Oak Ridge Today

Work starts to increase power of SNS proton beam

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Construction work has started on a part of a project to double the power of the proton beam in the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It’s the first construction work at SNS since 2006. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

Construction work has started on a part of a project to double the power of the proton beam in the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

It’s the first construction work at the $1.4 billion SNS since 2006.

The current work is limited to what is known as the klystron gallery. It houses radio-frequency systems. They power the structures that are used to accelerate a negatively-charged hydrogen ion beam in the linear accelerator at SNS.

ORNL has previously said the klystron gallery construction could last about one year.

The work is part of a project called the proton power upgrade, or PPU. It will eventually double the power of the SNS proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts. That could be a seven-year project. The potential cost has previously been estimated at $245 million.

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Neutron production at ORNL’s SNS reaches design power level

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The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached its operational power design level by running a neutron production cycle at 1.4 megawatts, the lab said Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has reached its operational power design level by running a neutron production cycle at 1.4 megawatts, the lab said Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2018. (Photo courtesy ORNL)

 

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has broken a new record by ending its first neutron production cycle in fiscal year 2019 at its design power level of 1.4 megawatts.

Higher power provides more neutrons for researchers who use the facility to study a wide range of materials, an ORNL press release said. The achievement marks a new operational milestone for neutron scattering in the United States and opens the door to studying significantly smaller materials with greater complexity, the press release said.

“The operation of SNS at 1.4 megawatts this cycle has been an outstanding achievement,” said Paul Langan, associate laboratory director for neutron sciences. “It reflects on the maturity of our facility and the high level of technical excellence of our engineering, operational, and scientific staff.”

The power increase was enabled by the combination of extensive improvements to the linear accelerator, including the recent replacement of the radio frequency quadrupole—the first accelerating structure of the accelerator’s frontend assembly, as well as improvements to the liquid mercury target. [Read more…]

ORNL pursuing two major upgrades at SNS

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An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

An aerial view of the Spallation Neutron Source on Chestnut Ridge at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:15 a.m. Aug. 1.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is pursuing two major upgrades to its Spallation Neutron Source that would allow new scientific research and could cost more than $1 billion.

The two proposed upgrades are a proton power upgrade and a second target station. The two projects are in different stages of review at the U.S. Department of Energy, ORNL spokesperson Morgan McCorkle said.

The proton power upgrade, or PPU, is being pursued first, and its current cost estimate is a little more than $200 million, McCorkle said. If approved, it would double the power of SNS’s proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts.

The upgrade would allow new types of research at SNS, and it would increase the number of scientists who can use the facility each year, McCorkle said.

“The PPU will enable experiments that are not currently feasible, such as experiments on smaller or less concentrated samples, and experiments under more extreme environmental conditions,” McCorkle said. “The new scientific capabilities will support research in areas such as soft matter, quantum materials, chemistry, functional materials, and biology. Some examples of everyday products that may be improved by these discoveries include cell phones, batteries, computers, building materials, and drugs.”

The proton power upgrade would also eventually provide the extra power necessary for the proposed second target station, or STS. The design of the second target station is less mature, but the project could cost in the range of $1 billion and include about 300,000 square feet of new buildings, McCorkle said. The second target station would be on the east end of the SNS campus on Chestnut Ridge at ORNL.

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