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Simmonds, Michael J.

Publications and source records attributed to Simmonds, Michael J..

Analytical model for laser-induced transient grating measurements of thermal diffusivity in non-opaque materials

The thermal transport and elastic properties of materials are often measured using the laser-induced transient grating spectroscopy (TGS) technique. The analysis of the TGS signal usually involves fitting well-known expressions, derived assuming the limiting cases of opaque or transparent materials, to the measured data. In this paper, the system of thermoelastic equations is analytically solved for an isotropic homogeneous material assuming finite laser penetration depth, which is an important consideration when the penetration depth is on the order of the acoustic wavelength. The need to use such a solution is discussed and compared to the expression for opaque material. The solution is benchmarked against TGS signal measured on single-crystal silicon with {100} surface orientation and is found to significantly improve the accuracy of the calculated thermal diffusivity as compared to using the expression for opaque material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

PISCES-RF: a liquid-cooled high-power steady-state helicon plasma device

Radio-frequency (RF) driven helicon plasma sources can produce relatively high-density plasmas (n > 1019 m -3 ) at relatively moderate powers (<2 kW) in argon. However, to produce similar high-density plasmas for fusion relevant gases such as hydrogen (H), deuterium (D) and helium (He), much higher RF powers are needed. For very high RF powers, thermal issues of the RF-transparent dielectric window, used in the RF source design, limit the plasma operation timescales. To mitigate this constraint, we have designed, built and tested a novel helicon plasma source assembly with a fully liquid-cooled RF-transparent window which allows steady state operations at high power (up to 20 kW) and successfully produces high-density plasma with both argon and H. Deionized (DI) water, flowing between two concentric dielectric RF windows, is used as the coolant. We show that a full azimuthal blanket of DI water does not prevent high-density plasma production. From calorimetry on the DI water, we measure the net heat removed by the coolant at steady state conditions. Using infra-red imaging, we calculate the constant plasma heat deposition and measure the final steady state temperature distribution patterns on the inner surface of the ceramic layer. The heat deposition pattern follows the helical shape of the antenna. We also show the consistency between the heat absorbed by the DI water, as measured by calorimetry, and the total heat due to the combined effect of the plasma heating and the absorbed RF. These results are being used to answer critical engineering questions for the 200 kW RF device materials plasma exposure experiment being designed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a next generation plasma material interaction device.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗