Isaac and Chad disengaged the slave end of the manipulator and performed a slave removal through the slave removal roof hatch. This is part of investigation into a 'Z' motion tape that is "rubbing" on its drum on the master side of the manipulator during manual 'Z' retraction of 'Z' extension.

This also was the first test of the concept of removing the manipulator slave through the manipulator hatch that was built into the roof.

The lifting bail on the slave end of the manipulator was not centered to the hatch as per design but this did not compromise the procedure at all and the procedure otherwise followed the design intent.

Pictures can be located on Docushare  http://documants.triumf.ca/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-20157

The North Hot Cell inlet ducting assembly was installed today in the target hall at the north end of the NHC roof block.  A small section of the perforated aluminum sheet on the TCS cage had to be trimmed for the assembly to fit (see IMG_0214).  At each end of the assembly it was fastened to the roof structure using a 1/4"-20 tapped hole in the steel roof, and a 1/4"-20 anchor in the north wall of the target hall.  The base flange of the assembly was sealed to the roof structure and TH wall using Sikaflex 1A polyurethane sealant on all sides.

 The North Hot Cell module support flange (IRH1152D) was installed on June 21, 2017 using 1/8" rubber sheet as a sealing gasket.  The rubber was glued at the seams with Loctite 495 instant adhesive.  Cameras with all required wiring and connectors were installed on the mounting bars (IGN0325D) and then aligned to provide the same view as at other module installation locations in the target hall.  A cable with 5 video signals, and a camera power cable was routed from the south wall in the target hall (where video line connections are), to the panduit on the north wall.  An additional section of cable will be installed to link to the flange cameras after cable covers are installed on the floor.

 Installation of new flow sensors and transmitters for the NHC and SHC duct lines was completed in the target hall today.  The sensors are Dwyer DS-300-8 in-line sensors for 8" pipe; The transmitters are Dwyer MS0121 magnesense differential transmitters with 4-20mA output.  The transmitters will be wired to the new PLC control system when the upgrade is done.

The NHC right side manipulator was evaluated today to check if operation was normal through all ranges of motion.  The manipulator was first moved through usual motions without the electric motion drives: the feel was fairly normal, a sound could be heard from the master side Z motion tapes rubbing on the sides of the pulleys, this problem had been identified a few weeks ago however it was significantly reduced since the master side upper and lower Z motion tapes were tensioned yesterday (using CRL repair manual)

The Y motion drive was then tested:  with the master arm close to the window we attempted to move the slave arm close to the slave side window using the Y motion drive; part way through travel the arm stopped moving and would not move any further towards the window.  At this point it was approximately 1 foot from the slave side window.  (I recall that when the manipulator was installed in the wall it was difficult to get the slave end fully horizontal, the arm would travel part way, then stop for seemingly no reason.  Eventually after multiple attempts I got it to reach the horizontal position)

The Z motion was then tested.  The slave end was moved to the fully extended position.  At this point when the Z drive was continued downwards the master side moved up.  Once it reached the upper limit the drive continued which caused the Z motion tape on the slave end to snap.  At this point testing was stopped.

Our plan is to assemble and test the left side manipulator after the manipulator handling cart repair is completed.  If the left side has the same problems it is likely a manufacturer defect.  If not, the problems with the right side may be due to a timing error introduced when we removed the slave end to fit the assembly and cart through the roof hatch from the ISAC-1 experimental hall.  In either case we plan to have  CRL technician come in to address the issues and tune-up both arms before use.

A  hydraulic leak was found on the manipulator  install and repair cart, upon further investigation the cause was a faulty cylinder. Once the cylinder was removed and disassembled the inner bore was found to be scored beyond repair. Another point of interest was that the rod was painted to the point that when retracted it compromised the rod seal causing the cylinder to leak. attached are photos outlining the issues. new cylinders are being sourced and will be installed upon arrival. We have found that there is interaction between the tops of the cylinders and the bed of the cart when fully retracted and compressed, this might require some modifications to ensure proper operation in the future.

 The NHC drain line was tested by pouring approximately 10 gallons of water through the drain grate at the base of the NHC partition wall.  Water was seen a few minutes later pouring into the sump labeled "ACTIVE SUMP" from the light coloured pipe on the west side of the inside of the sump.  Rob Walker had previously said that the hot cells drain into the sump next to this one which is labeled "SANITARY SUMP", which appears to be incorrect.

The ISAC active sump in the Active Service Room (#002 on B2 level) was pumped out yesterday using the standard procedure (Section 5.5.2 of the ISAC Operators' Manual, V1.0).  The procedure makes use of the auto stop feature of the pump-out system which stops when a low level float switch is triggered.  The water level was measured after pumping stopped, and was found to be approximately 21" above the base of the sump.  A new section of pipe will be added to the 4" drain line in the sump to move the drain opening below the low level water line so that air in the sump is not pulled into the drain network (which could end up in the NHC or TCS space).

 Roof blocks IRH1641, IRH1642, IRH1643, and IRH1644 have been fully assembled, labeled, and installed as per drawing IRH1652.  Fabrication of TCS shield block (IRH1646) and NHC module port block (IRH1645) is still in progress.

 The NHC module port shield block (IRH1645) and the TCS vessel shield block (IRH1646) were installed yesterday in the target hall according to assembly drawing IRH1652.  No issues were encountered during installation.  Vacuum was pulled on the TCS and a leak check was performed on the shield: no leaks found.

The 4" PVC drain line in the ISAC-1 active sump was modified so that the drain pipe terminates below the low level water line of the automatic pump-out system.  This will prevent backflow of sump gasses into the SHC, NHC, or TCS space if the air pressure in any of those rooms are lower than the sump air pressure.  The details of the modification were specified by Mechanical Services Group, and the work was done by Paul Jensen.  This system is defined in drawing IAM19183.

Pete Dudley, manipulator service technician from CRL, was on site from Nov 27-30 to service the NHC Model N manipulators (See E-log entry #1578 for background).

He began by evaluating the motion selection and electric drive of the manipulator installed on the blue service cart.  This manipulator had chip A0166R01, same as the right side manipulator which had the failure described in E-Log 1578.  Pete noted that the arm was very slow to switch between the different drive directions, and had a significant lag between when the switch for motion was released, and when the motor actually stopped driving.  This was the case with all directions.  Because of this, he suspected that the right arm Z tape broke because when the manipulator reached the switch at the end of travel, the motor did not stop quickly enough causing over tension and snapping the tape.  A newer chip, A0166R04, was removed from the spare master arm (received Spring 2017), and installed into the master arm on the blue cart.  The test was repeated, and this time the motion selection and drive worked as expected.  The situation which previously caused failure was evaluated:  slave end fully extended in Z, master end fully collapsed in Z.  In this configuration the arm was moved back and forth in the Y direction.  No tape failure occurred, and the Z motion tape tension seemed normal.  Y motion drive was attempted, and was not possible, as expected.  This test was repeated in the opposite configuration (slave end fully collapsed, master end fully extended) with the same results.  Full drive speed was used for all tests.

The right side slave arm (with broken Z tape) was then removed and transported to the HCSA.  Using the bench mounted locking plate, the broken Z tape was replaced, and a full inspection and cable/tape tensioning was performed.  Pete accidentally broke the Z tape on the right side master arm while investigating the failure, which was also replaced.

The other two slave arms were also both inspected, tensioned, and tested in the same way.  Then all three were each in turn installed to the master arm #9348 on the blue manipulator transport cart where all mechanical motions and drives were tested (except X, because mounted on cart), the failure situation described above was also tested for all three slave arms.

The left side manipulator was then installed into the wall.  It was necessary to remove the lead sheilding on the thru-tube and machine it down approximtaely 0.070" in order for the arm to fit into the wall tube.  After installation, the manipulator motions and drives were tested again including the X motion, and the failure scenario situation was also re-tested.  Chad used the left side manipulator to remove and re-install the pre-filter mounted on the west side partition wall.  He also confirmed that he could reach the east wall electrical outlets and the outlets, gas fittings in front of the window.

The right side slave arm was adjusted so that the Y position was moved 1/2 turn of the shaft drive towards the window (this is the maximum adjustment possible before it hits a hard stop).  This was done so that the operator can more easily reach the outlets and air/gas connections inside the cell in front of the window.  Because both the master and slave ends protrude further out from the wall compared to the E-HD manipulators for the SHC, this modification makes the NHC manipulators feel a bit more like the SHC manipualtors for the operator.  After the adjustment, the right side slave arm was installed.  The left side slave arm was removed, adjusted the same as the right side, then reinstalled.  The spare slave arm was also adjusted in the same way.

The right side manipulator was evaluated through all mechanical motions.  We attempted to remove the A0166R04 chip from the left side, and install in the right in order to try the motion drives, however the pins had been damaged from the previous removal/install, and eventually one pin broke so this was abandoned.  CRL will ship us at least three new A0166R04 chips which should arrive in 2-3 weeks.

Upon completion of the work the location of the different arms is as follows:  Right side master #9351, Left side master #9348, Spare master #9763, Right side slave #9349, Left side slave #9764, Spare slave #9352

 A Motorla CP200 portable two-way radio was tested today for use inside the ISAC hot cells.  A High Technology Communications Throat microphone PRO model from Planet Headset was used with the radio.  Chad entered the NHC wearing the throat mic and radio under a air supplied hood to mimic real world conditions.  Communication was clear with the other person in the NHC service area, in the SHC service area, at various locations on the B1 level, and even with an operator in the TRIUMF Main Control Room.

This testing satisfies RS 104 of the NHC requirements specification (Document-131915, Release 1)

Installation of the diagnostic connections between the NHC hot and cold sides has been completed.  The cable bundle was prepared by Travis Cave in the electronics workshop with connectors attached at one end only.  Metal fish tape was first ran through the conduit from the cold side to hot side, the non-terminated end of the cable bundle was attached to the fish tape inside the cell, cable pulling lubricant was applied, then the cable bundle was pulled through the conduit to the cold side, and the cold side terminations were then made.  For future replacement of the cables and connectors the same method should be used, and a minimum of 6m of cable length.  Connector details can be found on drawings IRH1765 (hot side) and IRH1767 (cold side).  Conduit is 1" trade size PVC type (PO#3041531). Wiring details for each connector are attached below:

9 pin CPC connector:

Pin 1: Brown
Pin 2: Red
Pin 3: Orange
Pin 4: Yellow
Pin 5: Green
Pin 6: Blue
Pin 7: Violet
Pin 8: Black
Pin 9: No connection

All wires 14 gauge. 
Connector PN: Amp 211768-1
Cap PN: 208652-1

4 pin CPC connectors:

Pin 1: Coax RG-179
Pin 2: Red (18 gauge)
Pin 3: Black (18 gauge)
Pin 4: No connection

Connector PN: Amp 206430-1
Cap PN: 208800-1

SHV:

Connector: IRH1769 (customized "Kings 1709-1" connector)

USB:

5m long powered USB 3.0 cable
Connector: IRH1770 (customized "TE Connectivity PC4B0100-15NY-1-C" connector)
Cap PN: USBFTV 2 N

Ethernet:

Wires installed in the following order when viewing the back side of connector with PN lettering right-side-up:

Connector PN: Tyco 1546877
Cap PN: 208652-1

 On July 30th the NHC diagnostic signals were tested:

- 9 pin CPC: a shorting plug was installed on the hot side - continuity check results were as expected

- 4 pin CPCs:  snake camera installed in both hot side connectors with portable monitor on cold side - both connectors worked as expected

- USB: laptop connected on hot side, USB mouse connected on cold side - worked as expected

- Ethernet: laptop connected on hot side, cold side connected to building ethernet port - connection to network worked as expected

- SHV: a shunt was installed on the hot side - a short circuit was measured from the cold side as expected
            with no shunt installed the line was Megger tested: 1.63 G-ohms recorded @ 1000V

The control panel switches for the in-cell receptacles were also tested.  Each switch (a - d) worked as expected.

On July 31st the gas supply solenoid valves were tested.  60psi air was hooked to each solenoid inlet.  With the valve closed there was no air flow.  When each push-button or switch was activated air flow was observed through the correct solenoid.

Testing was completed today on the NHC air and gas supply lines.  For each line a Staubli plug was installed on the fitting inside the hot cell, the line was charged with compressed air (50psi for gas lines #1, #2, and #3;  100psi for the air lines #4 and #5).  All connections inside and outside the cell were checked for leaks using Snoop including connections for the solenoid valves.  No leaks were found.  Correct operation of the solenoids was confirmed as well as correct plumbing (no lines crossed).

 Installation of of operator-level lighting in the NHC was completed today according to drawing IRH1801.  2" x 2" Panduit was mounted to the wall on aluminum brackets to support the power cables.  These lights can be replaced remotely by unplugging the power cords using the manipulators, lifting the cable out of the Panduit with a hooked pole tool through the manipulator slave end removal roof hatch, lifting the light fixture off the support bracket with the pole tool, then installing a new fixture in the opposite order.  This RH procedure will be tested at a later date as part of NHC commissioning.

 The following equipment has been connected to the building ground located in the Target Hall by the TCS using 1/2" flat bonding strap:

• NHC roof structure
• NHC/TCS partition wall
• NHC work table

The following equipment has been connected to the building ground by connecting to the work table inside the NHC using 1/2" flat bonding strap:

• Air and gas supply line mounting bracket inside NHC
• Receptacle box mounting bracket inside NHC
• Diagnostic signal box mounting bracket inside NHC

The resistance between the following locations and the copper grounding plate located at the base of the NHCSA north wall were measured.  The resistance of the wire used was 258.10mΩ, and has been subtracted from the following results.

Measurements taken in NHCSA:

• Control panel below viewing window (base plate of box): 4.67mΩ
• Oil window frame (bare metal drain valve): 55.34mΩ
• Left manipulator (ground plate near e-stop button): 73.46mΩ
• Right manipulator (ground plate near e-stop button): 202.58mΩ
• Air and gas supply line mounting bracket: 40.68mΩ
• Diagnostic connector box: 12.15mΩ
• Steel conduit for 110V supply to hot cell interior: 4.81mΩ

Measurements taken inside NHC:

• Work table: 4.51mΩ
• Pre-filter bolted to partition wall: 4.84mΩ
• Table hatch lid: open load
• Left manipulator thru tube: 515.8mΩ
• Right manipulator thru tube: 342.0mΩ
• Left manipulator (slave boot plate bolt): 885.9mΩ
• Right manipulator (slave boot plate bolt): 1444.0mΩ
• Grounding strap for air/gas plate: 4.84mΩ
• Outside of SHV connector on diagnostic signal box: 4.56mΩ
• Exterior of 110V electrical conduit: 3.88mΩ
• Male Staubli connector for 1st gas line: 53.7mΩ
• Welded stud for window cover panel: 6.06mΩ
• Grounding strap for partition wall: 4.39mΩ
• Roof structure (measured inside un-painted bolt hole): ~0mΩ
• Stainless steel module flange: ~0mΩ

Dedicated grounding will be added in the near future for the oil window frame and the manipulator thru-tubes.  Testing will then be repeated for those items.

Dec 18, 2018 update:

The oil window frame and both manipulators (where they bolt to the thru-tubes) were connected to the building ground using 1/2" flat bonding strap connected at the cold side of each piece of equipment, and running to the grounded copper sheet located in the NHC service area at floor level.  The connection is made inside the electrical racks located directly west of the NHC operator area on the cold side.  This work was done by Travis Cave in October 2018.

Mili-ohm testing for these items has not yet been repeated.

Jan 14, 2019 update:

Grounding was added from the metal plate near the e-stop button on the master arm of both manipulators.  The same 1/2" flat bonding strap was used which was tied into other bonding strap which runns to the grounded copper sheet in the NHCSA.

Mili-ohm testing was repeated for the following items:

• Oil window frame (bare metal drain valve):  13.6mΩ
• Left manipulator (ground plate near e-stop button):  16.1mΩ
• Right manipulator (ground plate near e-stop button):  16.5mΩ

To satisfy RS 101 from the NHC requirements specification (Document-131915) Tomislav Hurskovec was consulted regarding high voltage safety.  After a verbal discussion on various aspects of the NHC design he confirmed that the design satisfies high voltage safety concerns.

A copy of his confirmation e-mail is attached in PDF format.

In preparation for removing the slave for replacement I discovered that the timing screw in the handle cable drum (master side) had been left threaded into the pulley...it should have been completely removed. It was bent from hitting on a casting inside the mater arm which most likely contributed to the hopped pulleys on the slave side. After removing this timing screw I entered the north hot cell and replaced the hopped cable back onto its pulley and Isaac tested the motions that previous caused the hopped cables. These tasks were repeated 4 times without any issues. Also of note is a missing setscrew in the tong cable pulley pin and a somewhat loose tape on the slave, also the tape shows signs of a crimp/bend. Upon further inspection and comparison with the other slaves I also found that one of the "lock-down" fittings tying the Z motion tape drum to the corresponding gear is completely missing. See pictures attached.