Gas Injection System Research Articles

R&D on the gas injection system of Beam Induced Fluorescence Monitor toward MW beam power at the J-PARC Neutrino Beam-line

A Beam Induced Fluorescence (BIF) monitor is being developed as an essential part of the monitor update toward MW beam power operation at the J-PARC neutrino beam line, where a 30 GeV proton beam is extracted, bent and struck onto a 90-cm-long graphite target to produce an intense and nearly pure muon (anti-)neutrino beam for the Tokai-to-Kamioka(T2K) experiment. A BIF monitor can measure the proton beam profile non-destructively and continuously spill-by-spill with fluorescence light produced by proton-N 2 interactions. In order to generate enough light to measure the profile precisely, it is necessary to temporarily increase the vacuum pressure near the BIF interaction point up to ~ 10−2 Pa during each beam spill while keeping the average pressure low (10−4 to 10−6 Pa) at other locations to protect vacuum equipment. Therefore, R&D of a pulsed gas injection system satisfying these requirements is in progress. We will report the recent R&D status of the gas injection system and prospects toward operation of a prototype monitor which we plan to install this fall 2019.

Parametric investigation of a large two-stroke marine high-pressure direct injection engine by using computational fluid dynamics method

This study aims at the parametric investigation of the gas injection system settings of a large marine two-stroke dual fuel engine by using a developed and customized CFD method in the ANSYS Fluent software. The investigated engine injection system parameters include the gas injection timing, the gas injection duration, the gas injector lateral angle, and the gas injector holes number. Based on the comparison of the predicted performance parameters for the closed-cycle processes, the results indicate that the gas injector lateral angle is the most significant parameter that affects the engine power as well as the NO and CO2 emissions. For satisfying the contradictory objectives of retaining the engine power and reducing the NO and CO2 emissions, appropriate design settings for the gas injection are recommended for the investigated engine operation in the gas mode at 75% load.

Ion beam techniques for nuclear waste management

An automated CO2 gas handling and injection system was developed. It is designed to dilute CO2 samples with blank gas in a mixing volume. The system is intended to be used for the characterization and quantification of 14C content in reactor graphite with accelerator mass spectrometry. A 100 kV accelerator system was developed to measure samples with high 14C content, to test the gas injection system and to measure the 3H content from gaseous releases of reactor graphite. Additionally, the Tandetron model 4130 was purchased from the Max-Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry Jena (Germany) and a concept was developed for installation at the accelerator building of the University of Cologne. With the new 3 MV system, new isotopic ratio measurements and ion beam techniques for material analysis can be performed. The system will be used for nuclear waste management measurements of isotopes, e.g. 3H, 14C, 36Cl, 41Ca and 55Fe, which are difficult to measure with other techniques.

Synergistic Effect of O2 and H2S on the Corrosion Behavior of N80 Steel in a Simulated High-Pressure Flue Gas Injection System

The aim of this work was to understand the synergistic effect of O2 and H2S on the corrosion behavior of N80 steel in a simulated high-pressure flue gas injection system. Weight loss measurements show that the presence of O2 and an increase in temperature significantly accelerated the general corrosion rate of the N80 steel. We calculated a gray relational grade between different impact factors and the general corrosion rate from the results of an orthogonal experimental corrosion rate. The grade ranking of impact factors was: O2 concentration (0.817) > temperature (0.706) > total pressure (0.689) > H2S concentration (0.665) > CO2 concentration (0.517). Surface characterization of corrosion scales was done using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, and 3D optical microscope analysis. The results show that in the O2-H2S-CO2-H2O coexistence system the products were composed mainly of FeCO3, FeS, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, and elemental sulfur. The results of the corrosion rate test and the characterization show that the presence of O2 greatly accelerated the corrosion process and changed the corrosion mechanism. Elemental sulfur, which was generated by the reaction between the H2S and the O2, participated in the corrosion process of the N80 steel. It could be considered that the synergistic effect of O2 and H2S accelerated the corrosion of the N80 steel. In addition, the porous structures of the corrosion scales and the severe local pits show that the high content of O2 inhibited the formation of FeCO3 and aggravated the corrosion of N80 steel.

Fluorine Gas Coinjection as a Solution for Enhancing Spatial Resolution of Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and Separating Mass Interference.

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) detectors have been intensively developed in recent decades due to their unprecedented capability of representing a sample elemental composition in a three-dimensional space from nano- to submilliscale with high spatial resolution and mass resolution. A compact high-vacuum-compatible version of these detectors can be integrated into a focused ion beam (FIB) system which, assembled with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), is the most popular tool used in nanotechnology and material science. This gives a new opportunity for combining TOF-SIMS analysis with other instruments within the same analytical chamber. In this work we present the results of conducting elemental characterization of a dedicated model multilayer sample composed of 100 nm thick thin films of Cu, Zr, and ZrCuAg alloy in a fluorine gas atmosphere provided by an in situ gas injection system (GIS). In general, the secondary ion signals were significantly enhanced by up to 3 orders of magnitude, leading to much higher spatial resolution. The quality of elemental images and depth profiles was improved during a single measurement (which usually cannot be obtained at standard vacuum conditions) at a high beam energy of 20 keV. Moreover, fluorine assistance has enabled a mass interference between 107Ag+ and 91Zr16O+ ions to be separated. This remarkable finding has never been reported before and is expected to play an important role in the future evolution of TOF-SIMS analytical protocols, as currently the mass interference between ions remains one of the main drawbacks of the technique.

Continuous cellular automaton simulation of focused ion beam-induced deposition for nano structures

With the assistance of a gas injection system, focused ion beam-induced deposition (FIBID) can be realized to fabricate complicated three-dimensional structures in nanoscale. The growth rate of the deposited structure depends on the flux of precursor gas and incident ions. In this study, a Continuous Cellular Automaton (CCA) model is put forward to simulate the FIBID process, with four rules established to initiate and dominate the interface evolution, which can calculate the deposited structure profile under different fabrication conditions. In this model, the sputtering and diffusion effects are taken into account to establish a more accurate relationship between the deposition rate and precursor gas flux based on the continuous model, and the influences imposed by precursor gas and incident ions are clarified. In order to verify the precursor gas distribution and the growth mechanism of the FIBID, experiments are carried out with different local precursor gas flux on the substrate surface with a 7 pA and 30 keV Ga ions, using C9H16Pt as the precursor gas. The experimental and simulation results indicate that the CCA model features a high accuracy in predicting the deposited structure profile, and prove that the proposed model can be utilized in fabrication parameters optimization.

Exploring sample size limits of AMS gas Ion Source 14C analysis at Cologneams

ABSTRACTIncreasing demands for small-scale radiocarbon (14C) analyses required the installation of a “SO-110 B” type ion source (HVE Europa B.V.) at our 6 MV Tandetron AMS (HVE) dedicated for the direct injection of CO2 using either the gas injection system (GIS) from Ionplus AG or a EuroVector EA 3000 elemental analyzer (EA). We tested both systems with multiple series of 14C-free and modern standards (2.5–50 µg C) combusted in quartz ampoules or EA containers and were able to quantify exogenous C introduced. In EA-GIS-AMS analysis exogenous C is mainly derived from the EA sample containers. Blank values for 50 µg C combusted in solvent-cleaned tin (Sn) vessels were 0.0127 ± 0.0012 F14C (boats) and 0.0090 ± 0.0010 F14C (capsules), while they were much higher for thermally cleaned silver (Ag) capsules. The processing of gas samples for GIS-AMS yields similar blank values corresponding to 0.30 ± 0.08 µg exogenous C with 0.93 ± 0.23 F14C consisting of 0.28 µg C modern and 0.02 µg C fossil C. The combustion of larger amounts of blank material (1 mg C) in a single quartz tube split into aliquots gives lower blanks (0.0064 ± 0.0008 F14C; 50 µg C). Thus, 14C analysis of small, gaseous samples is now possible at CologneAMS.

Regimes of jetting and bubbling in a fluidized bed studied using real-time magnetic resonance imaging

Real-time magnetic resonance imaging was used to study the different flow regimes which occur in a fluidized bed containing a gas injection system. The gas flow rates through the main distributor and a central orifice were varied independently. We identified six different regimes of bubbling and jetting behavior: (1) freely bubbling, (2) permanent jet, (3) spouting, (4) pulsating jet, (5) pulsating jet with bubble collapse and (6) pulsating jet and freely bubbling. While regimes (1–4) have been described previously in the literature, regimes (5) and (6) are described here for the first time. To construct a regime map, the Froude number (Fr) and the ratio of the superficial gas velocity to the minimum fluidization velocity (U/Umf) were used to describe the system. We observed that bubbles formed predominantly, when U/Umf > 1. Further, we propose an empirical model that predicts the length of jets in the permanent jet regime as a function of Fr and background gas flow as ljetdor=0.12Fr0.381+UbgUmf0.81. The proposed model is in good agreement with tomographic measurements in smaller 3D systems reported in the literature, indicating that the non-dimensionalized description of jet length using a Fr number is valid throughout a large range of system diameters. Moreover, the bubble breakoff frequency of the pulsating jet regime was assessed by Fourier analysis, demonstrating that the frequency increases with increasing Fr before plateauing.

GaN nanowires as probes for high resolution atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy

GaN nanowires are potential candidates for use in scanning probe microscopy due to their well-defined, reproducible, geometric shapes, their hardness, and their light guiding properties. We have developed and investigated probes for high resolution atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy utilizing GaN nanowires as probes. The nanowires are n-doped and the morphology of the nanowires has been tailored for scanning probe microscopy by growing them with a sharp tip for measurements and high thickness for robustness. The individual GaN nanowires were removed from their growth substrate and attached onto commercial atomic force microscopy cantilevers or etched tungsten wires for scanning tunneling microscopy. A standard scanning electron microscope equipped with a nanoprobe, a focused ion beam column and a gas injection system was used to locate, transfer, and attach the nanowires. We evaluated the properties of the GaN probes on different substrates including HOPG, Au, SiO2, InAs, and GaAs. We demonstrate both atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements with single atomic layer resolution and evaluate the robustness of the tips by monitoring them before and after scanning. Finally, we explore the use of the tips for scanning tunneling spectroscopy demonstrating that reliable results, which can reveal information on the electronic properties of the surface-tip system, are obtainable. The fundamental properties of these probes, which are demonstrated in this work, show promise for future use of the probes in exploring semiconductor-semiconductor tunneling junctions at the nanoscale as well as for other scanning probe techniques where high resolution is required.

Application of a Gas-Injection System during the FIB-TOF-SIMS Analysis-Influence of Water Vapor and Fluorine Gas on Secondary Ion Signals and Sputtering Rates.

Combining a Gas-Injection System (GIS) with the Focused Ion Beam (FIB) has a broad scope of applications in sample preparation such as protective layer deposition, increasing material sputtering rates, and reducing FIB-related artifacts. On the other hand, injecting certain specific gases during a Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) analysis can significantly increase element ionization probability and, therefore, improve the quality of 3D representation of a sample elemental structure. In this work, for the first time, the potential of GIS for enhancing secondary ion signals acquired using a TOF detector incorporated into a commercial Ga+ FIB-SEM (Focused Ion Beam combined with Scanning Electron Microscope) instrument is presented. The depth profiles of pure metals (thin films of Cu, Zr, Ag, and W with the thickness in the order of 100 nm) were acquired under ambient vacuum conditions as well as under an exposure to water and fluorine gases. The influence of supplementary gases on the ion yields and sputtering rates was studied. Simulations were performed to assess the local gas pressure at the location of FIB-TOF-SIMS analysis. The highest enhancement of ionization probability was achieved in the case of the Cu thin film (10 times during water vapor coinjection and 510 times when using a fluorine gas). Regarding the sputtering rates, the response of Zr to the effect of the gases was the strongest. Compared to standard background pressure measurements, this thin film was milled around 6 times faster under exposure to water vapor and over 2 times faster when fluorine gas was supplied.

Evaluation of High-Resolution STEM Imaging Advancement Under Gas-Environment with Open Window MEMS Holder and Gas Injection System

Evaluation of High-Resolution STEM Imaging Advancement Under Gas-Environment with Open Window MEMS Holder and Gas Injection System

The He/Ne beam diagnostic for line-ratio spectroscopy in the island divertor of Wendelstein 7-X

a versatile gas injection system and an absolute calibrated spectroscopic observation system with more than 200 lines-of-sight have been installed in two divertor locations in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator. This powerful setup enables among other measurements to infer Te and ne in the divertor region by means of line-ratio spectroscopy on thermal helium. This is a robust and routinely used diagnostic at W7-X and this work describes its main characteristics and shows some examples of Te and ne profiles. In particular it is shown that the inclusion of high Rydberg states in the helium collisional-radiative model is necessary to obtain a realistic estimate of Te. The applicability of the diagnostic is currently being extended towards the low Te and high ne conditions occurring during detachment by means of line-ratio spectroscopy on neon. Initial Te, ne profiles obtained with a neon-beam are here presented.

Exergy and economic analysis of using the flue gas injection system of a combined cycle power plant into the Heller Tower to improve the power plant performance

Natural Draft Dry Cooling system (Heller Tower) is regarded as one of the frequently used cooling systems in steam power plants. The performance of these towers depends heavily on environmental conditions. Under wind conditions, due to the lack of symmetry in pressure distribution around the tower and the formation of wind cover phenomena on the top of the tower, the inlet flow rate to the tower drops and accordingly, the heat rejected by Heller Tower reduces almost by 40%, leading to a reduction in the power and efficiency of cooling tower and entire power plant. The injection of flue gas dissipated by the recovery boiler, which has the temperature of about 130°C, into a cooling tower at the combined cycle power plant is regarded as one of the recent methods proposed to improve the cooling tower efficiency under wind conditions. The present study aimed to examine various dimensions of the effect of flue gas injection into the cooling tower of a combined cycle power plant on the entire power plant, as well as its efficiency in terms of exergy and economic analysis. For this purpose, a Heller Tower was modeled by the CFD method. In addition, the amount of the cooling tower heat was calculated by the results of numerical analysis and used for the thermo-exergy simulation of various components of a combined cycle power plant in states of with and without flue gas injection under the tower design and crosswind conditions. The results indicated that the power generated by the steam cycle increased by a maximum of 7.92 MW due to the flue gas injection and under wind conditions. Finally, the results of the economic analysis represented the return on investment rate of 81.18 and 91.17% for two states of permanent and economic use, respectively, and the payback period of about one year.

Employing high-temperature gas flux in a residual salt separation technique for pyroprocessing

Abstract Residual salt separation is an essential step in pyroprocessing because its reaction products, as prepared by electrochemical unit processes, contain frozen residual electrolyte species, which are generally composed of alkali-metal chloride salts (e.g., LiCl, KCl). In this study, a simple technique that utilizes high-temperature gas flux as a driving force to melt and push out the residual salt in the reaction products was developed. This technique is simple as it only requires the use of a heating gun in combination with a gas injection system. Consequently, LiNO3–ZrO2 and LiCl–ZrO2 mixtures were successfully separated by the high-temperature gas injection (separation efficiency > 93%), thereby demonstrating the viability of this simple technique for residual salt separation.

Current Sample Preparation and Analytical Capabilities of the Radiocarbon Laboratory at CologneAMS

ABSTRACTThis work summarizes the methodical capabilities, improvements, and new developments in the radiocarbon laboratory of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) facility at the University of Cologne, Germany, which was established in 2010. During the past years, the laboratory has specialized in the analysis of small and gaseous samples. We thus, recently installed a second ion source dedicated for radiocarbon (14C) analysis of CO2 samples at our 6 MV Tandetron AMS from High Voltage Engineering Europe B.V. that is coupled with the gas injection system from Ionplus and an EuroVector EA 3000 elemental analyzer. This work summarizes all pretreatment methods and analytical facilities established in our laboratory during the last years including 14C analysis of individual organic compounds and of CO2 trapped on molecular sieves. We also report different blank values including our long-term blank since 2011, which is for normal-sized, solid samples (650–1000 µg C) 0.0012 ± 0.0004 F14C (54,305 ± 2581 yr BP, n = 484). The precision obtained for modern samples measured as graphite is 0.5% and for gaseous samples injected with the GIS ≤2%.

New Microscope and Ion Accelerators for Materials Investigations (MIAMI-2) system at the University of Huddersfield

Radiation damage is a complex dynamic process with multiple atomic mechanisms interacting and competing to determine the end state of the material. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with in-situ ion irradiation allows direct observation of the microstructural evolution of a sample from the virgin to end state. A new TEM with in-situ ion irradiation has been established at the University of Huddersfield: the Microscope and Ion Accelerators for Materials Investigations (MIAMI-2) system. MIAMI-2 combines a 300 kV TEM with medium-energy 350 kV and low-energy 20 kV ion beamlines. Whilst the medium-energy beamline can be used for most species up to Au, the low-energy beamline is primarily designed for implanting light-ion species such as H and He. These can be used individually or mixed prior to entering the TEM allowing dual-ion-beam irradiation experiments to, for example, simulate the combined effects of displacement damage and the introduction of He from (n, α ) nuclear reactions. The TEM can operate from 60–300 kV and is equipped with a 16 megapixel digital camera, an energy-filtered imaging system and an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer for elemental and chemical analysis. Sample temperature can be varied from –170 °C to 1300 °C and a gas injection system enables gaseous environments at pressures of up to 10 − 2 mbar at the sample position. The new MIAMI-2 system is a powerful tool for the investigation of radiation damage in a wide range of materials which are exposed to irradiating environments either during processing and/or whilst in-service in areas including nuclear applications, nanotechnology, semiconductor processing and extraterrestrial environments.

Duoplasmatron beam characteristic in an ion source test stand for an accelerator mass spectrometer

A gaseous ion source has been designed at Dongguk University accelerator mass spectrometer facility, Korea. Radiocarbon dating is conducted at this facility with a mini carbon dating system and a prototype ion source has been developed for a gas injection system for high-level 14C samples, which can decrease the precision of sample measurements for carbon dating. To improve the efficiency of carbon counting of gas samples, a gaseous ion source called a duoplasmatron has been installed in the prototype ion source test stand with low cost, easy maintenance, and direct gas discharge. It is necessary to verify the operation characteristics of the duoplasmatron of the ion source test stand with the beam characteristics to measure the beam current with various ion source parameters. The effects of the arc current, ion source magnet field, and extraction voltage on the beam current are presented in this paper.

SPIDER gas injection and vacuum system: From design to commissioning

The ITER project requires at least two Heating Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs), each accelerating up to 1 MV a 40 A beam of negative H-/D-.ions, to deliver to the plasma a total power of about 33 MW for one hour.Since these requirements have never been experimentally met, it was recognized necessary to build-up a test facility, named PRIMA including both a full-size negative ion source (SPIDER – Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma) and a full prototype of the ITER injector (MITICA – Megavolt ITER Injector & Concept Advancement). This realization is made with the main contribution of the European Union, through the Joint Undertaking for ITER (F4E), the ITER Organization and Consorzio RFX (CRFX) that hosts the Test Facility in Padova, Italy. SPIDER is a Radio Frequency ion source that has the same characteristics foreseen for the ITER NBI but with beam energy limited to 100 keV. The mission of SPIDER is to increase the understanding of the source operation and to optimize the source performance in terms of extracted current density, uniformity and pulse duration.The paper describes the Gas injection and Vacuum System (GVS), from the analysis of requirements to the system commissioning. In particular, it presents the rationale behind the main design choices and specific manufacturing details of the gas injection plant feeding the RF source. Furthermore, the paper describes the interfaces with the SPIDER central interlock and safety systems. Finally, the main results of the GVS commissioning with the control and interlock systems are presented.

The CIEMAT LiPb Loop Permeation Experiment

A new facility, CLIPPER, is being constructed at CIEMAT to investigate tritium extraction from PbLi. It consists of a forced circulation loop with the main objective of validating the technique of permeation against vacuum. CLIPPER is designed as an isothermal loop operating up to 500 ℃. The PbLi is heated, melted and cleaned outside the loop, in a tank integrated in a dedicated glove box under argon atmosphere. The test section includes a prototype of permeator (TRITON) and its auxiliary systems, such as its associated vacuum system and instrumentation. TRITON consists of a rectangular multi-channel component with vanadium membranes. A novel gas injection system specifically designed for CLIPPER is used to introduce the gases that must be extracted through the permeator (hydrogen isotopes). This system, based on a multi-tube component with permeable niobium membranes, is able to solubilize the hydrogen in the PbLi up to the required concentration.The final design of CLIPPER is presented together with the integration of its main components, including a thermomechanical assessment of the loop.

Improvements in the measurement of small 14CO2 samples at CologneAMS

Since 2015, the CologneAMS started operating a second SO-110 B ion source (Arnold et al., 2010; Klein and Mous, 2017) from High Voltage Engineering Europe (HVE) with a gas injection system (GIS) from Ionplus AG (Wacker et al., 2013) for the measurement of gaseous CO2 samples. Significant effort was spent increasing the efficiency of C- ion beam extraction as well as the operational reliability. Details are described in Stolz et al. (2017).Recent work was aimed at prolonging the cleaning intervals and allowing unattended routine 14CO2 measurements. Problems related to sparking inside the source chamber could be eliminated by electrically shielding the ceramic linear actuator that is used to move the target pieces into the source head. Furthermore, the Cs reservoir temperature was decreased from 135 °C to 120 °C. The negative ion formation efficiency has dropped only slightly to about 5% with the current settings. Additionally, the GIS sample magazine capacity was doubled to 16 ampules, which enables longer measurements without user interaction.A dedicated software (Gas Injection Control Software, GICS) was developed that controls GIS and AMS hardware for fully autonomous measurements, including the source and accelerator startup, sample cracking or combustion, sample mixing with the He carrier gas and the transfer to the source, as well as the subsequent data analysis. This tool also comprises error detection routines in order to minimize the risk of losing a sample due to hardware failures.The blank value was reduced from typically 7·10-15 to ∼3·10-15. This was achieved by modifications in the cleaning and measurement procedures.Recently a EuroVector EA3000 elemental analyzer (EA) was coupled to the GIS and integrated into the GICS software. First EA test measurements with standards, blanks and tree rings were performed as well as first automated overnight measurements with ampules and EA samples.