Alimentador i lubricador de planxa metàl·lica

En aquest projecte es realitza el disseny d’un conjunt de dues màquines per la indústria auxiliar de l’alimentació. Es tracta del disseny de dues màquines que formen part del procés de fabricació de tapes metàl·liques per aliments en conserva en pots de vidre. La primera realitza l’alimentació, càrrega, de la matèria prima, planxes metàl·liques, a la línia de fabricació; la segona màquina lubrifica la superfície superior de les planxes per el seu posterior tall i embotició de d’aquestes mitjançant una premsa. Les dues màquines es troben integrades en una línia completa de maquinària per a la fabricació d’aquest tipus de tapes. Es tracta d’aconseguir un nou concepte en el disseny d’aquest tipus de maquinària per tal de modernitzar significativament els dissenys precedents ja una mica desfasats. També s’han d’aconseguir uns dissenys més barats, amb menys peces mecanitzades i optar cap al què ofereix el mercat sobretot per estructures per crear el cossos de les màquines. Un altre objectiu és aconseguir que les màquines siguin molt versàtils i que les possibles canvis de model de tapa o de format de la matèria primera, les planxes, siguin pràcticament immediats. La sistemàtica consisteix en una anàlisi dels dissenys precedents i fer uns predissenys aprofitant aquelles solucions conceptuals bones i canviar, millorar o modernitzar aquelles solucions desfasades o poc funcionals. Un cop el concepte general de cada màquina està clar es segueix la mateixa sistemàtica per el disseny dels aspectes més concrets. Aquest disseny es realitza mitjançant eines de modelatge amb 3D el qual permet la previsió de tots el detalls. El resultat és un disseny, tal i com es demanava, molt senzill, amb una gran versatilitat ja la perfilaria d’alumini permet la fixació en qualsevol punt de la seva longitud característica que a més a més facilitat en gran mesura el muntatge. El resultat és també dues màquines en un sol bloc que s’adapten fàcilment a la línia i que s’adaptarien sense moltes dificultats a altres línies de tapes de dissenys anteriors o future

Numerical simulation of the alba synchrotron light source cooling system response for failure prevention

The ALBA Synchrotron Light Source cooling system is designed with a common return pipe that interconnects the four consumption rings. Such configuration is believed to compromise its optimal operation. To understand its thermo-fluid dynamic behaviour, a detailed 1D model has been built comprising all the components such as the pipes, fittings, bends, valves, pumping stations, heat exchangers and so on, and the various regulation mechanisms. Preliminarily, the model results in steady state operating conditions have been compared with experimental measurements and the maximum deviations have been found below 13%. Then, a series of transient numerical simulations have been carried out to determine the system response. Specifically, effects of the blockage and leakage of a consumption line as well as the increase and decrease of heat duty for the tunnel rings have been investigated. As a result, the stability of the system has been evaluated and the operational limits have been estimated in front of hydraulic and thermal load variations. Moreover, particular behaviours have been identified which can be used to design monitoring and control strategies to prevent unexpected failures.Postprint (published version

Thermo-fluid numerical simulation of the crotch absorbers’ cooling pinholes for alba storage ring

The ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility crotch absorbers, that remove the unused storage ring radiation, incorporate an internal cooling system composed by a number of parallel pinholes and by the corresponding stainless steel inner tubes inserted into each of them. Water flows in the resulting annular sections to evacuate the total heat power. Around each inner tube, a spiral wire is fixed along the whole length with a given pitch height in order to enhance the convection heat transfer. The influence of several design parameters on the absorber thermo-fluid behaviour has been evaluated by means of the CFD software ANSYS CFX¿. In particular, the wall heat transfer coefficients and the pressure losses through a single pinhole have been evaluated for a range of different flow rates and pitch heights. Moreover, some modifications of the end wall geometry have been simulated as well as the effect of reversing the flow direction inside the channels. Finally, the critical crotch absorber type 3 has also been simulated and the limiting pitch height-flow rate combinations have been found based on the available driving pressure of the cooling system.Postprint (published version

CFD studies and experimental validation of the convective heat transfer coefficient in non-fully developed flows applied to conventional geometries used in particle accelerators

In the field of Particle Accelerators engineering, the design of the cooling channels of its components has been extensively based on experimental correlations for the calculation of convective heat transfer coefficients. In this scenario, this work is focused on studying whether the experimental correlations are conservative when the flow is turbulent in fully developed and non-fully developed regions. For this research, simulation models have been developed for turbulent flows in fully developed and non-fully developed regions, all of them for cooling channels with a 10 mm inner diameter. In the first case, for a circular channel, turbulence models have been studied, and comparative studies with respect to experimental correlations and previous studies performed at ALBA have been carried out. Simulation models based on the coefficients obtained from experimentally observed correlations, CFD models and an experimental validation of a mirror with inside cooling, have been performed in the second case.Postprint (published version

The Athena x-ray optics development and accommodation

The Athena mission, under study and preparation by ESA as its second Large-class science mission, requires the largest X-ray optics ever flown, building on a novel optics technology based on mono crystalline silicon. Referred to as Silicon Pore Optics technology (SPO), the optics is highly modular and benefits from technology spin-in from the semiconductor industry. The telescope aperture of about 2.5 meters is populated by around 700 mirror modules, accurately co-aligned to produce a common focus. The development of the SPO technology is a joint effort by European industrial and research entities, working together to address the challenges to demonstrate the imaging performance, robustness and efficient series production of the Athena optics. A technology development plan was established and is being regularly updated to reflect the latest developments, and is fully funded by the ESA technology development programmes. An industrial consortium was formed to ensure coherence of the individual technology development activities. The SPO technology uses precision machined mirror plates produced using the latest generation top quality 12 inch silicon wafers, which are assembled into rugged stacks. The surfaces of the mirror plates and the integral support structure is such, that no glue is required to join the individual mirror plates. Once accurately aligned with respect to each other, the surfaces of the mirror plates merge in a physical bonding process. The resultant SPO mirror modules are therefore very accurate and stable and can sustain the harsh conditions encountered during launch and are able to tolerate the space environment expected during operations. The accommodation of the Athena telescope is also innovative, relying on a hexapod mechanism to align the optics to the selected detector instruments located in the focal plane. System studies are complemented by dedicated technology development activities to demonstrate the capabilities before the adoption of the Athena mission

Thermo-fluid numerical simulation of the crotch absorbers’ cooling pinholes for alba storage ring

The ALBA Synchrotron Light Facility crotch absorbers, that remove the unused storage ring radiation, incorporate an internal cooling system composed by a number of parallel pinholes and by the corresponding stainless steel inner tubes inserted into each of them. Water flows in the resulting annular sections to evacuate the total heat power. Around each inner tube, a spiral wire is fixed along the whole length with a given pitch height in order to enhance the convection heat transfer. The influence of several design parameters on the absorber thermo-fluid behaviour has been evaluated by means of the CFD software ANSYS CFX¿. In particular, the wall heat transfer coefficients and the pressure losses through a single pinhole have been evaluated for a range of different flow rates and pitch heights. Moreover, some modifications of the end wall geometry have been simulated as well as the effect of reversing the flow direction inside the channels. Finally, the critical crotch absorber type 3 has also been simulated and the limiting pitch height-flow rate combinations have been found based on the available driving pressure of the cooling system

Developments in optics and performance at BL13-XALOC, the macromolecular crystallography beamline at the Alba Synchrotron

BL13-XALOC is currently the only macromolecular crystallography beamline at the 3 GeV ALBA synchrotron near Barcelona, Spain. The optics design is based on an in-vacuum undulator, a Si(111) channel-cut crystal monochromator and a pair of KB mirrors. It allows three main operation modes: a focused configuration, where both mirrors can focus the beam at the sample position to 52 mu m x 5.5 mu m FWHM(H x V); a defocused configuration that can match the size of the beam to the dimensions of the crystals or to focus the beam at the detector; and an unfocused configuration, where one or both mirrors are removed from the photon beam path. To achieve a uniform defocused beam, the slope errors of the mirrors were reduced down to 55 nrad RMS by employing a novel method that has been developed at the ALBA high-accuracy metrology laboratory. Thorough commissioning with X-ray beam and user operation has demonstrated an excellent energy and spatial stability of the beamline. The end-station includes a high-accuracy single-axis diffractometer, a removable mini-kappa stage, an automated sample-mounting robot and a photon-counting detector that allows shutterless operation. The positioning tables of the diffractometer and the detector are based on a novel and highly stable design. This equipment, together with the operation flexibility of the beamline, allows a large variety of types of crystals to be tackled, from medium-sized crystals with large unit-cell parameters to microcrystals. Several examples of data collections measured during beamline commissioning are described. The beamline started user operation on 18 July 2012

Mechanical Design of MIRAS, Infrared Microspectroscopy Beam Line at ALBA Synchrotron

International audienceThe infraredμspectroscopy beam line has been an In House project fully developed at ALBA as a result of a collaboration of different teams during the period 2014 where the design started to 2016 It is composed by a retractile mirror to extract the IR light from the bending magnet radiation and a system of 8 transport mirrors located by positioning systems designed for a high stability performance, to transport the extracted light outside the tunnel until the first End Statio