Pressure down to 7.1e-7 Torr. Water valve to heat shield was opened; pressure remained stable. 

Current turned up to 40 A for now.  Will increase at 2 A/min up to 500 A over the weekend, then on Monday we will turn it up to 600 A and check the temperature. 

Auto-ramp started. Max current = 500 A, voltage = 11.05 V. Current is being increased at 2 A/min. In the first 20 minutes, the pressure went up to about 10E-6 T, but has slowly decreased since then. Everything looks ok. The system will be left until Monday morning (June 9th). 

Manually changed current from 500 to 615 A, monitoring the temperature. Temperature went from 1657 C up to 1838 C. Pressure increased up to 7.2e-7 T. Samples should be left for about 4 hours (615 A started just before 13:00), then the goal is to ramp current back to zero.

 Target boat is now being cooled at 1 A/min from the starting point (616 A) down to 0 A. 

 Monday, July 28, 2014, 14:41

Total number of foils: 445 discs

Total mass of materials [incl graphite foils]: 49.027 g

Total length packed: 11.2 cm

Container has no Ta heat shields.

Currently being pumped down.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Monday, July 28, 2014, 14:41 Total number of foils: 445 discs Total mass of materials [incl graphite foils]: 49.027 g Total length packed: 11.2 cm Container has no Ta heat shields. Currently being pumped down.

 Tuesday, July 29, 2014, 11:19

Chamber was pumped down overnight to ~5.5e-7 torr.

HS water valve opened; no leaks were detected.

Stepped up TGHT/TBHT to 40A. IG went up 8e-6 Torr and stabilized. 

Initiated auto-ramping TGHT @ 580A, TBHt @ 230A at 0.2A/min

The maximum current of 580A was reached at 9:15.

TGHT:RDCUR 578 A

TGHT:RDVOL 9.87 V

IGP1:RDVAC 3.8e-6

The temperature was measured with the Minolta 2-color pyrometer:

from the side - inside target container : ~1200 deg C

from the front trough hole in the heat shield : ~1800 deg C

Target was conditioned for 4 hours at 580A.

Initiating ramp-down sequence @ 2A/min

Peter Kunz wrote:

Target was conditioned for 4 hours at 580A. Initiating ramp-down sequence @ 2A/min

 Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 12:00

target vented in air and taken out this morning

Laura Lambert wrote:

Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 12:02 The target container end caps were coated with TaC spray and let dry. The caps are inserted in the target boat vertically, wrapped in graphite foil with 3 x Ta-heat shield. [see attached photo] The chamber is currently being pumped down.

 Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 17:19

HS water valve opened; no leaks detected. 

Pressure @ 2.5e-6 Torr.

Ramping up TGHT to 580A @ 1A/min.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 12:02 The target container end caps were coated with TaC spray and let dry. The caps are inserted in the target boat vertically, wrapped in graphite foil with 3 x Ta-heat shield. [see attached photo] The chamber is currently being pumped down.    Tuesday, August 05, 2014, 17:19 HS water valve opened; no leaks detected.  Pressure @ 2.5e-6 Torr. Ramping up TGHT to 580A @ 1A/min.

 Thursday, August 07, 2014, 08:11

Yesterday the target boat was taken out.

The boat broke as it turns out it was used for a Niobium target and therefore wasn't coated with TaC.

The end caps were fully sintered.

 Thursday, September 11, 2014, 13:14

The target container end caps were coated with TaC spray and let dry.

The caps are inserted in the target boat wrapped in graphite foil with 3 x Ta-heat shields.

The chamber is currently pumping down.

 Friday, September 12, 2014, 14:17

Chamber was pumped down overnight.

HS cooling water valves opened, no leaks detected.

IGP1 = 7.2e-7 Torr.

TGHT stepped up to 35A, TBHT at 0A.

Waited ~30min, current stabilized, vacuum started to drop, auto-ramp initiated at 0.2A/min.

Will ramp TGHT to 580A with a max 10V.

Good vacuum: 3.00e-5 Torr; Bad vacuum: 4.00e-5 Torr.

 Monday, September 15, 2014, 11:31

TGHT stopped at 500A due to not high enough voltage max.

Increased max voltage to 12V

 Monday, September 15, 2014, 14:17

IGP1 = 6.3e-7 Torr

Increasing ramping rate to 1.0A/min

 Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 09:04

TGHT reached 577A and finished auto-ramping, then proceeded to drop down to 560A overnight.

Increased max voltage to 13.05A and TGHT to 580A.

 Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 13:52

TGHT reached 580A and sat there for ~5hrs.

IGP1 = 6.1e-7 Torr.

Initiating auto-cool at 2.0A/min.

 Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 13:03

Vented in air.

Opened up....looked 'deceivingly' ok.

then i took a layer of Ta off....grrrr  

the 1st layer of Ta was holding the boat together. as soon as that layer was taken off the target boat broke.

see attached photos.

 Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 13:47

OMEGA-IR laser had a dark patch on it [see picture]

Cleaned window, still dark patch

When tested by itself, through air, not through window, patch still visible - cleaned lens of OMEGA-IR, still no change.

Conclusion: assuming laser used to be able to focus the OMEGA-IR to a specific area - so visual only, but the measurements itself will not be affected.

Wednesday, November 26, 2014, 13:53 

Backing pump trips off every time roughing valve turned on through epics.

Requested further investigation...

Friday, November 28, 2014, 12:09

Backing Pump has been replaced, waiting on a reply from OMEGA re: dark patch on laser

Pancake monitor was also acting funny. Background was reading 100cpm and jumping up to as high as 400cpm by simply moving the probe piece.

The wire connecting the probe to the monitor was replaced and works fine now.

 Tuesday, December 09, 2014, 15:55

Finally got a reply from the OMEGA people:

"That [ dark patch] would happen because of sharp bends in the fiber, or simply defective fiber cable.

As manufacturer we allow 2% of broken fibers, out of 870 in the bundle.

As far as measurements is concerned, if IR2 is used in dual colour mode, 

the field of view can be obstructed as much as 50%, 

without changing the readings accuracy. This laser issure should not affect readings."

-Quote from Brian Newport from OMEGA

 Thursday, December 11, 2014, 10:17

water supply and return valves closed for lab closure over the holidays.

all taps leading into evap2 have been closed.

evap2 was fully flushed leaving no water left inside the system.

 Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:27

Four different samples of ZrC are loaded into a target boat.

Sample A: ZrC + NO graphite / hand cut

Sample B: ZrC + NO graphite / laser cut

Sample C: ZrC + graphite / hand cut

Sample D: ZrC + graphite / laser cut

A picture showing the different samples is attached [one face-up/ one face-down sample of each side-by-side]

Each sample consists of ~20-25 discs, stacked together and wrapped in graphite sheet [see attachment for photo]

The target boat is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat shield.

EVAP1 pumped down overnight.

HS water valves were opened this morning, no leaks detected.

IGP1 = 5.5e-7 Torr.

Tapping up TGHT manually to 30A...

 Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:54

Tapped up manually to 30A.

Over the course of 20min the vacuum climbed to IGP1 = 1.0 e-5 Torr.

Backed off TGHT to 20A to allow vacuum to stabilize.

Waited ~10min.

Vacuum dropped to IGP1 = 6.5e-6 Torr.

Tapped back-up manually to 30A.

Waited ~45min.

Vacuum stable, IGP1 = 1.2e-5 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 300A / 5.00V.

Good Vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.

 Monday, May 04, 2015, 11:17

IGP1 = 2e-7 Torr.

TGHT = 274A, 4.75V

Ramp-up limited to 275A due to max voltage being set at 5.0V

Increased max voltage to 10V

Tapping up manually to 1800C and recording data.

Laura Lambert wrote:

Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:27 Four different samples of ZrC are loaded into a target boat. Sample A: ZrC + NO graphite / hand cut Sample B: ZrC + NO graphite / laser cut Sample C: ZrC + graphite / hand cut Sample D: ZrC + graphite / laser cut A picture showing the different samples is attached [one face-up/ one face-down sample of each side-by-side] Each sample consists of ~20-25 discs, stacked together and wrapped in graphite sheet [see attachment for photo] The target boat is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat shield. EVAP1 pumped down overnight. HS water valves were opened this morning, no leaks detected. IGP1 = 5.5e-7 Torr. Tapping up TGHT manually to 30A...  Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:54 Tapped up manually to 30A. Over the course of 20min the vacuum climbed to IGP1 = 1.0 e-5 Torr. Backed off TGHT to 20A to allow vacuum to stabilize. Waited ~10min. Vacuum dropped to IGP1 = 6.5e-6 Torr. Tapped back-up manually to 30A. Waited ~45min. Vacuum stable, IGP1 = 1.2e-5 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 300A / 5.00V. Good Vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.  Monday, May 04, 2015, 11:17 IGP1 = 2e-7 Torr. TGHT = 274A, 4.75V Ramp-up limited to 275A due to max voltage being set at 5.0V Increased max voltage to 10V Tapping up manually to 1800C and recording data.

 Monday, May 04, 2015, 17:24

Samples have been heated at 1800C for >2 hours. 

Vaccum at 4.3e-7 Torr, TGHT 475A/9.1V. (Direct Vol = 5.3V).

Initiated cooling down process.  Chamber will be vented tomorrow.

 Tuesday, May 05, 2015, 10:22

TGHT reached to 0A. Chamber has already vented. 

Samples will be taken out for examination.

 Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 13:54

Two different samples of ZrC are wrapped in graphite sheet and loaded into the target boat.

Sample #1 = ZrC

Sample #2 = ZrC+C

Both samples are hand punched with a 18mm die.

The target boat is wrapped with 3x Ta heat shield.

Pumped down this morning.

HS water valves opened, no leaks detected.

IGP1 = 1.5e-6 Torr.

Tapping up manually to 35A...

 Waited ~50min for vacuum to stabilize.

IGP1 = 5.3e-6 Torr.

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 275A/ 10V

Good vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.

Wednesday, May 06, 2015, 15:37  

Increasing ramping rate to 0.2A/min

 Thursday, May 07, 2015, 11:15

Stopping auto ramp.

TGHT = 273A.

Tapping up manually and recording data...

IGP1 = 6.6e-7 Torr.

 Thursday, May 07, 2015, 14:21

Increased max voltage to 14V

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 09:33

EVAP2 reached 2000C yesterday evening and remained at max setpoint overnight.

IGP1 = 3.8e-7 Torr

Initiated auto-cool this morning at 2.0A/min.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 11:32

IGP1 = 2.1e-7 Torr

TGHT = 221A, 3.21V

OMEGA = 1100C

Increasing auto-cool to 5.0A/min.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 15:53

Vented in air and opened up this afternoon.

See attachment for data results.

John Wong wrote:

Laura Lambert wrote:  Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:27 Four different samples of ZrC are loaded into a target boat. Sample A: ZrC + NO graphite / hand cut Sample B: ZrC + NO graphite / laser cut Sample C: ZrC + graphite / hand cut Sample D: ZrC + graphite / laser cut A picture showing the different samples is attached [one face-up/ one face-down sample of each side-by-side] Each sample consists of ~20-25 discs, stacked together and wrapped in graphite sheet [see attachment for photo] The target boat is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat shield. EVAP1 pumped down overnight. HS water valves were opened this morning, no leaks detected. IGP1 = 5.5e-7 Torr. Tapping up TGHT manually to 30A...  Friday, May 01, 2015, 10:54 Tapped up manually to 30A. Over the course of 20min the vacuum climbed to IGP1 = 1.0 e-5 Torr. Backed off TGHT to 20A to allow vacuum to stabilize. Waited ~10min. Vacuum dropped to IGP1 = 6.5e-6 Torr. Tapped back-up manually to 30A. Waited ~45min. Vacuum stable, IGP1 = 1.2e-5 Torr. Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 300A / 5.00V. Good Vacuum = 3.00e-5 Torr. Bad vacuum = 4.00e-5 Torr.  Monday, May 04, 2015, 11:17 IGP1 = 2e-7 Torr. TGHT = 274A, 4.75V Ramp-up limited to 275A due to max voltage being set at 5.0V Increased max voltage to 10V Tapping up manually to 1800C and recording data.    Monday, May 04, 2015, 17:24 Samples have been heated at 1800C for >2 hours.  Vaccum at 4.3e-7 Torr, TGHT 475A/9.1V. (Direct Vol = 5.3V). Initiated cooling down process.  Chamber will be vented tomorrow.  Tuesday, May 05, 2015, 10:22 TGHT reached to 0A. Chamber has already vented.  Samples will be taken out for examination.

 Friday, May 08, 2015, 15:55

see attachment for data results.

 Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 15:21

Three different samples of ZrC are loaded into a target boat.

Sample A: ZrC + NO graphite

Sample B: ZrC + graphite [1:0.5 molar ratio]

Sample C: ZrC + graphite [1:1 molar ratio]

Each sample consists of 20 discs, stacked together and wrapped in graphite sheet

The target boat is wrapped with 3 x Ta heat shield.

EVAP2 pumping down overnight...

 Thursday, May 14, 2015, 08:20

HS water valves opened up this a.m, no leaks detected.

IGP1 = 6.6e-7 Torr

Tapping up manually to 35A.

Good Vacuum = 3.00 e-5 Torr. Bad Vacuum = 4.00 e-5 Torr.

Thursday, May 14, 2015, 09:51

Tapped up manually to 30A.

After ~25min, vacuum gone up to IGP1 = 3.5e-5 Torr!

Backed off to 20A.

Waited ~10min. IGP1 = 1.75e-5 Torr.

Tapped back up to 25A.

Waited ~20min, IGP1 = 1.4e-5 Torr.

Tapped up to 30A.

Waited ~20min, IGP1 = 2.2e-5 Torr.

Tapped up to 35A

Waited ~50min, IGP1 = 2.5e-5 Torr.

Continuing manual tap-up...

 Thursday, May 14, 2015, 13:27

IGP1 = 9e-6 Torr

Tapped up to 40A.

Waited ~45min, IGP1 = 1e-5 Torr

Initiating auto-ramp at 0.1A/min for the TGHT with a max setpoint of 275A/ 8.0V

 Friday, May 15, 2015, 08:25

Max setpoints were changed to 400A/ 8.0V last night.

Reached 400A ~4.5hrs ago.

IGP1 = 4.9e-5 Torr

Initiating manual tap up and recording data.

 Friday, May 15, 2015, 15:50

Samples remained at ~2000C for ~4 hours [see attachment for data]

IGP1 = 7.8e-7 Torr.

Initiating auto-cool at 1.0A/min.

 Tuesday, May 19, 2015, 08:27

Vented in air and opened up this morning.

Tuesday June 16, 2015

An Extraction Insulator ITD0381 made from a different grade of AiN was installed in Evaporator 2 for testing purposes. The sub assembly included the SIS Restraint Housing ITD0389, New Extraction Insulator ITD0381, Repeller Electrode ITD0377, Extraction Electrode ITD0374 with fingerstock mounted.

The standoff insulator ITD0400 was found to be swelled up and broken. It was replaced with and glazed alumina insulator.

The tube heater Insulator ITD0342 - central support helicoil was repaired.