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NASA NTRS1979

Description and orbit data of variable-conductance heat-pipe system for the communications technology satellite

A variable-conductance heat-pipe system (VCHPS) with methanol as the working fluid and a nitrogen and helium mixture as the control gas was used for the thermal control of a 200 W RF traveling wave tube of the Communication Technology Satellite. Three stainless steel heat pipes (one redundant) and an aluminum radiator were designed to transfer 196 watts for an evaporator temperature of 50 C. The system has operated for three years with no noticeable change in performance. On four occasions the heat pipes apparently deprimed. A short time after reducing the tube power, the heat pipes reprimed and the system continued to operate normally. The description, qualification testing, and orbit data of the VCHPS are presented.

Gedeon, L.↗

NASA NTRS1961

Sputtering of Metals by Mass-Analyzed N2(+) and N(+)

Low-energy sputtering studies were conducted with the help of a specially designed ion accelerator. A high-intensity rf ion source was developed for use in conjunction with electrostatic acceleration and magnetic mass separation of ion beams in the 0 to 8 kev energy range. Beams of N(+) or N2(+) ions have been produced with intensities of 200 to 500 micro-a (approx. 1 sq cm in cross section) and energy half-widths of about 20 ev. The sputtering yields of five metals (Cu, Ni, Fe, Mo, and W) were obtained as a function of energy (0-8 kev), bombarding ion (N(+) and N2(+)), and angle of incidence (normal and 450). Results are presented and some of their theoretical implications are discussed.

Bader, Michel↗

DOE OSTI2023

Status and future plans for C 3 R&D

C 3 is an opportunity to realize an e + e - collider for the study of the Higgs boson at √s = 250 GeV, with a well defined upgrade path to 550 GeV while staying on the same short facility footprint. C 3 is based on a fundamentally new approach to normal conducting linear accelerators that achieves both high gradient and high efficiency at relatively low cost. Given the advanced state of linear collider designs, the key system that requires technical maturation for C 3 is the main linac. This paper presents the staged approach towards a facility to demonstrate C 3 technology with both Direct (source and main linac) and Parallel (beam delivery, damping ring, ancillary component) R&D. The primary goal of the C 3 Demonstration R&D Plan is to reduce technical and cost risk by building and operating the key components of C 3 at an adequate scale. This R&D plan starts with the engineering design, and demonstration of one cryomodule and will culminate in the construction of a 3 cryomodule linac with pre-production prototypes. This R&D program would also demonstrate the linac rf fundamentals including achievable gradient and gradient stability over a full electron bunch train and breakdown rates. It will also investigate beam dynamics including energy spread, wakefields, and emittance growth. This work will be critical to confirm the suitability of the C 3 beam parameters for the physics reach and detector performance in preparation for a Conceptual Design Report (CDR), as well as for follow-on technology development and industrialization. The C 3 Demonstration R&D Plan will open up significant new scientific and technical opportunities based on development of high-gradient and high-efficiency accelerator technology. It will push this technology to operate both at the GeV scale and mature the technology to be reliable and provide high-brightness electron beams. The timeline for progressing with C 3 technology development will be governed by practical limitations on both the technical progress and resource availability. It consists of four stages: Stage 0) Ongoing fundamental R&D on structure prototypes, damping and vibrations. Stage 1) Advancing the engineering maturity of the design and developing start-to-end simulations including space-charge and wakefield effects. This stage will include testing of strucutres operating at cryogenic temperatures. Beam tests would be performed with high beam current to test full beam loading. Stage 2) Production and testing of the first cryomodule at cryogenic temperatures. This would provide sufficient experimental data to compile a CDR and it is anticipated for Stage 2 to last 3 years and to culminate with the transport of photo-electrons through the first cryomodule. Stage 3) Updates to the engineering design of the cryomodules, production of the second and third cryomodule and their installation. Lower charge and lower emittance beams will be used to investigate emittance growth. The successful full demonstration of the 3 cryomodules to deliver up to a 3 GeV beam and achieve the C 3 five gradient will allow a comprehensive and robust evaluation of the technical design of C 3 as well as mitigate technical, schedule, and cost risks required to proceed with a Technical Design Report (TDR).

radiation hardened magnets↗

DOE OSTI2024

Conceptual design of a high reactive-power ferroelectric fast reactive tuner

We present a novel design of a ferroelectric fast reactive tuner (FE-FRT) capable of modulating mega-VAR reactive power on a submicrosecond timescale. The high reactive power capability of our design extends the range of applications of reactive tuners to numerous applications. We present a detailed analytical model of the performance of a megawatt-class reactive power device and benchmark it against finite-element method eigenmode and frequency domain electromagnetic simulations. We introduce new features, including an annulus design for the ferroelectric capacitors and capacitive window coupling to the cavity. We consider thermal design issues and nonlinear effects in the ferroelectric. The model covers several configurations, allowing control of the frequency of superconducting and normal-conducting cavities in a variety of applications and frequencies. We calculate that the FE-FRT designed should be capable of handling around 0.45 MVAR of reactive power with around 3 kW of resistive losses, providing a frequency tuning range of 8 kHz in an example of 400 MHz cavity geometry. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Unconventional ideas for ionization cooling of muons

Small muon beams increase the luminosity of a muon collider. Reducing the momentum and position spreads of muons reduces emittance and leads to small, cool beams. Ionization cooling has been observed at the Muon Ionization Cooling Experiment. 6D emittance reduction by a factor of 100, 000 has been achieved in simulation. Another factor of 5 in cooling would meet the basic requirements of a high luminosity muon collider. In this paper we compare, for the first time, the amount of RF needed in a cooling channel to previous linacs. Here, we also outline three methods aimed to help achieve a final factor of 5 in 6D cooling.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Human perceptions of colour rendition vary with average fidelity, average gamut, and gamut shape

An experiment was conducted to evaluate how subjective impressions of color quality vary with changes in average fidelity, average gamut, and gamut shape (which considers the specific hues that are saturated or desaturated). Twenty-eight participants each evaluated 26 lighting conditions—created using four, seven-channel, tunable LED luminaires—in a 3.1 m by 3.7 m room filled with objects selected to cover a range of hue, saturation, and lightness. IES TM-30 fidelity index (Rf) values ranged from 64 to 93, IES TM-30 gamut index (Rg¬) values from 79 to 117, and IES TM-30 Rcs,h1 values (a proxy for gamut shape) from -19% to 26%. All lighting conditions delivered the same nominal illuminance and chromaticity. Participants were asked to rate each condition on eight point semantic differential scales for saturated-dull, normal-shifted, and like-dislike. They were also asked one multiple choice question, classifying the condition as saturated, dull, normal, or shifted. The findings suggest that gamut shape is more important than average gamut for human preference, where reds play a more important role than other hues. Additionally, average fidelity alone is a poor predictor of human perceptions, although Rf was somewhat better than CIE Ra. The most preferred source had a CIE Ra value of 68, and 9 of the top 12 rated products had a CIE Ra value of 73 or less, which indicates that the commonly used criteria of CIE Ra ≥ 80 may be excluding a majority of preferred light sources.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2021

A model investigation of the impact of lower hybrid wave scattering angle on current drive profile in EAST and Alcator C-Mod

Lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) is beneficial for developing a steady-state operation scenario in a tokamak. This paper conducts a modeling investigation to identify an optimum rotation angle of the initial lower hybrid perpendicular (to the background magnetic field $\overrightarrow{B}$) wavevector for best matching the experimental RF current profile. It is hypothesized that central RF power deposition widely observed in the present-day LHCD experiments arises from wave scattering by turbulence. In a standard model without considering such interactions, the predicted power deposition profile is generally broad with off-axis peaking, not in agreement with experimental observations. A heuristic approach is adopted by introducing a spectral broadening mechanism by modifying the initial orientation of the perpendicular wavevector. The ray-tracing/Fokker–Planck solver GENRAY/CQL3D is utilized within the python-based π-scope framework. A focus is given to identify the perpendicular wavenumber orientation angle with respect to the magnetic surface normal vector at the initial ray location. Our modeling study shows that rotating the perpendicular wavevector in such a way as to increase the initial poloidal component is effective in reproducing the centrally peaked current profile observed in normal shear plasmas on both EAST and C-Mod. These waves can readily be absorbed to the central plasma, which reduces the sensitivity of the power deposition profile to a slight change of the plasma condition. The same approach is also found to help broaden the off-axis power deposition profile in a reverse-shear EAST plasma, leading to a better agreement with the experiment. The results presented here suggest that spectral modification arising from edge density fluctuations in a tokamak may need to be considered in understanding wave propagation and absorption. A further experimental and theoretical/modeling study is vital as a reverse approach is adopted in this study. Finally, our work suggests that mitigation or control measures are critical for parasitic effects occurring on the first pass in a reactor regime.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2011

Near-ideal emittance exchange at the Fermilab Photoinjector

The A0 Photoinjector at Fermilab is presently home to an emittance exchange (EEX) experiment. The emittance exchange beamline consists of a 3.9 GHz normal conducting deflecting mode cavity flanked by two doglegs. Electron bunches with charges of 250 pC and energy of 14.3 MeV are routinely sent through the exchanger. Here we present results of a 1:1 transverse and longitudinal emittance exchange. The advent of synchrotron radiation light sources and free electron lasers (FEL) has been a boon to a wide range of disciplines, resulting in a constantly increasing demand for brighter sources and better resolution. This demand translates to requirements on the properties of the underlying electron beams which produce the light. In particular, one is driven to find ways to precisely manipulate the phase space volume of the beam to optimize it for the desired application. Motivated by the FEL requirement for a small transverse emittance, Cornacchia and Emma developed a transverse/longitudinal emittance exchange concept using a deflecting mode rf cavity located in the dispersive section of a magnetic chicane. This method however, contained residual couplings between the two dimensions, leading Kim to propose a modified version which removed that coupling and resulted in a complete exchange. In this configuration, the deflecting mode cavity is placed between two magnetic doglegs thereby removing the afore-mentioned coupling term. We have used this beamline with upgraded diagnostics to measure a near-ideal 1:1 emittance exchange.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Human Perceptions of Colour Rendition at Different Chromaticities

An experiment was conducted to evaluate how subjective impressions of a light source’s color quality depend upon color rendition and chromaticity. Thirty-three participants each evaluated 50 lighting scenes in a 3.7 m by 5.5 m room filled with objects selected to cover a range of hue, saturation, and lightness. The lighting scenes included five chromaticity groups, specified here using correlated color temperature (CCT) and Duv¬: 2700 K, 0.000; 2700 K, -0.007; 3500 K, 0.000; 4300 K, 0.000; 4300 K, -0.007. Within each group were the same 10 systematically-varied color rendition conditions. The Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) TM-30-15 Fidelity Index (Rf) values ranged from 60 to 93, IES TM-30 Gamut Index (Rg) values from 88 to 124, and IES TM-30 Hue Angle Bin 1 Chroma Shift (Rcs,h1) values from -15% to 28%. All lighting scenes had the same nominal illuminance. Participants were asked to rate each scene on eight point scales for saturated-dull, normal-shifted, and like-dislike, as well as choosing whether they found the scenes to be acceptable or unacceptable. The findings suggest that color rendition preferences can vary with chromaticity, but do not support absolute preferences for negative Duv values. At 4300 K, there was no difference in rated preference, saturation, normalness, or acceptability between the two groups with different Duv values. However, at 2700 K, there was a significant difference for all four perceptions, with the negative Duv sources being rated more liked (on average)—and for nine of the ten individual color rendition conditions. Further, across all levels of red chroma shift—according to TM-30 values Rcs,h1, Rcs,h15, and Rcs,h16—the room was rated as more saturated at 2700 K than at 3500 K or 4300 K (regardless of Duv); in turn, increases in red saturation were less preferred and less acceptable at 2700 K than the other CCTs. The differences in ratings between the chromaticity groups were substantially smaller than the range in ratings for the 10 color rendition conditions in each group, and on average the best fit model uses a combination of Rf, Rcs,h16, and potentially Rg. Despite the differences in ratings for chromaticity groups, a set of criteria identified in previous research for preferred color rendition in this generic application could be used for all groups. Those criteria are Rf = 74, -1% = Rcs,h1 = 15%, and Rg = 100.

Royer, Michael P.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Implicit and coupled fluid plasma solver with adaptive Cartesian mesh and its applications to non-equilibrium gas discharges

In this work, we present a new fluid plasma solver with adaptive Cartesian mesh (ACM) based on a full-Newton (nonlinear, implicit) scheme for non-equilibrium gas discharge plasma. The electrons and ions are described using drift-diffusion approximation coupled to Poisson equation for the electric field. The electron-energy transport equation is solved to account for electron thermal conductivity, Joule heating, and energy loss of electrons in collisions with neutral species. The rate of electron-induced ionization is a function of electron temperature and could also depend on electron density (important for plasma stratification). The ion and gas temperature are kept constant. The transport equations are discretized using a non-isothermal Scharfetter-Gummel scheme to resolve possible large temperature gradients in the sheaths. We demonstrate the new solver for simulations of direct current (DC) and radiofrequency (RF) discharges. The implicit treatment of the coupled equations allows using large time steps. The full-Newton method (FNM) enables fast nonlinear convergence at each time step, offering significantly improved simulation efficiency. We discuss the selection of time steps for solving different plasma problems. The new solver enables solving several problems we could not solve before with existing software: two- and three-dimensional structures of the entire DC discharges including cathode and anode regions, electric field reversals and double-layer formation, the normal cathode spot and an anode ring, moving striations in diffuse and constricted DC discharges, and standing striations in RF discharges. The developed FNM-ACM technique offers many benefits for tackling the disparity of gas discharge plasma systems' time scales and nonlinearity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

NASA NTRS2003

Developing Antimatter Containment Technology: Modeling Charged Particle Oscillations in a Penning-Malmberg Trap

The NASA MSFC Propulsion Research Center (PRC) is conducting a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage confinement electrode system, and an ultra high vacuum test section; designed with an ultimate goal of maintaining charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being experimentally evaluated using normal matter ions which are cheap to produce and relatively easy to handle and provide a good indication of overall trap behavior, with the exception of assessing annihilation losses. Computational particle-in-cell plasma modeling using the XOOPIC code is supplementing the experiments. Differing electrode voltage configurations are employed to contain charged particles, typically using flat, modified flat and harmonic potential wells. Ion cloud oscillation frequencies are obtained experimentally by amplification of signals induced on the electrodes by the particle motions. XOOPIC simulations show that for given electrode voltage configurations, the calculated charged particle oscillation frequencies are close to experimental measurements. As a two-dimensional axisymmetric code, XOOPIC cannot model azimuthal plasma variations, such as those induced by radio-frequency (RF) modulation of the central quadrupole electrode in experiments designed to enhance ion cloud containment. However, XOOPIC can model analytically varying electric potential boundary conditions and particle velocity initial conditions. Application of these conditions produces ion cloud axial and radial oscillation frequency modes of interest in achieving the goal of optimizing HiPAT for reliable containment of antiprotons.

Chakrabarti, S.↗

DOE OSTI2011

A Compact X-Band Linac for an X-Ray FEL

With the growing demand for FEL light sources, cost issues are being reevaluated. To make the machines more compact, higher frequency room temperature linacs are being considered, specifically ones using C-band (5.7 GHz) rf technology, for which 40 MV/m gradients are achievable. In this paper, we show that an X-band (11.4 GHz) linac using the technology developed for NLC/GLC can provide an even lower cost solution. In particular, stable operation is possible at gradients of 100 MV/m for single bunch operation and 70 MV/m for multibunch operation. The concern, of course, is whether the stronger wakefields will lead to unacceptable emittance dilution. However, we show that the small emittances produced in a 250 MeV, low bunch charge, LCLS-like S-band injector and bunch compressor can be preserved in a multi-GeV X-band linac with reasonable alignment tolerances. The successful lasing and operation of the LCLS [1] has generated world-wide interest in X-ray FELs. The demand for access to such a light source by researchers eager to harness the capabilities of this new tool far exceeds the numbers that can be accommodated, spurring plans for additional facilities. Along with cost, spatial considerations become increasingly important for a hard X-ray machine driven by a multi-GeV linac. The consequent need for high acceleration gradient focuses attention on higher frequency normal conducting accelerator technology, rather than the superconducting technology of a soft X-ray facility like FLASH. C-band technology, such as used by Spring-8, is a popular option, capable of providing 40 MV/m. However, more than a decade of R&D toward an X-band linear collider, centered at SLAC and KEK, has demonstrated that this frequency option can extend the gradient reach to the 70-100 MV/m range. The following design and beam dynamics calculations show an X-band linac to be an attractive choice on which to base an X-ray FEL.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2026

Contextual modeling and Bayesian Optimization for Improved Injection at the Fermilab Booster

The Fermilab accelerator complex delivers high-intensity proton beams to serve the lab’s neutrino, muon, and fixed-target programs. A normal-conducting Linac accelerates H− beam to 400 MeV and injects into the Booster rapid cycling synchrotron via charge exchange, which accelerates protons to 8 GeV. Injection from the Linac into the Booster is a critical area for high-power performance of the Fermilab proton complex. The Booster is a high-intensity proton ring with extreme space-charge forces which necessitates precise control over the beam losses through the acceleration cycle. The main challenge for the reliability of Booster performance is compensating for drifting conditions in the beam from the Linac, which can drift daily in energy by up to O(1) MeV w.r.t. design. Drifts in Linac orbit and energy must be corrected to match the Booster, while simultaneously accommodating interdependent drifts in transverse and longitudinal beam quality. Operationally, compensation for these changes is addressed by manual tuning of the Linac output energy and/or Booster acceptance, which can be inefficient and time-consuming. This works describes contextual Bayesian Optimization for injection tuning that takes into account the state of Linac beam via information from instrumentation in the injection line (Beam position monitors (BPMs), beam loss monitors (BLMs), wire scanners for transverse profiles (WSs)), as well as RF cavity setting parameters from the Linac.

Sharankova, R. [Fermilab] (ORCID:000000027014593X)↗

DOE OSTI2016

Ex Vivo Liver Experiment of Hydrochloric Acid-Infused and Saline-Infused Monopolar Radiofrequency Ablation: Better Outcomes in Temperature, Energy, and Coagulation

ObjectiveTo compare temperature, energy, and coagulation between hydrochloric acid-infused radiofrequency ablation (HAIRFA) and normal saline-infused radiofrequency ablation (NSIRFA) in ex vivo porcine liver model.Materials and Methods30 fresh porcine livers were excised in 60 lesions, 30 with HAIRFA and the other 30 with NSIRFA. Both modalities used monopolar perfusion electrode connected to a RF generator set at 103 °C and 30 W. In each group, ablation time was set at 10, 20, or 30 min (10 lesions from each group at each time). We compared tissue temperatures (at 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, and 3.0 cm away from the electrode tip), average power, deposited energy, deposited energy per coagulation volume (DEV), coagulation diameters, coagulative volume, and spherical ratio between the two groups.ResultsTemperature–time curves showed that HAIRFA provided progressively greater heating than that of NSIRFA. At 30 min, mean average power, deposited energy, coagulation volumes (113.67 vs. 12.28 cm{sup 3}) and diameters, and increasing in tissue temperature were much greater with HAIRFA (P < 0.001 for all), except DEV was lower (456 vs. 1396 J/cm{sup 3}, P < 0.001). The spherical ratio was closer to 1 with HAIRFA (1.23 vs. 1.46). Coagulation diameters, volume, and average power of HAIRFA increased significantly with longer ablation times. While with NSIRFA, these characteristics were stable till later 20 min, except the power decreased with longer ablation times.ConclusionsHAIRFA creates much larger and more spherical lesions by increasing overall energy deposition, modulating thermal conductivity, and transferring heat during ablation.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

NASA NTRS2013

Passivation of Flexible YBCO Superconducting Current Lead With Amorphous SiO2 Layer

Adiabatic demagnetization refrigerators (ADR) are operated in space to cool detectors of cosmic radiation to a few 10s of mK. A key element of the ADR is a superconducting magnet operating at about 0.3 K that is continually energized and de-energized in synchronism with a thermal switch, such that a piece of paramagnetic salt is alternately warm in a high magnetic field and cold in zero magnetic field. This causes the salt pill or refrigerant to cool, and it is able to suck heat from an object, e.g., the sensor, to be cooled. Current has to be fed into and out of the magnets from a dissipative power supply at the ambient temperature of the spacecraft. The current leads that link the magnets to the power supply inevitably conduct a significant amount of heat into the colder regions of the supporting cryostat, resulting in the need for larger, heavier, and more powerful supporting refrigerators. The aim of this project was to design and construct high-temperature superconductor (HTS) leads from YBCO (yttrium barium copper oxide) composite conductors to reduce the heat load significantly in the temperature regime below the critical temperature of YBCO. The magnet lead does not have to support current in the event that the YBCO ceases to be superconducting. Cus - tomarily, a normal metal conductor in parallel with the YBCO is a necessary part of the lead structure to allow for this upset condition; however, for this application, the normal metal can be dispensed with. Amorphous silicon dioxide is deposited directly onto the surface of YBCO, which resides on a flexible substrate. The silicon dioxide protects the YBCO from chemically reacting with atmospheric water and carbon dioxide, thus preserving the superconducting properties of the YBCO. The customary protective coating for flexible YBCO conductors is silver or a silver/gold alloy, which conducts heat many orders of magnitude better than SiO2 and so limits the use of such a composite conductor for passing current across a thermal gradient with as little flow of heat as possible to make an efficient current lead. By protecting YBCO on a flexible substrate of low thermal conductivity with SiO2, a thermally efficient and flexible current lead can be fabricated. The technology is also applicable to current leads for 4 K superconducting electronics current biasing. A commercially available thin-film YBCO composite tape conductor is first stripped of its protective silver coating. It is then mounted on a jig that holds the sample flat and acts as a heat sink. Silicon dioxide is then deposited onto the YBCO to a thickness of about 1 micron using PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition), without heating the YBCO to the point where degradation occurs. Since SiO2 can have good high-frequency electrical properties, it can be used to coat YBCO cable structures used to feed RF signals across temperature gradients. The prime embodiment concerns the conduction of DC current across the cryogenic temperature gradient. The coating is hard and electrically insulating, but flexible.

Johannes, Daniel↗

DOE OSTI2024

Test and Validate Distributed Coaxial Cable Sensors for in situ Condition Monitoring of Coal-Fired Boiler Tubes

This project aims to test, validate, and advance the technology readiness level (from TRL5 to TRL7) of a novel low-cost distributed stainless-steel/ceramic coaxial cable sensing (SSC-CCS) technology for in situ monitoring of the boiler tube temperature in existing coal-fired power plants. The novel SSC-CCS sensing technology and associated condition-based monitoring (CBM) software to be demonstrated in this project will lead to an improved understanding of the boiler tube failure mechanisms and a prognostic system to improve the overall performance, reliability, and flexibility of the nation’s coal-fired power plant fleet. A boiler tube monitoring system with distributed coaxial cable temperature sensors and a sensor acquisition system was constructed. The high-temperature coaxial cable sensor with a length of 1.3m was made by using a quartz tube (1mm inner diameter (ID) and 6mm outer diameter (OD)) to concentrically separate a 304 stainless-steel (SS) rod (1mm OD) and SS tube (7.94mm OD and 6.16mm ID). The sensor acquisition system includes a vector network analyzer (VNA), a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier, multiple switches and a USB hub. The distributed stainless-steel quartz coaxial cable sensor (SSQ-CCS) had a linear response to temperature with a resolution uncertainty of σ = 0.77℃. To withstand the harsh conditions of 3,300 steam pressures and 800℃ high temperatures, the sensor was shielded by a protective tube made of the same material as the boiler tube. The protection tube had an OD of 1.5 inches and a thickness of 0.25 inches. In the laboratory tests, the sensor showed good sensitivity and fast response. The drift was bounded between +0.33% and -0.67% during a test at 600℃ for 350 hours, indicating good stability of the sensor. A field test was conducted where four sensors were welded on four superheat tubes (SH-Ts) at a coal-fired power station over 400 days. Conventional thermocouples were welded to the superheater tubes alongside the coaxial cable sensors for the purpose of comparison. Two sensors were capable of distributed sensing, with three multiplexed sensing sections. The other two sensors were single section. During the 400-day test period, the power plant experienced startups and shutdowns. At the steady state operations, the temperature of the boiler tube is about 600℃ (1112°F). The sensors recorded the entire coal-firing processes (start-up, steady state, and shut-down) and the glitch event. A GSM modem and a Watchdog were added to the system to ensure reliable data recording. The GSM modem sent daily messages to plant managers and Clemson team to inform the status of the sensor system. If the system was not normally working, the Watchdog would reboot the system automatically. The new coaxial cable based distributed sensing technology has been proven to be successful in both laboratory and field tests. A comprehensive four-stage multi-physics computational framework has been developed to assist the design, optimization, installation, and operation of SSQ-CCS. With the consideration of various operation conditions, we predict the distributions of flue gas temperatures within coal-fired boilers, the temperature correlation between the boiler tube and SSQ-CCS, and the safety of SSQ-CCS. A conditional-based monitoring system is implemented as well. The computational framework developed in this work can guide the future operation of coal-fired plants and other power plants for the safety prediction of boiler operations.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗