Localized Beam Induced Heating Analysis of the EIC Vacuum Chamber Components
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A method of purifying brackish water includes mixing brackish water with a nucleating agent, forming nucleated liquid water and distributing droplets of the nucleated liquid water inside a vacuum chamber, vacuum freezing the droplets of the nucleated liquid water in the vacuum chamber. The method further includes the droplets forming pure water vapor, nucleated ice, and remaining brackish water, mixing and liquifying the pure water vapor and the nucleated ice, forming a mixture of purified liquid water and the nucleating agent. The method further includes separating the mixture of purified liquid water and the nucleating agent, forming purified liquid water and the nucleating agent.
Survey of large space chambers - vacuum chambers to simulate space environment
Elliptical hatch designed to move through hatchway to make pressure-assisted seal with either side of bulkhead. Compact three-degree-of-freedom mechanism guides hatch through hatchway or holds hatch off to one side to facilitate passage of crew and/or equipment. Hatches and mechanisms used in submarines, pressure chambers (including hyperbaric treatment chambers), vacuum chambers, and vacuum-or-pressure test chambers.
Ground facilities for hypersonic research are a key element for successful development of aerodynamically proven hypervelocity vehicles. Design concepts and diagnostics of a hypervelocity flow generator (HFG) were made as a test platform for hypersonic/hypervelocity spacecraft models at the NASA Langley Research Center. The HFG is a hypersonic flow field generator using optically heated gas which is blown into an 80 cu m vacuum chamber. The vacuum chamber is kept at a stable vacuum pressure with a combination of three large vacuum pumps, while the HFG is in the test mode. The HFG provides a relatively small test section with approximately a 20 cm window. This facility was designed to generate 2.45 km/sec of flow speed, and potentially generate a continuous flow with the nozzle and vacuum system. The window in test section provides a direct view of the shock wave around a model in order to measure temperature, pressure, and density profile within the shock layer. One of the key test goals under this project is to understand why the emission spectra from the standing shockwave plasma predicted by Lora-Loran codes are significantly different from the measured emission spectra from the Flight Investigation Reentry Environment (FIRE II) Flight. The correct estimate of the thermal loading on the leading edge of hypersonic vehicles greatly affects the aerodynamic design, the material selection for the vehicle, and the cooling requirement and can be obtained by the precise modeling of emission spectra from shockwave plasma. However, the estimation of thermal loading is not an easy task due to complex non-equilibrium radiative process within high temperature shock layers that still falls into a category of cold plasma. Direct flight experiments are the most desirable, but not a cost-effective approach. Analysis by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) offers many test flexibilities. However, the CFD codes must be fully tested and validated with experimental data before the codes are effectively used for practical design. Large discrepancies between experiments and codes appear in hypersonic/hypervelocity flow regimes at high altitudes of 60 km ~ 90 km. This HFG facility offers some important parameters for CFD code validation, such as collision cross-sections, relaxation times, reaction rate coefficients and transportation coefficients. The HFG test facility is based on the ejection flow of high temperature gas heated over to 3500 K through a nozzle. The tungsten gas chamber of the HFG is heated up to a desired temperature by a 60 kW optical power beam source. This system consists of an optical power source, a thermal chamber, an expansion nozzle, a test section, and an 80 cu m vacuum tank. 60 kW optical input power is obtained from the 150 kW Vortek arc lamp system (by Vortek Industries, Vancouver, Canada). This optical beam is focused to heat the gas chamber within which a flow media is heated. The maximum achievable temperature of the flow medium reached approximately 3500 K or even higher but is limited by the melting point of the chamber material used. The exhaust velocity through the nozzle was determined by the stagnation temperature and the molecular weight of the working medium at the test section. To provide design parameters, a NASA Chemical Equilibrium with Application (CEA) computer program is used for the simulation of aerothermal data. This CEA program can calculate chemical equilibrium and properties of complex mixtures using shock tube parameters. For nitrogen gas at 2666 K stagnation temperature, the maximum achievable velocity at the test section is approximately 2.45 km/sec which is within the range of the thermal velocity of 8000 K shock layer. Based on the calculation through the CEA program, the design parameters of a HFG were determined and implemented for the test section that includes an expansion nozzle. The installed test section of the experimental facility can sustain a condition of a re-entry vehicle from the Space at an altitude of 60-90 km. After installation of the HFG, the system was fully tested and its operational parameters were measured. An 80 cu m vacuum chamber of HFG was set at 1 torr level to keep a stable downstream condition. The pumping time to reach the minimum vacuum pressure (~ 1 torr) at the test chamber from atmospheric pressure was approximately an hour using Kinney (MBV-14000/MB -1600/KT-300) and Stokes (Model 1772 and 412) pumps. Such a setup condition allowed a continued stable operation of the HFG experiment with flowrates through 1-, 3-, or 5-mm diameters of nozzle throat. The flow characteristics of the HFG for various operating conditions were performed using a focused Schlieren method. At 0.8 torr chamber pressure, a barrel shock was observed at the test section. With a sphere obstacle of 12 mm diameter in the flow, a bow shock (~ 2-mm thickness) was observed by a focused Schlieren visualization method.
Ultrahigh vacuum chamber with liquid-helium-cooled liner for space environment simulation
NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is developing fission power system technology for future Lunar and Martian surface power applications. The systems are envisioned in the 10 to 100kWe range and have an anticipated design life of 8 to 15 years with no maintenance. NASA GRC is currently setting up a 55 kWe non-nuclear system ground test in thermal-vacuum to validate technologies required to transfer reactor heat, convert the heat into electricity, reject waste heat, process the electrical output, and demonstrate overall system performance. The paper reports on the development of the heat pipe radiator to reject the waste heat from the Stirling convertors. Reducing the radiator mass, size, and cost is essential to the success of the program. To meet these goals, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) and Vanguard Space Technologies, Inc. (VST) are developing a single facesheet radiator with heat pipes directly bonded to the facesheet. The facesheet material is a graphite fiber reinforced composite (GFRC) and the heat pipes are titanium/water Variable Conductance Heat Pipes (VCHPs). By directly bonding a single facesheet to the heat pipes, several heavy and expensive components can be eliminated from the traditional radiator design such as, POCO"TM" foam saddles, aluminum honeycomb, and a second facesheet. As mentioned in previous papers by the authors, the final design of the waste heat radiator is described as being modular with independent GFRC panels for each heat pipe. The present paper reports on test results for a single radiator module as well as a radiator cluster consisting of eight integral modules. These tests were carried out in both ambient and vacuum conditions. While the vacuum testing of the single radiator module was performed in the ACT's vacuum chamber, the vacuum testing of the eight heat pipe radiator cluster took place in NASA GRC's vacuum chamber to accommodate the larger size of the cluster. The results for both articles show good agreement with the predictions and are presented in the paper.
A portable electron-beam free-form fabrication (EB F3) system, now undergoing development, is intended to afford a capability for manufacturing metal parts in nearly net sizes and shapes. Although the development effort is oriented toward the eventual use of systems like this one to supply spare metal parts aboard spacecraft in flight, the basic system design could also be adapted to terrestrial applications in which there are requirements to supply spare parts on demand at locations remote from warehouses and conventional manufacturing facilities. Prior systems that have been considered for satisfying the same requirements (including prior free-form fabrication systems) are not easily portable because of their bulk and massive size. The mechanical properties of the components that such systems produce are often inferior to the mechanical properties of the corresponding original, conventionally fabricated components. In addition, the prior systems are not efficient in the utilization of energy and of feedstock. In contrast, the present developmental system is designed to be sufficiently compact and lightweight to be easily portable, to utilize both energy and material more efficiently, and to produce components that have mechanical properties approximating those of the corresponding original components. The developmental EB F3 system will include a vacuum chamber and associated vacuum pumps, an electron-beam gun and an associated power supply, a multiaxis positioning subsystem, a precise wire feeder, and an instrumentation system for monitoring and control. The electron-beam gun, positioning subsystem, and wire feeder will be located inside the vacuum chamber (see figure). The electron beam gun and the wire feeder will be mounted in fixed positions inside the domed upper portion of the vacuum chamber. The positioning subsystem and ports for the vacuum pumps will be located on a base that could be dropped down to provide full access to the interior of the chamber when not under vacuum. During operation, wire will be fed to a fixed location, entering the melted pool created by the electron beam. Heated by the electron beam, the wire will melt and fuse to either the substrate or with the previously deposited metal wire fused on top of the positioning table. Based on a computer aided design (CAD) model and controlled by a computer, the positioning subsystem
The 1238 Thermal Vacuum Bakeout Chamber is used to test materials to determine if they meet space program contamination requirements. The system was previously manual in its operation, in that there was no supervisory control system and therefore, no means for automated operation. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) requested that its operation be automated. The subsequent process implemented involved a hybrid scenario that included existing hardware, a distributed input and output (I/O) system and a graphical user interface (GUI).
Embodiments are directed generally to an ionizing-radiation beamline monitoring system that includes a vacuum chamber structure with vacuum compatible flanges through which an incident ionizing-radiation beam enters the monitoring system. Embodiments further include at least one scintillator within the vacuum chamber structure that can be at least partially translated in the ionizing-radiation beam while oriented at an angle greater than 10 degrees to a normal of the incident ionizing-radiation beam, a machine vision camera coupled to a light-tight structure at atmospheric/ambient pressure that is attached to the vacuum chamber structure by a flange attached to a vacuum-tight viewport window with the camera and lens optical axis oriented at an angle of less than 80 degrees with respect to a normal of the scintillator, and at least one ultraviolet (“UV”) illumination source facing the scintillator in the ionizing-radiation beam for monitoring a scintillator stability comprising scintillator radiation damage.
Embodiments are directed generally to an ionizing-radiation beamline monitoring system that includes a vacuum chamber structure with vacuum compatible flanges through which an incident ionizing-radiation beam enters the monitoring system. Embodiments further include at least one scintillator within the vacuum chamber structure that can be at least partially translated in the ionizing-radiation beam while oriented at an angle greater than 10 degrees to a normal of the incident ionizing-radiation beam, a machine vision camera coupled to a light-tight structure at atmospheric/ambient pressure that is attached to the vacuum chamber structure by a flange attached to a vacuum-tight viewport window with the camera and lens optical axis oriented at an angle of less than 80 degrees with respect to a normal of the scintillator, and at least one ultraviolet (“UV”) illumination source facing the scintillator in the ionizing-radiation beam for monitoring a scintillator stability comprising scintillator radiation damage.
A system includes a collimated beam source within a vacuum chamber, a condensable barrier gas, cooling material, a pump, and isolation chambers cooled by the cooling material to condense the barrier gas. Pressure levels of each isolation chamber are substantially greater than in the vacuum chamber. Coaxially-aligned orifices connect a working chamber, the isolation chambers, and the vacuum chamber. The pump evacuates uncondensed barrier gas. The barrier gas blocks entry of atmospheric vapor from the working chamber into the isolation chambers, and undergoes supersonic flow expansion upon entering each isolation chamber. A method includes connecting the isolation chambers to the vacuum chamber, directing vapor to a boundary with the working chamber, and supersonically expanding the vapor as it enters the isolation chambers via the orifices. The vapor condenses in each isolation chamber using the cooling material, and uncondensed vapor is pumped out of the isolation chambers via the pump.
A containment apparatus for containing a cloud of charged particles comprises a cylindrical vacuum chamber having a longitudinal axis. Within the vacuum chamber is a containment region. A magnetic field is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vacuum chamber. The magnetic field is time invariant and uniform in strength over the containment region. An electric field is also aligned with the longitudinal axis of the vacuum chamber and the magnetic field. The electric field is time invariant, and forms a potential well over the containment region. One or more means are disposed around the cloud of particles for inducing a rotating electric field internal to the vacuum chamber. The rotating electric field imparts energy to the charged particles within the containment region and compress the cloud of particles. The means disposed around the outer surface of the vacuum chamber for inducing a rotating electric field are four or more segments forming a segmented ring, the segments conforming to the outer surface of the vacuum chamber. Each of the segments is energized by a separate alternating voltage. The sum of the voltages imposed on each segment establishes the rotating field. When four segments form a ring, the rotating field is obtained by a signal generator applying a sinusoidal signal phase delayed by 90,180 and 270 degrees in sequence to the four segments.
Vacuum plasma spray (VPS) has been demonstrated as a method to form combustion chambers from copper alloys NARloy-Z and GRCop-84. Vacuum plasma spray forming is of particular interest in the forming of CuCrNb alloys such as GRCop-84, developed by NASA s Glenn Research Center, because the alloy cannot be formed using conventional casting and forging methods. This limitation is related to the levels of chromium and niobium in the alloy, which exceed the solubility limit in copper. Until recently, the only forming process that maintained the required microstructure of CrNb intermetallics was powder metallurgy formation of a billet from powder stock, followed by extrusion. This severely limits its usefulness in structural applications, particularly the complex shapes required for combustion chamber liners. This paper discusses the techniques used to form combustion chambers from CuCrNb and NARloy-Z, which will be used in regeneratively cooled liquid rocket combustion chambers.
Large vacuum chamber requirements for future space and lunar environment simulation
Vacuum plasma spray (VPS) formed Cu-8Cr-4Nb alloy, with low oxygen, exhibits higher strength at room and elevated temperature than material formed by extrusion. The VPS formed material exhibits slightly lower ductility than the extruded material. VPS forming of Cu-8Cr-4Nb can be used to produce near net structures with mechanical properties comparable to current extruded material.
The crystal slicing method is described as follows. A crystal is sliced in a plane parallel to flat, opposed parallel end faces of the crystal. The end faces of the crystal are gripped by a pair of opposed, perforated platens of a pair of vacuum chambers, one of which is translatable relative to the other. A blade cuts the crystal through the desired plane. A spring biases one of the vacuum chambers away from the other vacuum chamber while both of the faces are gripped by the vacuum chambers and the blade is cleaving the crystal. A sliced portion of the crystal gripped by one of the vacuum chambers is pulled away from the remainder of the crystal gripped by the second vacuum chamber when the crystal was cleaved by the blade through the plane.