Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “High gradient acceleration”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23

First demonstration of a cryocooler conduction cooled superconducting radiofrequency cavity operating at practical cw accelerating gradients

Abstract We demonstrate practical accelerating gradients on a superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) accelerator cavity with cryocooler conduction cooling, a cooling technique that does not involve the complexities of the conventional liquid helium bath. A design is first presented that enables conduction cooling an elliptical-cell SRF cavity. Implementing this design, a single cell 650 MHz Nb 3 Sn cavity coupled using high purity aluminum thermal links to a 4 K pulse tube cryocooler generated accelerating gradients up to 6.6 MV m −1 at 100% duty cycle. The experiments were carried out with the cavity-cryocooler assembly in a simple vacuum vessel, completely free of circulating liquid cryogens. We anticipate that this cryocooling technique will make the SRF technology accessible to interested accelerator researchers who lack access to full-stack helium cryogenic systems. Furthermore, the technique can lead to SRF based compact sources of high average power electron beams for environmental protection and industrial applications. A concept of such an SRF compact accelerator is presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Proof-of-principle demonstration of Nb{sub 3}Sn superconducting radiofrequency cavities for high Q{sub 0} applications

Many future particle accelerators require hundreds of superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities operating with high duty factor. The large dynamic heat load of the cavities causes the cryogenic plant to make up a significant part of the overall cost of the facility. This contribution can be reduced by replacing standard niobium cavities with ones coated with a low-dissipation superconductor such as Nb{sub 3}Sn. In this paper, we present results for single cell cavities coated with Nb{sub 3}Sn at Cornell. Five coatings were carried out, showing that at 4.2 K, high Q{sub 0} out to medium fields was reproducible, resulting in an average quench field of 14 MV/m and an average 4.2 K Q{sub 0} at quench of 8 × 10{sup 9}. In each case, the peak surface magnetic field at quench was well above H{sub c1}, showing that it is not a limiting field in these cavities. The coating with the best performance had a quench field of 17 MV/m, exceeding gradient requirements for state-of-the-art high duty factor SRF accelerators. It is also shown that—taking into account the thermodynamic efficiency of the cryogenic plant—the 4.2 K Q{sub 0} values obtained meet the AC power consumption requirements of state-of-the-art high duty factor accelerators, making this a proof-of-principle demonstration for Nb{sub 3}Sn cavities in future applications.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

An Update on the DOE Early Career Project on Photonic Band Gap Accelerator Structures

We performed fabrication of two SRF PBG resonators at 2.1 GHz and demonstrated their proof-of-principle operation at high gradients. Measured characteristics of the resonators were in good agreement with theoretical predictions. We demonstrated that SRF PBG cavities can be operated at 15 MV/m accelerating gradients. We completed the design and started fabrication of the 16-cell PBG accelerating structure at 11.7 GHz for wakefield testing at AWA.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Dielectric Wakefield Accelerator to drive the future FEL Light Source.

X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) are expensive instruments and a large part of the cost of the entire facility is driven by the accelerator. Using a high-energy gain dielectric wake-field accelerator (DWA) instead of the conventional accelerator may provide a significant cost saving and reduction of the facility size. In this article, we investigate using a collinear dielectric wakefield accelerator to provide a high repetition rate, high current, high energy beam to drive a future FEL x-ray light source. As an initial case study, a {approx}100 MV/m loaded gradient, 850 GHz quartz dielectric based 2-stage, wakefield accelerator is proposed to generate a main electron beam of 8 GeV, 50 pC/bunch, {approx}1.2 kA of peak current, 10 x 10 kHz (10 beamlines) in just 100 meters with the fill factor and beam loading considered. This scheme provides 10 parallel main beams with one 100 kHz drive beam. A drive-to-main beam efficiency {approx}38.5% can be achieved with an advanced transformer ratio enhancement technique. rf power dissipation in the structure is only 5 W/cm{sup 2} in the high repetition rate, high gradient operation mode, which is in the range of advanced water cooling capability. Details of study presented in the article include the overall layout, the transform ratio enhancement scheme used to increase the drive to main beam efficiency, main wakefield linac design, cooling of the structure, etc.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Erosional dynamics, flexural isostasy, and long-lived escarpments: A numerical modeling study

Erosional escarpments common features of high-elevation rifted continets. Fission track data suffest that these escarpments form by base level lowering and/or marginal uplift during rifting, followed by lateral retreat of an erosion front across tens to hundreds of kioometers. Previous modeling studies have shown that this characteristic pattern of denudation can have a profound impact upon marginal isostatic uplift and the evolution of offshore sedimentary basins. Yet at present there is only a rudimentary understanding of the geomorphic mechanisms capable of driving such prolonged escarpment retreat. In this study we present a nonlinear, two-dimensional landscape evolution model tha tis used to asses the necessary and sufficient conditions for long-term retreat of a rift-generated escarpment. The model represents topography as a grid of cells, with drainage networkds evolving as water flows across the grid in the direction of steepest descent. The model accounts for sediment production by weathering, fluvial sediment transport, bedrock channel erosion, and hillslope sediment transport by diffusive mechanisms and by mass failure. Numerical experiments presented explore the effects of different combinations of erosion processes and of dynamic coupling between denudation and flexural isostatic uplift. Model results suggest that the necessary and sufficient conditions for long-term escarpment retreat are (1) incising bedrock channels in which the erosion rate increases with increasing drainage area, so that the channels steepen and propagate headward; (2) a low rate of sediment production relative to sediment transport efficiency, which promotes relief-generating processes over diffusive ones; (3) high continental elevation, which allows greater freedom for fluvial dissection; and (4) any process, including flexural isostatic uplift, that helps to maintain a drainage divide near an escarpment crest. Flexural isostatic uplift also facilitates escarpment, thereby increasing channel gradients and accelerating erosion which in turn generates additional isostatic uplift. Of all the above conditions, high continental elevation is common ot most rift margin escarpments and may ultimately be the most important factor.

Tucker, Gregory E.↗

Anisotropic Particle Acceleration in Alfvénic Turbulence

Alfvénic turbulence is an effective mechanism for particle acceleration in strongly magnetized, relativistic plasma. In this study, we investigate a scenario where turbulent plasma is influenced by a strong guide magnetic field, resulting in highly anisotropic turbulent fluctuations. In such cases, the magnetic moments of particles are conserved, which means that acceleration can only occur along the direction of the magnetic field. Consistent with previous analytic studies, we find through particle-in-cell simulations of magnetically dominated pair plasma that the momenta of accelerated particles are closely aligned with the magnetic field lines. Notably, the alignment angle decreases as particle energy increases, potentially limited only by the inherent curvature and gradients of the turbulent magnetic fluctuations. This finding has significant implications for interpreting the synchrotron radiation emitted by highly accelerated particles.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Experimental results and numerical modeling of solidification during aircraft high-g arcs

The question of how the Coriolis and gravity gradient forces during high-gravity maneuvers compare to that for common centrifuges is addressed. Microstructural examination of samples solidified during high-gravity arcs reveals no evidence of convection dampening. As a first approximation, the high-gravity arc is modeled as a centrifuge with a radius of 20,480 ft and angular speed of 0.318 rpm. Scaling analysis indicates that the Coriolis and gravity gradient expected on the aircraft high gravity arc are less than that for the centrifuges by a factor of 100. Detailed Navier-Stokes analysis of the fluid flow and thermal fields during solidification of aluminum and Cd-Te during KC-135 high gravity show that convective flows of about 1 mm/s are induced. The thermal field is only slightly modified by the convection. Coriolis and gravity gradient during solidification in KC-135 high-gravity arcs, even at accelerations that have been shown to produce significant convective flow dampening in the centrifuge systems, are found to have no significant influence on the melt thermal and flowfields.

Curreri, P. A.↗

In situ acceleration and gradients of charged particles in the outer solar system observed by the Voyager spacecraft

Observations of interplanetary acceleration events from about 1 to about 25 AU are presented. It is shown that shock structures have a profound effect on high energy (greater than or equal to 70 MeV) cosmic rays, especially during solar minimum, when a negative latitudinal gradient was observed after early 1985 at all energies from about 70 MeV down to about 30 keV. The observations suggest that local acceleration to a few hundred MeV, and as high as a few GeV, is continually present throughout the heliosphere.

Krimigis, S. M.↗

Experimental demonstration of externally driven millimeter-wave particle accelerator structure

We report the experimental demonstration of a mm-wave electron accelerating structure powered by a high-power rf source. We demonstrate reliable coupling of an unprecedented rf power—up to 575kW into the mm-wave accelerator structure using a quasi-optical setup. This standing wave accelerating structure consists of a single-cell copper cavity and a Gaussian to TM 01 mode converter. The accelerator structure is powered by 110 GHz, 10-ns long rf pulses. These pulses are chopped from 3 microsecond pulses from a gyrotron oscillator using a laser-driven silicon switch. We show an unprecedented high gradient up to 230MV/m that corresponds to a peak surface electric field of more than 520 MV/m. We have achieved these results after conditioning the cavity with more than 100,000 pulses. We also report preliminary measurements of rf breakdown rates, which are important for understanding rf breakdown physics in the millimeter-wave regime. Furthermore, these results open up many frontiers for applications not only limited to the next generation particle accelerators but also x-ray generation, probing material dynamics, and nonlinear light-matter interactions at mm-wave frequency.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Numerical study of a bucked-coil system for muon transport and cooling

A Neutrino Factory, which can deliver an intense flux of {approx}10{sup 21} neutrinos per year from a multi-GeV stored muon-beam is seemingly the ideal tool for studying neutrino oscillations and CP-violations for leptons. The front-end of this facility plays a critical role in determining the number of muons that can be accepted by the downstream accelerators. Delivering peak performance requires transporting the muon beams through long sections of a beam channel containing high-gradient rf cavities and strong focusing solenoids. Here, we propose a novel scheme to improve the performance of the cavities, thereby increasing the number of muons within the acceptance of the accelerator chain. The key element of our new scheme is to apply a set of bucked coils along the lattice, thus forcing the external magnetic field to drop substantially within the cavity. We incorporate this idea into a new lattice design for a Neutrino Factory, and detail its performance numerically.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Numerical study of a magnetically insulated front-end channel for a neutrino factory

A neutrino factory, which can deliver an intense flux of {approx}10{sup 21} neutrinos per year from a multi-GeV stored muon beam, is seemingly the ideal tool for studying neutrino oscillations and CP violations for leptons. The front end of this facility plays a critical role in determining the number of muons that can be accepted by the downstream accelerators. Delivering peak performance requires transporting the muon beams through long sections of a beam channel containing high-gradient rf cavities and strong focusing solenoids. Here, we propose a novel scheme to improve the performance of the cavities, thereby increasing the number of muons within the acceptance of the accelerator chain. The key element of our new scheme is to apply a tangential magnetic field to the rf surfaces, thus forcing any field-emitted electrons to return to the surface before gaining enough energy to damage the cavity. We incorporate this idea into a new lattice design for a neutrino factory, and detail its performance numerically. Although our proposed front-end channel requires more rf power than conventional pillbox designs, it provides enough beam cooling and muon production to be a feasible option for a neutrino factory.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Compact, high-power superconducting radio-frequency accelerators for environmental applications

Electron-beam irradiation has been proven to destructively reduce or eliminate a wide variety of organic chemicals, viruses and bacteria from wastewater, as well as reducing sulfur and nitrous oxides emission from coal-fired power plants. It is estimated that there are approximately 30,000 such particle accelerators in use worldwide for industrial processes including surface and bulk processing of material, medical sterilization, and environmental remediation. Maximum beam power from accelerators used in these applications is currently limited to less than 500 kW, and a higher beam power is needed to reduce treatment costs. The market availability of continuous-wave (CW) electron-beam accelerators with power of the order of ~100 kW is also very limited. Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) linear accelerators (linacs) are commonly used at basic research laboratories throughout the world due to their exceptionally high efficiency as compared to current industrial varieties. Recent advances in cryogenics, SRF thin films and high-power magnetrons allow for the design of increasingly compact and efficient CW SRF electron linacs in the energy range 1-10 MeV, with up to 1 MW of beam power. A new class of compact, high-efficiency electron-beam accelerators may provide cost-effective solutions for a range of industrial and environmental remediation applications, particularly with respect to tackling one such class of contaminants so-called “forever chemicals”, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), which are ubiquitous in a wide range of products and for which there is currently no effective destruction technology. We have recently demonstrated the key technologies required for such accelerators by: 1) operating a Nb3Sn SRF accelerating cavity cooled by commercial cryocoolers up to an accelerating gradient of 12.4 MV/m and 2) demonstrating the phase-locking as well as a high-efficiency power combining scheme for industrial magnetron transmitters. In this presentation, we will introduce the principles and benefits of MW-class SRF linacs, based on the conduction-cooled SRF technology that we have demonstrated for environmental remediation. We propose the development of a 4 MeV, 20 kW prototype to be built at Jefferson Lab as a first accelerator demonstrator unit. We will also present the results from samples study on the effect of electron-beam irradiation on so-called “forever chemicals” such as 1,4-dioxane and PFAS, using an existing multi-purpose 10 MeV, low-power, CW SRF linac at Jefferson Lab.

Ciovati, Gianluigi↗

Field, Current and Heat Propagation inside Microprotrusions in High Gradient Structures

This paper presents two simple models describing field distribution inside a microprotrusion on the surface of the accelerating structures. After the distribution of electric field in the protrusion is determined heat propagation equation is solved to calculate temperature rise inside the protrusion. Several materials are studied and the results of heating are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Overview of High Power Vacuum Dry RF Load Designs

A specific feature of RF linacs based on the pulsed traveling wave (TW) mode of operation is that only a portion of the RF energy is used for the beam acceleration. The residual RF energy has to be terminated into an RF load. Higher accelerating gradients require higher RF sources and RF loads, which can stably terminate the residual RF power. RF feeders (from the RF source though the accelerating section to the load) are vacuumed to transmit multi-megawatt high power RF. This overview will outline vacuumed RF loads only. A common method to terminate multi-MW RF power is to use circulated water (or other liquid) as an absorbing medium. A solid dielectric interface (a high quality ceramic) is required to separate vacuum and liquid RF absorber mediums. Using such RF load approaches in TW linacs is troubling because there is a fragile ceramic window barrier and a failure could become catastrophic for linac vacuum and RF systems. Traditional loads comprising of a ceramic disk have limited peak and average power handling capability and are therefore not suitable for high gradient TW linacs. This overview will focus on ''vacuum dry'' or ''all-metal'' loads that do not employ any dielectric interface between vacuum and absorber. The first prototype is an original design of RF loads for the Stanford Two-Mile Accelerator.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

High Mg-content wurtzite MgZnO alloys and their application in deep-ultraviolet light-emitters pumped by accelerated electrons

High Mg-content single-phase wurtzite MgZnO alloys with a bandgap of 4.35 eV have been obtained on sapphire substrate by introducing a composition-gradient Mg{sub x}Zn{sub 1−x}O buffer layer. By employing the accelerated electrons obtained in a solid-state structure as an excitation source, an emission at around 285 nm, which is originated from the near-band-edge emission of the Mg{sub 0.51}Zn{sub 0.49}O active layer, has been observed. The results reported in this paper may provide a promising route to high performance deep-ultraviolet light-emitting devices by bypassing the challenging doping issues of wide bandgap semiconductors.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Electric Gradient Breakdown Results for the Orthogonal Box Cavity in a 3 T Magnetic Field

The Muon Collaboration (Palmer and D. Stratakis) has developed a theory for A method to suppress high electric field breakdown in vacuum cavities in high magnetic fields that are needed for a muon collider or neutrino factory. It has been shown in our studies and by others that high gradient electric field emitted electrons (dark current) are the primary cause of breakdown. A DC magnetic field orthogonal to the RF electric accelerating field prevents dark current high field emitted electrons from traveling across the accelerating gap and therefore will prevent breakdown. We have built a test cavity ( TM‐2473‐APC) in the shape of a box to test this theory . The results of the first study are presented.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗