Flash X-Ray (FXR) Accelerator Optimization Beam-Induced Voltage Simulation and TDR Measurements

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is evaluating design alternatives to improve the voltage regulation in our Flash X-Ray (FXR) accelerator cell and pulse-power system. The goal is to create a more mono-energetic electron beam. When an electron beam crosses the energized gap of an accelerator cell, the electron energy is increased. However, the beam with the associated electromagnetic wave also looses a small amount of energy because of the increased impedance seen across the gap. The beam-induced voltage at the gap is time varying. This creates beam energy variations that we need to understand and control. A high-fidelity computer simulation of the beam and cell interaction has been completed to quantify the time varying induced voltage at the gap. The cell and pulse-power system was characterized using a Time-domain Reflectometry (TDR) measurement technique with a coaxial air-line to drive the cell gap. The beam-induced cell voltage is computed by convoluting the cell impedance with measured beam current. The voltage was checked against other measurements to validate the accuracy

Sulfur Tolerance of Selective Partial Oxidation of NO to NO2 in a Plasma

Several catalytic aftertreatment technologies rely on the conversion of NO to NO2 to achieve efficient reduction of NOx and particulates in diesel exhaust. These technologies include the use of selective catalytic reduction of NOx with hydrocarbons, NOx adsorption, and continuously regenerated particulate trapping. These technologies require low sulfur fuel because the catalyst component that is active in converting NO to NO2 is also active in converting SO2 to SO3 . The SO3 leads t o increase in particulates and/or poison active sites on the catalyst. A non-thermal plasma can be used for the selective partial oxidation of NO to NO2 in the gas-phase under diesel engine exhaust conditions. This paper discusses how a non-thermal plasma can efficiently oxidize NO to NO2 without oxidizing SO2 to SO3

Study of Vacuum Insulator Flashover for Pulse Lengths of Multi-Microseconds

We are studying the flashover of vacuum insulators for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and for pulse lengths on the order of several microseconds. The study is centered about experiments performed with a 100-kV, 10-ms pulsed power system and supported by a combination of theoretical and computational modeling. The base line geometry is a cylindrically symmetric, +45{sup o} insulator between flat electrodes. In the experiments, flashovers or breakdowns are localized by operating at field stresses slightly below the level needed for explosive emissions with the base line geometry. The electrodes and/or insulator are then seeded with an emission source, e.g. a tuft of velvet, or a known mechanical defect. Various standard techniques are employed to suppress cathode-originating flashovers/breakdowns. We present the results of our experiments and discuss the capabilities of modeling insulator flashover

Nonthermal aftertreatment of diesel engine exhaust

The ultimate objective of this work has been to develop a nonthermal plasma process to reduce NO{sub x} in diesel exhaust gas. A secondary objective has been to study the possibility of particulate matter (soot) reduction by the same technique. The early work revealed a fundamental difficulty with this NO{sub x} reduction approach in the gas environment of the diesel engine exhaust. These observations necessitated a thorough study of the unfavorable chemistry in the hope that knowledge of the chemical mechanism would offer an opportunity to make the approach useful for NO{sub x} reduction. Whereas fundamental understanding of the mechanism has been obtained, the authors have not found any measure that would make the approach meet its original objective

Flash X-Ray (Fxr) Linear Induction Accelerator (Lia) Optimization Sensor Delay Correction

The radiographic goal of the FXR Optimization Project is to generate an x-ray pulse with peak energy of 19 MeV, spot-size of 1.5 mm, a dose of 500 rad, and duration of 60 ns. The electrical objectives are to generate a 3 kA electron-beam and refine our 16 MV accelerator so that the voltage does not vary more than 1%-rms. In a multi-cell linear induction accelerator, like FXR, the timing of the acceleration pulses relative to the beam is critical. The pulses must be timed optimally so that a cell is at full voltage before the beam arrives and does not drop until the beam passes. In order to stay within the energy-variation budget, the synchronization between the cells and beam arrival must be controlled to a couple of nanoseconds. Therefore, temporal measurements must be accurate to a fraction of a nanosecond. FXR Optimization Project developed a one-giga-sample per second (gs/s) data acquisition system to record beam sensor data. Signal processing algorithms were written to determine cell timing with an uncertainty of a fraction of a nanosecond. However, the uncertainty in the sensor delay was still a few nanoseconds. This error had to be reduced if we are to improve the quality of the electron beam. Two types of sensors are used to align the cell voltage pulse against the beam current. The beam current is measured with resistive-wall sensors. The cell voltages are read with capacitive voltage monitors. Sensor delays can be traced to two mechanisms: (1) the sensors are not co-located at the beam and cell interaction points, and (2) the sensors have different length jumper cables and other components that connect them to the standard-length coaxial cables of the data acquisition system. Using the physical locations and dimensions of the sensor components, and the dielectric constant of the materials, delay times were computed. Relative to the cell voltage, the beam current was theoretically reporting late by 7.7 ns. Two experiments were performed to verify and refine the sensor delay correction. In the first experiment, the beam was allowed to drift through a cell that was not pulsed. The beam induces a potential into the cell that is read by the voltage monitor. Analysis of the data indicated that the beam sensor signal was likely 7.1 ns late. In the second experiment, the beam current is calculated from the injector diode voltage that is the sum of the cell voltages. A 7 ns correction produced a very good match between the signals from the two types of sensors. For simplicity, we selected a correction factor that advanced the current signals by 7 ns. This should reduce the uncertainty in the temporal measurements to less than 1 ns

Understanding High Voltage Vacuum Insulators for Microsecond Pulses

High voltage insulation is one of the main areas of pulsed power research and development since the surface of an insulator exposed to vacuum can fail electrically at an applied field more than an order or magnitude below the bulk dielectric strength of the insulator. This is troublesome for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and where relatively long pulses, on the order of several microseconds, are required. Here we give a summary of our approach to modeling and simulation efforts and experimental investigations for understanding flashover mechanism. The computational work is comprised of both filed and particle-in-cell modeling with state-of-the-art commercial codes. Experiments were performed in using an available 100-kV, 10-{micro}s pulse generator and vacuum chamber. The initial experiments were done with polyethylene insulator material in the shape of a truncated cone cut at +45{sup o} angle between flat electrodes with a gap of 1.0 cm. The insulator was sized so there were no flashovers or breakdowns under nominal operating conditions. Insulator flashover or gap closure was induced by introducing a plasma source, a tuft of velvet, in proximity to the insulator or electrode

Understanding and Improving High Voltage Vacuum Insulators for Microsecond Pulses

High voltage insulation is one of the main areas of pulsed power research and development, and dielectric breakdown is usually the limiting factor in attaining the highest possible performance in pulsed power devices. For many applications the delivery of pulsed power into a vacuum region is the most critical aspect of operation. The surface of an insulator exposed to vacuum can fail electrically at an applied field more than an order or magnitude below the bulk dielectric strength of the insulator. This mode of breakdown, called surface flashover, imposes serious limitations on the power flow into a vacuum region. This is especially troublesome for applications where high voltage conditioning of the insulator and electrodes is not practical and for applications where relatively long pulses, on the order of several microseconds, are required. The goal of this project is to establish a sound fundamental understanding of the mechanisms that lead to surface flashover, and then evaluate the most promising techniques to improve vacuum insulators and enable high voltage operation at stress levels near the intrinsic bulk breakdown limits of the material. The approach we proposed and followed was to develop this understanding through a combination of theoretical and computation methods coupled with experiments to validate and quantify expected behaviors. In this report we summarize our modeling and simulation efforts, theoretical studies, and experimental investigations. The computational work began by exploring the limits of commercially available codes and demonstrating methods to examine field enhancements and defect mechanisms at microscopic levels. Plasma simulations with particle codes used in conjunction with circuit models of the experimental apparatus enabled comparisons with experimental measurements. The large scale plasma (LSP) particle-in-cell (PIC) code was run on multiprocessor platforms and used to simulate expanding plasma conditions in vacuum gap regions. Algorithms were incorporated into LSP to handle secondary electron emission from dielectric materials to enable detailed simulations of flashover phenomenon. Theoretical studies were focused on explaining a possible mechanism for anode initiated surface flashover that involves an electron avalanche process starting near the anode, not a mechanism involving bulk dielectric breakdown. Experiments were performed in Engineering's Pulsed Power Lab using an available 100-kV, 10-{micro}s pulse generator and vacuum chamber. The initial experiments were done with polyethylene insulator material in the shape of a truncated cone cut at +45{sup o} angle between flat electrodes with a gap of 1.0 cm. The insulator was sized so there were no flashovers or breakdowns under nominal operating conditions. Insulator flashover or gap closure was induced by introducing a plasma source, a tuft of velvet, in proximity to the insulator or electrode

Development of the vacuum power flow channel for the Mini-G

Abstract not provide

Non-thermal plasma techniques for abatement of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides

Non-thermal plasma processing is an emerging technology for the abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NO{sub x}) in atmospheric-pressure air streams. Either electrical discharge or electron beam methods can produce these plasmas. Each of these methods can be implemented in many ways. There are many types of electrical discharge reactors, the variants depending on the electrode configuration and electrical power supply (pulsed, AC or DC). Two of the more extensively investigated types of discharge reactors are based on the pulsed corona and dielectric-barrier discharge. Recently, compact low-energy (<200 keV) electron accelerators have been developed to meet the requirements of industrial applications such as crosslinking of polymer materials, curing of solvent-free coatings, and drying of printing inks. Special materials have also been developed to make the window thin and rugged. Some of these compact electron beam sources are already commercially available and could be utilized for many pollution control applications. In this paper we will present a comparative assessment of various nonthermal plasma reactors. The thrust of our work has been two-fold: (1) to understand the scalability of various non-thermal plasma reactors by focusing on the energy efficiency of the electron and chemical kinetics, and (2) to identify the byproducts to ensure that the effluent gases from the processor are either benign or much easier and less expensive to dispose of compared to the original pollutants. We will present experimental results using a compact electron beam reactor and various types of electrical discharge reactors. We have used these reactors to study the removal of NO{sub x} and a wide variety of VOCS. We have studied the effects of background gas composition and gas temperature on the decomposition chemistry

Electron-impact ionization of air molecules and its application to the abatement of volatile organic compounds

In this paper the authors present data on the non-thermal plasma processing of two representative VOCs: carbon tetrachloride and methanol. The investigation used a compact electron beam reactor, and two types of discharge reactors: a pulsed corona and a dielectric-barrier discharge. To the knowledge of the authors, this is the first comparison of the energy efficiency of electron beam, pulsed corona and dielectric-barrier discharge processing of these VOCs under identical gas conditions. For most electrical discharge reactors the analysis suggests that the attainable electron mean energy is rather limited and cannot be significantly enhanced by changing the electrode configuration or voltage waveform. The experimental data confirms that there is no significant difference in the performance of the pulsed corona and dielectric-barrier discharge reactors. The authors observe that electron beam processing is remarkably more energy efficiency than electrical discharge processing in decomposing either of these VOC molecules. During electron beam processing, the specific energy consumption is consistent with the energy required for the ionization of the background air molecules. For carbon tetrachloride, the dominant decomposition pathway is dissociative electron attachment. For methanol, the dominant decomposition pathway is dissociative charge exchange