A framework to support the optimization of modularized oil&gas structures

Modularization is a current issue in the context of plant design. A modular system aims to reduce lead time and cost in design phases. An oil & gas plant consists of many Engineered-To-Order solutions to be submitted and approved during the negotiation phase. In this context, design tools and methods are necessary to support the design life cycle from the conceptual study to the detailed project. The paper proposes an approach to optimize the design of modularized oil & gas plants with a focus on the related steel structures. A test case shows the configuration workflow applied to a modular steel structure of about 400 tons. The modularized layout has been optimized using genetic algorithms. A Knowledge Base has been described to support the configuration phase related to the conceptual design. Design rules and metrics have been formalized from the analysis of past solutions

Light desorption from an Yttrium neutralizer for Rb and Fr MOT loading

We present here the first evidence of photodesorption induced by low-intensity non-resonant light from an yttrium thin foil, which works as a neutralizer for Rb and Fr ions beam. Neutral atoms are suddenly ejected from the metal surface in a pulsed regime upon illumination with a broadband flash light and then released in the free volume of a pyrex cells. Here atoms are captured by a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT), which is effectively loaded by the photodesorption. Loading times of the order of the flash rise time are measured. Desorption is also obtained in the continuous regime, by exploiting CW visible illumination of the metallic neutralizer surface. We demonstrate that at lower CW light intensities vacuum conditions are not perturbed by the photodesorption and hence the MOT dynamics remains unaffected, while the trap population increases thanks to the incoming desorbed atoms flux. Even with the Y foil at room temperature and hence with no trapped atoms, upon visible illumination, the number of trapped atoms reaches 10(5). The experimental data are then analyzed by means of an analytical rate equation model, which allows the analysis of this phenomenon and its dynamics and allows the determination of critical experimental parameters and the test of the procedure in the framework of radioactive Francium trapping. In this view, together with an extensive investigation of the phenomenon with Rb-85, the first demonstration of the photodesorption-aided loading of a Fr-210 MOT is shown

Light desorption from an yttrium neutralizer for Rb and Fr magneto-optical trap loading

We present here the first evidence of photodesorption induced by low-intensity non-resonant light from an yttrium thin foil, which works as a neutralizer for Rb and Fr ions beam. Neutral atoms are suddenly ejected from the metal surface in a pulsed regime upon illumination with a broadband flash light and then released in the free volume of a pyrex cells. Here atoms are captured by a Magneto-Optical Trap (MOT), which is effectively loaded by the photodesorption. Loading times of the order of the flash rise time are measured. Desorption is also obtained in the continuous regime, by exploiting CW visible illumination of the metallic neutralizer surface. We demonstrate that at lower CW light intensities vacuum conditions are not perturbed by the photodesorption and hence the MOT dynamics remains unaffected, while the trap population increases thanks to the incoming desorbed atoms flux. Even with the Y foil at room temperature and hence with no trapped atoms, upon visible illumination, the number of trapped atoms reaches 10(5). The experimental data are then analyzed by means of an analytical rate equation model, which allows the analysis of this phenomenon and its dynamics and allows the determination of critical experimental parameters and the test of the procedure in the framework of radioactive Francium trapping. In this view, together with an extensive investigation of the phenomenon with Rb-85, the first demonstration of the photodesorption-aided loading of a Fr-210 MOT is shown. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC