coming late to the day.  

Chamber will continue to pump down.  

Next week, RPG will start taking the first air sample before the target is heated up.  More discussion on that later...

 Monday, August 18, 2014, 11:18

Chamber has been pumped down over the weekend. 

Pressure @ 2.67e-6 Torr. 

Note:  RPG decides not to take any gas sample since the filter installed in between the backing and turbo pumps is sufficient for the analysis.

TGHT stepped up to 30A.

 Monday, August 18, 2014, 14:17

TGHT stepped up further to 40A; Pressure stabalized >100min at 4e-6 Torr, bp @ 44mTorr.

Initiated auto-ramping.

 Thursday, August 21, 2014, 17:20

TGHT continues to ramp up and pressure is coming down - Currently @ 7.7-6 Torr.

Increased TGHT ramping rate to 0.5A/min. 

The sintering process will be complete by Friday (Aug 8, 21), and the chamber will be cooled down over the weekend.

By Monday, the chamber can be vented in air, and the target can be removed from the chamber.  Then RPG can remove the filter in the backing pump for the analysis.

 Friday, August 22, 2014, 08:57

TGHT has reached to 520A for just over 10 hrs.  Vac at 8.6e-6 Torr, BP @ 40mTorr.

Cooling initiated at 2A/min

 Friday, August 22, 2014, 16:52

Target was cooled to room temp and was removed from the chamber.

5 discs were removed from the target because it was shrunk up; the rest of the discs were fine.  

2 extra Nb foils and end cap were inserted. 

Target is stored in the Hotlab - awaiting to be assembled.

 Tuesday, August 26, 2014, 11:54

UO2/C green was prepared Aug 20, 2014. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40 on Aug 21, 2014.

The cast peeled off the glass nicely Aug 22, 2014 and let dry until Aug 25, 2014.

Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls as always noted.

Initial UO2 powder used = 50.75g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 595.37g before use)

Graphite powder used = 10.78g

Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 62.86g

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

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

Chamber is currently being pumped down.

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, August 27, 2014, 11:18

Chamber has pumped down overnight. IG1 = 6.4e-6 Torr

Stepped TGHT up to 35A.

 Wednesday, August 27, 2014, 14:41

Waited 1.5hrs for vacuum to fully stabilize, currently sitting at 2.2e-5 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp.

 Friday, September 12, 2014, 14:09

TGHT reached max 520A/5.6V last night.

Carbonization process complete (see attachment: carbonization)

IG1 = 7.6e-6 Torr 

Initiating auto-cool at 2A/min

Will vent the chamber with Ar on Monday.

 Monday, September 22, 2014, 14:52

complete, UO2/C in glove box

 Thursday, October 09, 2014, 13:45

update rename: batch #11 - 08262014 to UC2Flk_03

Laura Lambert wrote:

Tuesday, September 23, 2014, 14:54 UO2/C green was prepared Sept 18, 2014. The slurry was cast on a piece of glass coated with WD40 on Sept 19, 2014. The cast was let dry over the weekend and peeled off the glass nicely Sept 22, 2014. Some materials were stuck on the WC jar wall and balls as always noted. Initial UO2 powder used = 50.04g (Inventory R-00835A UO2 + bottle = 544.51g before use) Graphite powder used = 9.98g Green cast dried UO2/C + organic mass = 59.35g The green was rolled up and wrapped in a piece of graphite sheet. The Ta-target boat is wrapped with 3-layers of heat shield and installed in Evap1. Chamber is currently being pumped down. Target 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, September 24, 2014, 11:27 Chamber pumped down overnight. IGP1 = 2.3e-6 Torr Manually stepping TGHT up to 30A  Wednesday, September 24, 2014, 14:00 Vacuum stable. IGP1 = 1.3e-5 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp.

 Friday, October 10, 2014, 13:51

TGHT has reached to 520A for over 20hrs;  Carbonization process is complete (see attachment).

Ramping down at 2A/min. 

As much as I like to come to work, Monday is a holiday.  So, the chamber will be kept under vacuum. 

On Tuesday, the chamber will be vent in Ar. 

Friday, October 17, 2014, 11:47  

Vented and taken out on tuesday.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Friday, October 17, 2014, 11:47 Target container was previously coated with TaC spray and sintered. It's is wrapped with 3 layers of Ta-heat shield, including the center block. The target consists of 255 discs of UCx with 10.5cm in length. A regular TaC coated endcap is inserted right, wrt the ionizer tube pointing down, so the left is open with a removable half-cap to allow out-gassing. The chamber was pumped down overnight. TGHT will be ramped up to 520A - keep heating the current for 4-5 hours. Parameter setup: 5.0e-5 good vac, 6.0e-5 bad vac. Auto ramp at 0.1A/min.  Friday, October 17, 2014, 13:25 IG1 = 2.6e-6 Torr Manually stepped up to 35A Waited ~1hr15 IG1 = 4.2e-6 Torr Initiating auto-ramp.

 Monday, October 20, 2014, 14:10

There were two big power bumps occurred on Saturday Oct 18 and wiped all the IOC/PLC on the Evaporators.   All the system, including TGHT/pumps/EPICS/Alarm handlers were found off.  The ion gauge was turned on this morning and showed the pressure was around 16mTorr. (see attachment).

The pump has been turned back on; pressure is currently at 3.5e-6 Torr.

Ramping up TGHT...

 Monday, November 03, 2014, 12:05

TGHT has reached to 580A and the target has conditioned at that current for about 3 days. 

Cooling down at 2A/min.

 Wednesday, November 05, 2014, 16:40

UCx conditioning complete.

Target is now in the Ar-glove box.  End caps are inserted but need to be expanded.

Need to insert Re foil prior to assembly.