Preliminary Design of the AEGIS Test Facility

The AEGIS experiment is expected to be installed at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator in a very close future, since the main goal of the AEGIS experiment is the measurement of gravity impact on antihydrogen, which will be produced on the purpose. Antihydrogen production implies very challenging environmental conditions: at the heart of the AEGIS facility 50 mK temperature, 1e-12 mbar pressure and a 1 T magnetic field are required. Interfacing extreme cryogenics with ultra high vacuum will affect very strongly the design of the whole facility, requiring a very careful mechanical design. This paper presents an overview of the actual design of the AEGIS experimental facility, paying special care to mechanical aspects. Each subsystem of the facility – ranging from the positron source to the recombination region and the measurement region – will be shortly described. The ultra cold region, which is the most critical with respect to the antihydrogen formation, will be dealt in detail. The assembly procedures will be considered too, as they are expected to be critical to make the set-up phase easier, as well as to make possible any future improvement of the facility itself

Literature Review of Suspension Systems for Superconducting Elements

When designing suspension systems for superconducting elements, the primary challenge is to strike a balance between limiting the heat load to the cold mass and ensuring the proper mechanical resistance and/or stiffness of the system. This trade-off often leads engineers to choose from a limited set of materials and supporting architectures. The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the different overall designs. Scientific articles were searched within the Google Scholar database using advanced search operators to combine a defined set of keywords. Among the architectures found, the “multi-post” solution and the “8-support” solution are the two most commonly chosen classes. Additionally, a recurrent pattern for the supporting system of superconducting cavities has been identified. The choice of architecture can be correlated with the characteristics of the superconducting element being supported, such as its mass, length, and stiffness. Furthermore, the review provides a conceptual analysis of the possibility of extending these designs to the unconventional environment of rotating machines

Comparative Study on Scenarios for Rotating Gantry Mechanical Structures

This technical note outlines a comparative study on scenarios of gantries mechanical design for ion-therapy of cancer, which is a crucial step toward the development of the next ion medical machine. Multiple scenarios were considered based on robustness of the design, size, weight and complexity, deformation and precision performances and costs, as well as environmental impact. Four prospective scenarios were identified, each of them capable of providing beam to at least 220° around the patient. One scenario is capable of providing treatment angles of 360°. This report will describe the unified methodology performed during the study in order to achieve unbiased results in a comprehensive manner. Results show that in statically balanced scenarios, considerable improvements can be reached in terms of safety, deformation, precision performances, complexity and costs of implementation. All scenarios are deemed suitable for further gantry design development

Sub-harmonic Buncher Design for the CLIC Drive Beam Injector

The CLIC (Compact LInear Collider) is based on two beam concept where a high current drive beam provides the energy needed for acceleration of the main beam. The CLIC drive beam accelerator starts with a high current injector using a sophisticated sub-harmonic bunching system. This paper will focus on the design of the Sub Harmonic Bunchers (SHBs) the first RF components of the injector. A backward traveling wave structure has been optimized for this task. It will be shown also how to avoid asymmetrical fields inside the coupler cells and how to compensate beam loading by changing the phase velocity in comparison to the beam velocity

In situ compact tensile test device for polymer nanocomposite specimens to be analyzed in an x-ray microdiffractometer

X-ray diffraction is a non-destructive technique for structural analysis of materials. Applications include the evaluation of the residual stresses in real components, wherein the crystalline planes are used as strain gauges. In case of polymer nanocomposites, this technique allows to study the filler structural changes, in particular its orientation as a function of polymer deformation. A tensile test device to apply uniaxial stretching on polymer nanocomposite specimens has been designed and built to equip a commercial X-ray microdiffractometer. The main feature of this compact device is allowing setting the specimen strain up to 400% inside the microdiffractometer. X-ray diffraction measurements are carried out at different strains at the same point without removing the sample from the stage. The maximum load applied to the specimen is 100 N. We report the design phases and the results of preliminary tests on commercial rubber samples

Sub-micro-Tesla Magnetic Shielding Design for Cryomodules in the High-gradient Program at CERN

In the framework of the High-Gradient R\&D; program at CERN a cryomodule, consisting of four superconducting 5-cell cavities, has been designed. In order to reduce flux trapping in the surface of the superconductor and to minimize Q degradation during a quench, highly effective magnetic shielding is needed. The solution proposed includes cold and warm passive shielding enhanced by four compensating coils. In this paper the magneto-static simulation results are presented illustrating different design considerations that led to a final design. Finally the shielding ability of the vacuum vessel is investigated experimentally through ambient magnetic field measurements

Application of muon tomography to detect radioactive sources hidden in scrap metal containers2013 3rd International Conference on Advancements in Nuclear Instrumentation, Measurement Methods and their Applications (ANIMMA)

none13The accidental melting of radioactive sources hidden inside metal scrap containers can produce severe environmental harm. Modern melting facilities are equipped with portals measuring radiation levels. Nonetheless, sources can pass undiscovered when shielded inside shells of high density material, such as lead. From time to time indeed some radioactive sources pass undetected through the controls at foundries entrance. Once melted they caused enormous damages to the steel mills, contaminating all the production line. The muon tomography technique allows to discriminate high- Z materials measuring multiple scattering of cosmic ray muons inside matter. Therefore this technique can be used to analyze a truck container searching for high-density source shields. We report here the results about simulation studies of a muon tomography portal. Within the Mu-Steel European project we developed the prototype design, the three-dimensional images reconstruction software and the high density material identification algorithm. MonteCarlo simulation was validated with data from a large volume demonstrator (~11 m3) built using spare muon drift-time chambers of the CMS high energy physics experiment operating at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.noneMatteo Furlan;Andrea Rigoni;Sara Vanini;Gianni Zumerle;Paolo Checchia;Ludovico Cossutta;Giacomo Bettella;Pietro Zanuttigh;Piero Calvini;Luca Dassa;Antonietta Donzella;Germano Bonomi;Aldo ZenoniFurlan, Matteo; RIGONI GAROLA, Andrea; Vanini, Sara; Zumerle, Gianni; Checchia, Paolo; Ludovico, Cossutta; Bettella, Giacomo; Zanuttigh, Pietro; Piero, Calvini; Luca, Dassa; Antonietta, Donzella; Germano, Bonomi; Aldo, Zenon

Application of Muon Tomography to Detect Radioactive Sources Hidden in Scrap Metal Containers

The accidental melting of radioactive sources hidden inside metal scrap containers can produce severe environmental harm. Modern melting facilities are equipped with portals measuring radiation levels. Nonetheless, sources can pass undiscovered when shielded inside shells of high density material, such as lead. From time to time indeed some radioactive sources pass undetected through the controls at foundries entrance. Once molten they caused enormous damages to the steel mills, contaminating all the production line. The muon tomography technique allows to discriminate high-Z materials measuring multiple scattering of cosmic ray muons inside matter. Therefore this technique can be used to analyse a truck container searching for high-density source shields. We report here the results about simulation studies of a muon tomography portal. Within the Mu-Steel European project we developed the prototype design, the three-dimensional images reconstruction software and the high density material identification algorithm. MonteCarlo simulation was validated with data from a large volume demonstrator (similar to 11 m(3)) built using spare muon drift-time chambers of the CMS high energy physics experiment operating at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN.The accidental melting of radioactive sources hidden inside metal scrap containers can produce severe environmental harm. Modern melting facilities are equipped with portals measuring radiation levels. Nonetheless, sources can pass undiscovered when shielded inside shells of high density material, such as lead. From time to time indeed some radioactive sources pass undetected through the controls at foundries entrance. Once molten they caused enormous damages to the steel mills, contaminating all the production line. The muon tomography technique allows to discriminate high-Z materials measuring multiple scattering of cosmic ray muons inside matter. Therefore this technique can be used to analyse a truck container searching for high-density source shields. We report here the results about simulation studies of a muon tomography portal. Within the Mu-Steel European project we developed the prototype design, the three-dimensional images reconstruction software and the high density material identification algorithm. MonteCarlo simulation was validated with data from a large volume demonstrator (similar to 11 m(3)) built using spare muon drift-time chambers of the CMS high energy physics experiment operating at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN

Tailored One-Way and Two-Way Shape Memory Capabilities of Poly(caprolactone)-Based Systems for Biomedical Applications

Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs) are a class of smart materials, capable of significant shape variations on the application of an environmental stimulus. SMPs present various advantages with respect to their metallic and ceramic counterparts, such as processing at a low costs, large recoverable strains and mechanical properties close to those of soft biological tissues. SMPs can be potentially employed in biomedical applications and minimally invasive surgery devices, where a single deployment is required ("one-way" shape memory effect), are the most frequently investigated [1]. Also the "two-way" shape memory behavior, i.e. the triggered variation between two distinguished shapes on the application of an on-off stimulus, is recently demanded, since it may fulfill the requirements for the development of actuators or artificial muscles [2]. To this end polymers like poly(\u3b5- caprolactone) (PCL) are considered promising systems, due to their biodegradability and to the possibility to present, when cross-linked, reversible actuation under specific thermo-mechanical conditions [3]. In this work we have explored the one- and two-way shape memory capabilities of a novel type of covalently crosslinked semicrystalline systems, prepared by a sol-gel approach from alkoxysilane-terminated PCL

Tailored one-way and two-way shape memory response of poly(ε-caprolactone)-based systems for biomedical applications

A series of crosslinked poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) materials were obtained starting from linear, three- and four-arm star PCL functionalized with methacrylate end-groups, allowing to tune the melting temperature (Tm) on a range between 36 and 55°C. After deforming the specimens at 50% above Tm, the materials are seen to fully restore their original shape by heating them on a narrow region close to Tm; further, when the shape memory effect is triggered under fixed strain conditions, the materials are able to exert stress on a range between 0.2 and 7 MPa. The materials also display two-way shape memory features, reversibly moving between two shapes when cooled and heated under a fixed load. Finally, to investigate the application of the PCL materials as self-expandable stents, one-way shape memory experiments are currently carried out on tubular specimens