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Work starts to increase power of SNS proton beam

Posted at 3:18 pm April 28, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: construction, first target station, klystron gallery, linear accelerator, mercury target, neutrons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, proton beam, proton power upgrade, protons, Second Target Station, SNS, Spallation Neutron Source, tungsten target

Next major decision anticipated for second target station at SNS

Posted at 3:27 pm March 2, 2020
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

SNS-Second-Target-Station
More than 200 scientists from around the world met from Oct. 27 to 29, 2015, at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to provide input on the scientific instruments that would be installed at a proposed Second Target Station, or STS, pictured above at center right at the Spallation Neutron Source. (File aerial photo and overlay by ORNL)

The next decision about the second target station at the Spallation Neutron Source could be made later this year or in the first quarter of next year, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette told a House subcommittee on Thursday. The next decision would include an alternative selection and a cost range.

The $1.4 billion SNS is located on Chestnut Ridge at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It provides neutrons for research.

The second target station has been part of SNS plans for many years. It’s one of two upgrades being pursued at SNS. The other is a proton power upgrade, which is expected to double the power of SNS’s proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts.

The second target station has a current estimated cost range of $800 million to $1.5 billion. The U.S. Department of Energy said the second target was needed more than a decade ago, in January 2009. The second target station would use a narrow proton beam and a compact, rotating, water-cooled tungsten target. It is expected to fill gaps in materials research that require the combined use of intense, cold (longer wavelength) neutrons and instruments that can help analyze complex materials. It could have up to 22 experimental beamlines.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Science, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Chuck Fleischmann, Dan Brouillette, DOE, House Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, neutron science, neutrons, proton beam, proton power upgrade, protons, Second Target Station, SNS, SNS target, Spallation Neutron Source, U.S. Department of Energy

For members: Construction planned for SNS power upgrade

Posted at 12:21 pm July 19, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 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)

Construction is planned in December for a project to upgrade proton power at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The construction could last about one year, and it will be limited to the buildout of what is known as the klystron gallery, ORNL said in June. The klystron gallery houses the radio-frequency systems that power the structures used to accelerate a negatively-charged hydrogen ion beam in the linear accelerator at SNS.


The Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory 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)

 

Construction is planned in December for a project to upgrade proton power at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

The construction could last about one year, and it will be limited to the buildout of what is known as the klystron gallery, ORNL said in June. The klystron gallery houses the radio-frequency systems that power the structures used to accelerate a negatively-charged hydrogen ion beam in the linear accelerator at SNS.

SNS generates neutrons for scientific research by propelling protons down a linear accelerator. When the protons collide with a liquid mercury target, they create a “spall” of neutrons that are sent down beam lines surrounded by research instruments.

The proton power upgrade will eventually double the power of the SNS proton beam from 1.4 megawatts to 2.8 megawatts. The current total estimated project cost is $245 million.

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If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to: Oak Ridge Today P.O. Box 6064 Oak Ridge, TN 37831 Note: Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, sponsors, and subscribers. Some are considered premium content. This story is premium content. Premium content can include in-depth, investigative, and exclusive stories.

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Premium Content, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: accelerator beam, construction, DOE, expression of interest, hydrogen ion, klystron gallery, liquid mercury target, Morgan McCorkle, neutron scattering, neutrons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, proton beam, proton power upgrade, protons, Second Target Station, SNS, Spallation Neutron Source, tungsten target, U.S. Department of Energy, UT-Battelle

ORNL pursuing two major upgrades at SNS

Posted at 1:39 pm July 27, 2017
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Federal, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Basic Energy Sciences, budget request, Chestnut Ridge, Congress, DOE, Donald Trump, energy and water appropriations bill, HFIR, High Flux Isotope Reactor, House Appropriations Committee, linear accelerator, mercury target, Morgan McCorkle, neutron scattering, neutron sources, neutrons, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, PPU, proton power upgrade, protons, Scientific Research, Second Target Station, Senate Appropriations Committee, SNS, SNS accelerator, SNS upgrade, Spallation Neutron Source, STS, Trump administration, tungsten target, U.S. Department of Energy

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

Posted at 10:41 pm January 6, 2016
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, Slider, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: berkelium-249, californium-252, chemical elements, element 113, element 115, element 117, element 118, element 61, Glenn Seaborg, Graphite Reactor, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, High Flux Isotope Reactor, International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry, IUPAC, Jim Roberto, JINR, Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, neutrons, new elements, nuclei, nucleus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL, periodic table, promethium, protons, Radiochemical Engineering Development Center, RIKEN, thermal neutron flux, Thom Mason, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Tennessee, UT, Vanderbilt University

ORNL, UT team maps nuclear landscape

Posted at 5:55 pm June 30, 2012
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Nuclear Landscape

This image represents the nuclear landscape, with different isotopes, including dark blue stable isotopes, lighter blue unstable isotopes, and gray bound isotopes. (Image by Andy Sproles at Oak Ridge National Laboratory)

A supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been used to calculate the number of isotopes allowed by the laws of physics.

A team of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and University of Tennessee researchers used the Jaguar supercomputer to determine that there are about 7,000 possible combinations of protons and neutrons allowed in bound nuclei with up to 120 protons.

The team’s results are presented in the June 28 issue of the journal Nature.

Most of these nuclei have not been observed experimentally, an ORNL press release said.

“They are bound, meaning they do not spit out protons or neutrons,” team leader Witek Nazarewicz explained in the release. “But they are radioactive—they are short-lived—because there are other processes, such as beta decay, that can give rise to transmutations.”

[Read more…]

Filed Under: U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: neutrons, nuclear landscape, nuclei, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, protons, University of Tennessee

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