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The extension of human space exploration from a low earth orbit to a high earth orbit, then to Moon, Mars, and possibly asteroids is NASA’s biggest challenge for the new millennium. Integral to this mission is the effective, sufficient, and reliable supply of cryogenic propellant fluids. Therefore, highly energy-efficient thermal-fluid management breakthrough concepts to conserve and minimize the cryogen consumption have become the focus of research and development, especially for the deep space mission to mars. Here we introduce such a concept and demonstrate its feasibility in parabolic flights under a simulated space microgravity condition. We show that by coating the inner surface of a cryogenic propellant transfer pipe with low-thermal conductivity microfilms, the quenching efficiency can be increased up to 176% over that of the traditional bare-surface pipe for the thermal management process of chilling down the transfer pipe. To put this into proper perspective, the much higher efficiency translates into a 65% savings in propellant consumption.

Sampling hazardous compounds in the form of solids and liquids is a growing need in the fields of homeland security and forensics. Chemical analysis of particles and droplets under field conditions is crucial for various tasks carried out by counter-terrorism and law enforcement units. The use of simple, small and low cost means to achieve this goal is constantly pursued. In this work, an approach for rapid, continuous generation of vapors from liquid samples using sonic spray (SS) as the sample introduction technique, followed by analysis using hand-held ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) vapor analyzers is presented. Transfer of analytes is demonstrated from liquid state to the gas phase at the inlet of an IMS detector using a sonic spray apparatus that consists of a nebulizer, spraying solution, a source of compressed gas and an unheated transfer line tube to the detector inlet nozzle. This technique does not require any electrical, radiative or thermal energy. Analysis of several narcotic substances including cocaine, methamphetamine and amphetamine, and of an explosive compound, TNT, is demonstrated, using two commercial devices as analyzers. Two sampling configurations are presented: direct sampling of liquid, either from a vial or a spill (SS-IMS) and extraction of a substance collected with a swab by dipping it in the spray solvent (ESS-IMS), being suitable for both drops and particles. Limits of detection of the presented method are comparable to those obtained with thermal desorption sample introduction of the commercial device. Time traces of the IMS signals show a continuous and stable signal with a short rise time. This sampling technique may offer competitive performance to that of common thermal desorption techniques, with the advantages of coupling to simpler, smaller and cheaper vapor detectors, optimized for field use, and of a continuous, pulseless sample or object interrogation.

Contact resistance (Rc) characterizes the interface of source-drain electrodes/organic semiconductors and controls the injection efficiency of carriers in organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs). This research paper presents and assesses two methods for extracting the value of the contact resistance from the measured current-voltage characteristics of OTFTs made with various p-type organic semiconductors as active layers. These two methods are the transition voltage method (TVM) and the transfer line method (TLM). The obtained Rc values by the TVM method are in fair agreement with those obtained by TLM, with a maximum percentage of difference around 10%, demonstrating the accuracy of the used transition-voltage method. An analytical model was employed to calculate output characteristics in the linear regime of OTFTs made with various organic semiconductors using the contact resistance values obtained by the transition voltage method. The calculated results are in reasonably good agreement with the experimental ones of each fabricated device, which affirms the ability of the used model to characterize the charge transport correctly in these types of devices. It can be concluded that the used TVM method is not only an easy and practical method, but also a precise way for extracting Rc in OTFTs produced using different organic semiconductor materials.

Today, labs that carry out chemical analyses for regulation, food safety, health, forensics, or even security purposes are looking for ways to accelerate the analytical process. Slow procedures are costly because the necessary instruments are expensive and require maintenance and a highly trained staff to operate them. One of the more ubiquitous instruments in such labs is a Gas Chromatograph (GC), which accepts a solution and outputs each of the compounds within it in a gaseous form, one by one to be further analyzed and identified, usually by a Mass Spectrometer (MS). This separation process in a GC can be rather time-consuming, partly due to the slow heating and cooling of the GC column through which the compounds move, which happens inside a box-shaped oven. This paper describes a controller developed for a unique Open Probe Fast GC instrument that enables, among other things, high-speed and controlled heating and cooling of a gas-carrying capillary transfer line. Fast heating is achieved by precisely controlling the electrical current flowing through the small inner-diameter steel tube through which the GC column passes. The fast cooling occurs by exposing the low-mass heated tube to room temperature, along with the assistance of a simple fan that carries the heated air away. This technology also supports control of other system parts, including a unique quick sampling device called an Open Probe that allows for an even faster analysis cycle. Our design is based entirely on a digital signal processor (DSP) and digital control. The use of pulse width modulation (PWM) control enables a compact and efficient system.

Coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) is a collective effect that mainly occurs when the trajectory of an electron beam is bent in a dipole magnet. It affects the electron beam by distorting the phase space along its slice distribution, which leads to emittance growth. Therefore, CSR should be suppressed to transport electron beams without further degradation of the emittance. In linear optics, CSR-induced emittance can be suppressed by controlling the Twiss parameters along the electron-beam transfer line. However, owing to some physical constraints, transfer-line optics may be governed by higher-order terms in the transfer map, and the use of a sextupole magnet to suppress these terms would be very challenging for low-energy-spread and low-emittance beams. Therefore, without using a sextupole magnet, we estimate the region of the Twiss parameters where the first-order terms are dominant along the transfer line by introducing chromatic amplitude. In this region, we can apply the suppression condition that is valid in a linear matrix system. This minimization of the emittance growth becomes even more important when the electron-beam transfer line is used for external injection into a plasma wakefield because mismatched beam conditions could induce an additional increase in the emittance during the acceleration. In this paper, we discuss a method of emittance-growth minimization driven by the CSR effect along the transfer line, which is particularly used for electron-beam injection into plasma wakefields. In addition, using the particle-in-cell simulation, we investigate the evolution of electron beam parameters during the acceleration through plasma wakefields in the presence of the CSR effect on the electron beam. We confirm that the beam emittance growth is minimized when the CSR effect is properly controlled. Otherwise, it is found that 11%--32% emittance growths by the CSR effect along the transfer line lead to additional 20%--40% increase of the maximum slice emittance.

The purpose of a liquid acquisition device (LAD) is to separate liquid and vapor phases inside a spacecraft propellant storage tank in the reduced gravity and microgravity conditions of space so that vapor-free liquid can be extracted to the transfer line. A popular type of LAD called a screen channel LAD or gallery arm, uses a fine porous screen and surface tension forces of the liquid to allow pure liquid to flow through the screen while blocking vapor penetration. To analyze, size, and optimize the design of LADs for future in-space propellant transfer systems, models and data are required for the four fundamental influential factors for LAD systems, including bubble point, flow-through-screen pressure drop, wicking rate, and screen compliance for a wide variety of screen meshes. While there is sporadic data available for three of these parameters, there is no published quantitative data for screen compliance. During the transient startup of propellant transfer, the liquid must be accelerated from rest to the steady flow demand velocity, which causes the screen to deform or comply, so compliance data is required for accurate transient LAD analyses; most design codes only consider steady state analysis. This paper presents screen compliance experiments on 14 different screens, examining the effects of fineness of mesh, open area, and screen metal type on compliance. A basic equation of state is also developed and validated against the data which can be easily integrated into any transient LAD flow code to model propellant transfer.

In the cracking furnace operation, many process variables involve in the unit, each of which has a particular characteristic and impact to the process. These variables are usually set based on past experience, which lead to inefficient operations such as having a short operating cycle and increasing the probability of severity in the process. Furthermore, frequent process shutdown for decoking furnace with short cycle lengths leads to high operating cost and coil deterioration. In this study, stepwise regression models are developed to determine the relationship between ten input process variables of the cracking furnace and the transfer line exchanger outlet temperature as the output so that key process parameters could be controlled to maintain the desired operating conditions and to predict the outlet temperature three and seven days in advance so that the maintenance schedule for decoking could be planned. By using stepwise regression, the model of process relationship reveals that only eight from ten process variables and their 2nd order interactions best explains the output variable, with the R-squared adjusted of 93.63%. For the 3-day and 7-day ahead prediction models, fewer process variables and their interactions are used to explain the output variable, with MAPE of 4.65% and 1.83% respectively.

RATIONALE High-throughput capacity, maximal efficiency and automation are missing key features for thin-layer chromatography/high-performance thin-layer chromatography-mass spectrometry (TLC/HPTLC-MS) hyphenations. So far, commercial interfaces have been operated without an automated positioning system. Hence, a 3D-printed, fully automated, open-source add-on user interface was built for elution-head-based TLC/HPTLC-MS. METHODS Precise plate movement, batch-wise zone elution, and cleaning processes were automated and synchronized with MS data acquisition. The elution head cleaning was made adjustable in intensity and interval, and remaining elution solvent or particles were thoroughly blown out of the MS transfer line. An adjustable short gas beam across the elution zone was integrated to avoid contamination or leakage by released layer particles, or zone distortion by residual eluent flow when lifting the elution head. RESULTS By clicking on zones on the chromatogram, these were selected for consecutive automated positioning below the elution head, sealing and elution. Mean spatial deviations of the positioning on 294 target zones were determined to be 160 μm for track-wise and 190 μm for randomized zone positioning order. Reproducibility of the elution of butyl paraben zones (5.4%, 10 ng/band, n = 70) and its quantitative performance (R2 = 0.992-0.999, 5-50 ng/band) were proven. CONCLUSIONS The stand-alone electronic system design and the compact footprint were achieved by a minimalistic positioning system and internally installed valves. The open-source OC_manager software opened new perspectives in terms of combining MS data evaluation with previous HPTLC results. The successfully demonstrated TLC/HPTLC-MS automation presents a highly efficient, user-independent hyphenation for a broad range of application fields.

Cryogenics is concerned with working with fluids at very low temperatures; less than 120 K. Cryogenic pipe flow is very different compared to normal fluid pipe flow in terms of evaluation and analysis due to the fluid state change that is caused by a heat leak in cryogenics during transportation through the transfer line. As the cryogenic system is necessarily immersed in insulation, it becomes more difficult to access. Numerical solutions and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations that are non-disruptive and relatively low in cost are an advanced alternative for studying cryogenic systems. The present study reports the liquid nitrogen pipe flow simulation for process pipe with vacuum insulated pipe (VIP) and with Polyurethane (PU) foam insulation to understand the temperature distribution in the pipe flow under steady-state conditions. The 3-dimensional liquid nitrogen pipe flow simulation has been conducted using ANSYS FLUENT software. The temperature distributions resulting from the liquid nitrogen pipe flow simulation with VIP are within the range of 77.0 K to 82.1 K for inlet volume flow rates from 250 LPH to 2000 LPH. The optimum result in terms of the temperature distributions was produced from the liquid nitrogen pipe flow simulation with VIP.

The ethylene cracking furnace system is crucial for an olefin plant. Multiple cracking furnaces are used to convert various hydrocarbon feedstocks to smaller hydrocarbon molecules, and the operational conditions of these furnaces significantly influence product yields and fuel consumption. This paper develops a multiobjective operational model for an industrial cracking furnace system that describes the operation of each furnace based on current feedstock allocations, and uses this model to optimize two important and conflicting objectives: maximization of key products yield, and minimization of the fuel consumed per unit ethylene. The model incorporates constraints related to material balance and the outlet temperature of transfer line exchanger. The self-adaptive multiobjective teaching-learning-based optimization algorithm is improved and used to solve the designed multiobjective optimization problem, obtaining a Pareto front with a diverse range of solutions. A real industrial case is investigated to illustrate the performance of the proposed model: the set of solutions returned offers a diverse range of options for possible implementation, including several solutions with both significant improvement in product yields and lower fuel consumption, compared with typical operational conditions.

The photon beam position monitor (PBPM) plays a critically important role in the accurate monitoring of the beam position. W (Wire)-PBPMs are installed at the front end and photon transfer line (PTL) of the diagnostic beamline and detect the change of position and angle of the beam orbit applied to the beamline. It provides beam stability and position data in real time, which can be used in feedback system with BPM in storage-ring. Also it provides beam profile, which makes it possible to figure out the specifications of beam. With two W-PBPMs, the angle information of beam could be acquired and the results coupled with beam profile are used with orbit correction. The W-PBPM has been designed and installed in the diagnostic beamline at Pohang Light Source. Herein the details of the design, analysis and performance for the W-PBPM will be reported.

This paper presents an approximate decomposition method for the performance evaluation of non-homogeneous fabrication/assembly (F/A) systems with multiple failure modes, finite buffers, and a fixed assembly proportion. First, we introduce a mixed flow combined with fund flow and material flow to convert an F/A system to a virtual transfer line. Then, we decompose the virtual transfer line into several two-machine lines and establish a continuous decomposition model. To tackle the new emerging characteristics of the F/A system, we propose an F/A decomposition algorithm (FADA) for solving this model and obtain the throughput and buffer level of the F/A system to evaluate system performance. Also, we demonstrate the validity of the proposed model and algorithm by comparing with the results of simulation-based method and completion time approximation (CTA)-based method. Finally, we analyze the impact of several key parameters, including failure rates, repair rates, and buffer capacities, on the performance of the F/A system. The results show that our analytical method outperforms the existing methods and can help production managers to evaluate the system performance, analyze the possible modifications, and further find the best performance improvement of such F/A systems.

Based on previous results showing the tradeoff existing between cycle time (CT) and yield in fabs we propose to dynamically set the control limits of the statistical process control. The limits are determined based on the current level of congestion. We study both a single station and a simple multiple station transfer line and show that the resulting operating points are vastly better in terms of CT, while keeping the yield loss at acceptable levels.

International audience; The problem of reconfiguration appears also for the transfer lines that are designed for mass production of a single product. When a new product should be produced at an existing transfer line, it is necessary to reconfigure it. This is costly, and thus, the reconfiguration process should be optimized. This chapter presents a multi-objective mathematical model for such a problem and develops a goal programming approach to solve it. The results of computational experiments are reported.

Leakage was detected at the welds between stiffening plates and the pipe in a transfer line carrying butane and related petrochemical compounds. The line and reinforcing rings were of AISI 316 stainless steel, the pipe being of 508 mm diam and 6.25 mm wall thickness. The design temperature and pressure were 621 deg C and 2.75 kPa, respectively, while the operating conditions were 579 deg C and 1.03 kPa. The line was insulated. Failure occurred after approximately 90,000 h of operation, shutdowns being approximately two per annum. The cracking occurred at the toe of welds between the plates and the pipe. The creep damage failure was attributed to repeated relaxation cycles of very high thermal stresses of resulting from the periodic shutdowns, temperature fluctuations during service, or both. This failure emphasized the information available from an evaluation of the operative creep mechanism, namely grain boundary sliding, relating to the periodic nature of the loading, with high residual stresses being present.

The Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS)`s MicroCooler is a split configuration pulse tube cooler incorporating a coaxial cold head connected via a transfer line to a vibrationally balanced back to back linear flexure bearing compressor. Designed for > 10 year operation with no degradation in performance, this 900 gram cryocooler incorporates a very efficient pulse tube cold head for operation over a range of temperatures above 40K. This paper presents the results of a series of tests designed to qualify the NGAS MicroCooler to the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6. The MicroCooler was subjected to launch vibration and thermal cycling conditions appropriate to space applications. The measured load lines and unchanged refrigeration performance of the cooler throughout the qualification program demonstrated the robustness of the design. The performance of the MicroCooler was also characterized over a range of rejection temperatures and input powers to demonstrate its suitability for a wide range of missions and applications. The successful completion of series of tests has demonstrated that this very small, low vibration, high frequency cooler is qualified to be integrated into space payloads or an integrated detector cooler assembly (IDCA) for tactical applications, similar to those used with shorter lived tactical coolers.

The transfer line balancing problem (TLBP) and the buffer allocation problem (BAP) are amongst the most studied problems on transfer line system. However, the two problems are usually solved separately, although they are closely interrelated. Traditional optimization of TLBP probably leads to a deviation of production rate from the actual performance which is used as the optimization objective of the following BAP, especially when the equipment reliability differences are relatively large. In this paper, an innovative approach, considering machining accessibility and machine reliability, is presented to solve the TLBP and BAP simultaneously. A polychromatic-set-based constraint model and a collaborative optimization algorithm are proposed. A group of Boolean constraint matrixes both for machining feature sets and their optional stations sets are constructed through polychromatic set theory. A new coding mode based on priority, which always keeps all schemes feasible in each iteration and suitable for GA, PSO and other intelligent algorithms, is presented to describe all the allocation information for station, process, buffer and configuration. Optimization objectives including production rate and production cost are evaluated through the COM interface with simulation software. Comparison experiments and a real case of a diesel engine block demonstrate both the validity and efficiency.

During fuel combustion, mercury in the form of Hg 0 and Hg 2 + is emitted to the atmosphere. Effective reduction of mercury emission requires the application of speciation systems for emission control and research. To study the speciation of mercury in flue gas a portable and continuous system was constructed. The speciation system is based on the wet method of Hg 2 + transformation to Hg 0 . The main part of the system is the Nippon Instrument Corporation EMP-2 WLE-8 set. In order to operate in flue gas from coal burning the Nippon Instrument Corporation set was equipped with the following devices: fly ash filter, steel probe, transfer line, and the tee connector. The portable, continuous system was successfully tested in the laboratory and during the industrial tests in Poland and the Czech Republic. The described system was also used to determine mercury in the process gases (low-temperature pyrolysis of coal). The results of mercury speciation in flue gas were compared with Durag HM 1400 TRX system.

The challenges of insufficient residence time for crystal growing and transfer line blockage in conventional continuous MSMPR operations are still not well addressed. Periodic flow crystallization is a novel method whereby controlled periodic disruptions are applied to the inlet and outlet flows of an MSMPR crystallizer in order to increase its residence time. A dynamic model of residence time distribution in an MSMPR crystallizer was first developed to demonstrate the periodic flow operation. Besides, process models of periodic flow crystallizations were developed with an aim to provide a better understanding and improve the performance of the periodic flow operation, wherein the crystallization mechanisms and kinetics of the glycine-water system were estimated from batch cooling crystallization experiments. Experiments of periodic flow crystallizations were also conducted in single- / three-stage MSMPR crystallizers to validate the process models and demonstrate the advantages of using periodic flow operation in MSMPR stages.

Work balancing increasingly plays an important role in both the production and maintenance functions. However, the literature on work balancing problems in transfer line manufacturing systems provides little information on the contributions of maintenance technicians and spare parts with a focus on penalty, technicians’ costs and incentives for staff. Unlike existing reports, the current investigation attempts to solve the maintenance task balancing problem. It combines preventive maintenance technicians’ assignments with product demand and spares utilisation in a transfer line manufacturing system. It uses an optimisation framework that measures the success of post-line balancing solution performance in a system from a holistic perspective. The novelty of the approach lies in the integration of technicians and spare parts theory and the introduction of penalty, technicians’ costs and incentive for staff. The proposed optimisation method was applied to a case study for detergent manufacturing system as a means of testing the effectiveness and robustness of the approach. The results show that the proposed model appears to be effective. Some simulations were also carried out to complement practical results.

In the framework of the LIU project, new septa magnets have been designed between CERN's PS booster (PSB) extraction and PS injection. The upgraded devices are to deal with the increased beam energy from 1.4 to 2 GeV at extraction of the PSB. The direct drive recombination septa in the PSB transfer line to the PS and the eddy current PS injection septum together with a bumper at injection have been investigated using finite-element software. For the recombination magnets, an increase in magnet length is sufficient to obtain the required deflection; however, for the PS injection elements, a more novel solution is necessary to also achieve increased robustness to extend the expected lifetime of the pulsed device. The injection septum will share the same vacuum vessel with an injection bumper, and both magnets will be located adjacent to each other. The new PS injection magnet will be the first septum operated at CERN based on eddy current technology. The magnetic modeling of the devices, the comparison of the performance of the present 1.4-GeV devices with the predictions for the upgraded 2-GeV devices, and the solutions retained to achieve the field requirements are described in this paper.

A novel system for high-energy beam extraction from the U-70 proton synchrotron to the external beam transfer line (i.e., a multiturn fast extraction system) is described. The beam is forced into the first upstream ejection device—an electrostatic deflector—by means of fast dipole bump magnets with the field rise time of 50–100 μs (equivalent of 10–20 beam turns). The fast bump magnets and their power supplies are described. The first experimental results acquired during trial operation of the multiturn fast extraction system in 2014 are presented. From these results, it is apparent that the extracted beam parameters are close to those obtained with the available single-turn fast extraction system.

International audience; Laser-plasma accelerators (LPA) deliver relativistic electron beams with high peak current and low emittance, with energies up to the GeV-level in only few centimetres. However, the divergence and the energy spread of these beams remain too large for potential light source applications. A magnetic transfer line can be used to manipulate the electron beam phase-space and select the transmitted energies with a slit located at its center. We will show that with a proper focusing optics along the line, one can tune the energy spread of the beam at a given energy without loss and produce undulator radiation with controlled bandwidth. We present analytic studies, numerical simulations and experimental results on the controled electron beam transport and application to undulator radiation with a control of the bandwidth.

International audience; In more than four decades, particle acceleration by plasma wakefield has demonstrated its feasibility and efficiency. This acceleration technique is now starting to be planned for providing high-quality beams to well-defined user communities. High beam energy is also considered by piling successive plasma acceleration stages. In this context, avoiding beam degradation, on top of all emittance degradation, is the main concern when transferring the accelerated beam to the users or to the following acceleration stage. After examining the behavior of the trace and the phase emittances when crossing through a conventional transfer line, we are able to determine the criteria to be achieved in the plasma ramps so as to minimize emittance growth. Then the optimal density profile is studied for these ramps at the entrance and exit of a plasma stage accelerating electrons from the energy of 150 MeV to 5 GeV. Finally, the design of an optimal transfer line allows showing that the emittance growth can be contained to less than 10% in realistic conditions when transferring a beam to a free-electron laser.

The flux of high-energy protons slow-extracted from the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS) is limited by the induced radioactivity caused by the beam loss intrinsic to the extraction process. Methods to substantially increase the efficiency of the extraction process are of great interest to fulfill requests for an increasing flux of 400 GeV protons to the present experiments, located in the North Area of the SPS, and also for potential future experiments with very high demanded protons on target. A crystal shadowing technique to significantly reduce the beam scattered and lost on the electrostatic extraction septum during the third-integer resonant slow extraction process has been developed and a prototype system tested with beam. The technique is based on the use of a thin, bent silicon crystal to coherently channel or volume reflect the portion of beam that would otherwise impinge the wire array of the electrostatic septum and instead eject it into the transfer line toward the production targets of the experiments. In this paper, the concept is described and applied to the SPS machine in order to specify the requirements of the prototype crystal shadowing system. Beam dynamics simulations of the prototype system are compared and benchmarked to the results obtained through beam tests, before being exploited to understand the characteristics of the present system and the potential performance reach of an optimized, future operational configuration. The remaining challenges faced to bring the system into operation, the optimization possibilities and other potential applications are discussed.

Quantitative characterization of sulfur-containing petroleum derivatives is mainly limited by the large number of potential targets present and the matrix effects suffered due to the high-carbon-containing matrices. Herein we describe the instrumental modifications required in a commercial GC-ICP-MS/MS instrument, and their corresponding optimization, for turning it into a compound-independent quantitative technique for both total and speciation sulfur analysis in gasolines. Additionally, carbon-derived matrix effects were made negligible for direct and fast total S analysis, making the use of relatively complex isotope-dilution strategies not necessary anymore. An absolute detection limit of 0.3 pg of S was achieved, which is, to the best of our knowledge, more than 1 order of magnitude below the ones reported for other sulfur GC selective detectors. The precision was below 3% RSD. Total analysis was performed by flow-injection analysis through a transfer line and external calibration, whereas speciation analysis was carried out by chromatographic separation and internal standardization. In both cases, simple generic standards were used, which enabled us to get rid of specific S-containing standards, which were sometimes not available or unstable. The proposed method was successfully applied to total and speciation sulfur analysis of a commercial gasoline sample and validated with a certified-reference-material (ERM-EF213) gasoline. The approach has proved to be simple, fast, robust, and convenient for implementation in routine laboratories, as demonstrated by the successive analyses of 50 gasoline samples in 3 h without any instrumental drift.

Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems (NGAS) has expanded its cryocooler product line with the introduction of the Mini Cooler Plus (MCP) pulse tube cryocooler. The cooler is developed to provide a long-life, low-mass, high cooling capacity cryocooler for hyperspectral and infrared imaging payloads in tactical airborne and space applications. The MCP is a split configuration pulse tube cooler with a passive coaxial cold head connected through a transfer line to a vibrationally balanced back-to-back linear compressor. Designed for space and non-space applications, the MCP’s compressor is scaled from NGAS’ larger flight proven TRL9 family of compressors and contains non-wearing pistons suspended on flexure bearings. The reliability and ten-year lifetime are among the features of this class of pulse tube cryocooler, and have been verified by in-orbit operation of NGAS space flight cryocoolers. At 300 K reject, this 2.7-kg thermal mechanical unit can lift 1.5 W at 46 K with 150 W electrical input. This cooler is capable of cooling hyperspectral, LWIR (Long-Wave Infrared) and HOT (High Operating Temperature) IR payloads. This paper describes the MCP, its components and interfaces and presents the test data obtained in its laboratory configuration over a range of input powers and reject temperatures.

An IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) switch based LTB (Linac-To-Booster transfer line) kicker pulser has been satisfactory tested and put for routine operation in TPS (Taiwan Photon Source). The key features of this upgraded pulser, in comparison with the previous thyratron based PFN (Pulse-Forming-Network) pulser, concerning flat-top pulse length, flatness, fall time, pulse-to-pulse stability, and postpulse ripple have been drastically improved under the electric-noisy environment that has encountered at present field experience. The available bunch train for injection into the booster has increased by a factor of 5. This performance upgrade also provides the opportunity for a steady exploration related to booster injection characteristics.

A unique metal oxide semiconductor sensor (MOS) array detector with eight sensors was designed and fabricated in a PTFE chamber as an interface for coupling with multicapillary gas chromatography. This design consists of eight transfer lines with equal length between the multicapillary columns (MCC) and sensors. The deactivated capillary columns were passed through each transfer line and homemade flow splitter to distribute the same gas flow on each sensor. Using the eight ports flow splitter design helps us to equal the length of carrier gas path and flow for each sensor, minimizing the dead volume of the sensor's chamber and increasing chromatographic resolution. In addition to coupling of MCC to MOS array detector and other considerations in hardware design, modulation of MOS temperature was used to increase sensitivity and selectivity, and data analysis was enhanced with adapted Gaussian apodization factor analysis (GAFA) as a multivariate curve resolution algorithm. Continues air sampling and injecting system (CASI) design provides a fast and easily applied method for continues injection of air sample with no additional sample preparation. The analysis cycle time required for each run is less than 300 s. The high sample load and sharp injection with the fast separation by MCC decrease the peak widths and improve detection limits. This homemade customized instrument is an alternative to other time-consuming and expensive technologies for continuous monitoring of outgassing in air samples.

Plasma driven particle accelerators represent the future of compact accelerating machines and Free Electron Lasers are going to benefit from these new technologies. One of the main issue of this new approach to FEL machines is the design of the transfer line needed to match of the electron-beam with the magnetic undulators. Despite the reduction of the chromaticity of plasma beams is one of the main goals, the target of this line is to be effective even in cases of beams with a considerable value of chromaticity. The method here explained is based on the code GIOTTO [1] that works using a homemade genetic algorithm and that is capable of finding optimal matching line layouts directly using a full 3D tracking code., 9 Pages, 4 Figures. A related poster was presented at EAAC 2017

An analytical model for evaluating the throughput of two-machine lines, characterised by intermediate buffer with finite capacity, deterministic processing times and multiple failure modes for each machine is presented in this paper. Both operation-dependent failure and time-dependent failure are captured in a unique model as extension of the existing literature that was dealing with either one of them. Each machine has two failure modes, one is operation-dependent and the other is time-dependent. Time to failure and time to repair are assumed to be geometrically distributed. The presented method calculates the steady-state probabilities of the manufacturing system with a computational effort that depends only on the number of failure modes and not on the buffer capacity. A performance comparison of the proposed model with existing techniques is also reported, the aim is to show the error introduced by an analytical model that considers the operation-dependent failure mode as approximation of the time-dep...

We describe a technique for attaining extended transversally-flat paraxial dose fields with the intermediateenergy carbon beam slowly extracted at the magnetic-field flat-bottom from the IHEP U-70 synchrotron. To this end, a fixed-radius circular beam sweep with the aid of a compact electromechanical wobbler with rotating permanent dipole magnets is applied. A technique for tuning the beam transfer line and the irradiation facility proper at the interim radiobiological workbench with an external fixed target is substantiated. A brief description of its engineering implementation is presented. Results of the successful experimental verification of the technique in question with a carbon nuclear beam from the U-70 machine are reported, in particular, results of the primary radiobiological exercises accomplished in cooperation with the scientists at the MRRC of the Russian Ministry of Healthcare.

In the framework of the second stage of the Russian R&D program for the development of hybrid energy transfer lines (HETLs), the new 30-m $\hbox{MgB}_{2}$ superconducting cable with high voltage insulation has been developed and tested. The superconducting cable was inserted into a newly developed flexible 30-m hydrogen cryogenic line that has three sections with different types of thermal insulation in each section. High-voltage current leads were also developed. The superconducting cable, cryostat, and current leads have been tested in October 2013. Cable critical current was $\sim$ 3500 A at $\sim$ 21 K. Cable and current leads passed a high voltage test with 50-kV dc at liquid hydrogen temperature. The tests were performed at temperatures from 20 to 26 K, hydrogen flow from 70 to 450 g/s, and pressure from 0.25 to 0.5 MPa. It was found that the active evaporating cryostatting system as a thermal insulation practically eliminated heat transfer from room temperature to liquid hydrogen. The flexible 30-m HETL developed is able to deliver $\sim$ up to 60 MW of chemical power and $\sim$ 75 MW of electrical power, i.e., $\sim$ 135 MW in total. $\hbox{MgB}_{2}$ cable design and test results of hybrid energy transfer lines are presented and discussed.

In this paper we present the development of a new hybrid energy transfer line with 30 m length. The line is essentially a flexible 30 m hydrogen cryostat that has three sections with different types of thermal insulation in each section: simple vacuum superinsulation, vacuum superinsulation with liquid nitrogen precooling and active evaporating cryostatting (AEC) system. We performed thermo-hydraulic tests of the cryostat to compare three thermo-insulating methods. The tests were made at temperatures from 20 to 26 K, hydrogen flow from 70 to 450 g/s and pressure from 0.25 to 0.5 MPa. It was found that AEC thermal insulation was the most effective in reducing heat transfer from room temperature to liquid hydrogen in ∼10 m section of the cryostat, indicating that it can be used for long superconducting power cables. High voltage current leads were developed as well. The current leads and superconducting MgB 2 cable passed high voltage DC test up to 50 kV DC. Critical current of the cable at ∼21 K was 3500 A. It means that the 30 m hybrid energy system developed is able to deliver ∼50–60 MW of chemical power and ∼50–75 MW of electrical power, i.e. up to ∼135 MW in total.

To avoid the secondary reactions in steam cracking of hydrocarbon feedstocks, which lead to undesirable products such as coke, the high temperature gas leaving from the cracking furnace need be rapidly quenched in Transfer Line Exchanger (TLE). A severe problem in the process is that coke deposits on the walls of the furnace coil and the TLE tubes, which leads to increasing heat transfer resistances and pressure drops. When the coke deposition reaches an allowable maximum, the TLE must be periodically shut down for decoking. This work developed an optimization model for the operation process of TLE system. The proposed model has been considered an integrated model for TLE to optimize the operation process. Firstly, we built a steady-state heat transfer model and a dynamic coke depositing model, respectively. Then, we integrated two models by using quasi-steady assumption, in which the thickness of the coke deposition is considered as a constant in one time interval. According to the integrated model, we chose the COT as the manipulated variable to optimize the operation period between decoking. At last, the reliability and adaptability of the optimization model was validated by one significant case study. The results showed that the optimization model of TLE system could effectively increase the operation period.

A combined system that consists of a pulsed sampling system, a capillary column as a transfer line and a mass spectrometer is used for online monitoring of complicated mixtures of gases and VOCs produced in a bioreactor. The combined system had long term stability and robust operation together with significant separation capability when the transfer line was a coated capillary column. It appeared that the optimum separation was achieved at temperatures as low as 50°C. The system was capable of detecting reactor events and system malfunctions and of providing analytical information regarding evolved gases and VOCs. Contour plots were used for summarizing voluminous data originating from continuous (24 × 7) online monitoring of the bioreactor. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015. 7 15 6243 6250

Recently we reported about first in the world test of 10 m hybrid energy transfer line with liquid hydrogen and MgB2 superconducting cable. In this paper we present the new development of our second hybrid energy transfer line with 30 m length. The flexible 30 m hydrogen cryostat has three sections with different types of thermal insulation in each section: simple vacuum superinsulation, vacuum superinsulation with liquid nitrogen shield and active evaporating cryostatting (AEC) system. We performed thermo-hydraulic tests of the cryostat to compare three thermo-insulating methods. The tests were performed at temperatures from 20 to 26 K, hydrogen flow from 100 to 450 g/s and pressure from 0.25 to 0.5 MPa. It was found that AEC thermal insulation practically eliminated completely heat transfer from room temperature to liquid hydrogen in the 10 m section. AEC thermal insulation method can be used for long superconducting power cables. High voltage current leads were developed as well. The current leads and superconducting MgB2 cable have been passed high voltage DC test up to 50 kV DC. Critical current of the cable at ∼21 K was ∼3500 A. The 30 m hybrid energy system developed is able to deliver up to 135 MW of chemical and electrical power in total.

With the increasing importance of ion storage rings and traps in low energy physics experiments, an efficient transport of ion species from the ion source area to the experimental setup becomes essential. Some available, powerful software packages rely on transfer matrix calculations in order to compute the ion trajectory through the ion-optical beamline systems of high complexity. With analytical approaches, so far the transfer matrices are documented only for a few ideal ion optical elements. Here we describe an approach (using beam tracking calculations) to determine the transfer matrix for any individual electrostatic or magnetostatic ion optical element. We verify the procedure by considering the well-known cases and then apply it to derive the transfer matrix of a 90-degree electrostatic quadrupole deflector including its realistic geometry and fringe fields. A transfer line consisting of a quadrupole deflector and a quadrupole doublet is considered, where the results from the standard first order transfer matrix based ion optical simulation program implementing the derived transfer matrix is compared with the real field beam tracking simulations.

Badak LNG operates two loading docks for loading LNG to transporting vessels. Each loading dock is served by two main piping systems. One piping system used to transfer the LNG from the storage tanks to the loading arms and another piping system to transfer the boil off gas (BOG) from the vessels back to the plant, to be utilized as fuel. Both piping systems are equipped with expansion bellows installed to compensate piping contraction and expansion cycles, caused by temperature cycle during operation. Several gas leaking events have occurred on expansion bellows of BOG piping, resulting in dock unavailability and may result in interruption of LNG shipping schedule. Preliminary specification review suggested that the subjected bellows operational cycles were far below the designed number of cycle. This fact, along with the evidence of bulging sections found at five to seven o'clock position, indicated possible overstress phenomenon. This study verifies the overstress phenomenon and recommends the counter measures to prevent similar problem by implementing three approaches i.e.: reviewing the bellows design and specification, developing piping stress model to obtain general overview of stress experienced by piping system in comparison to the result against the construction code, and developing finite element model to obtain more detailed stress profile within the bellows convolutions. The study results showed that the main cause of the overstress condition is a steep temperature gradient between the bottom and the top side of the bellows during transient period of cooling process of BOG piping, which happened in every loading schedule. To prevent similar failure, a change in bellows specification, modification of piping supports and installation of temperature transmitter to enable monitoring and control of BOG cooling process are recommended to be implemented.

The most big manufacturing plants such as large transfer line, large packaging machines, steel production line or plants for food and beverage are built for a long-live deployment and are usually energy-intensive processes. A redesign of mechanical parts is for a long usage term (20 till 30 years) not required. But upgrading of automation parts with more performance is a needful continuously process. An efficiently implementation of modern automation and IT technologies by currently engineering tolls is not the state of the art. On the beginning of this paper a model concept will be introduced, showing how the partition of the large plants can be performed in small collaborating parts with less complexity. The next model describes the distributed and allocated hardware and software components to determined plant parts. The developed distributed control system based on smart Ethernet nodes, which allows remote control and maintenance according elements of industry 4.0.

ThomX is a compact Compton based X-ray source under construction at LAL in Orsay (France). The ThomX facility is composed of a 50-70 MeV linac, a transfer line and an 18 meters long storage ring. Compton scattering between 50 MeV, 1 nC electron bunches and 10 mJ laser pulses stacked in a Fabry-Perot cavity results in the production of photons with energies up to 90 keV with a maximum flux of 1013 photons per second. The ThomX building is close to be finished. The installation of the accelerator will start in 2018, followed by the optical table and the Fabry-Perot cavity.

The MERLIN accelerator being commissioned at AWE in a new Technology Development Centre will provide one of the flash radiographic sources at a joint UK/French facility for hydrodynamic testing in support of the two nations' nuclear deterrents. The ten module Induction Voltage Adder (IVA) has been designed to provide a 60 ns long TerraWatt pulse to drive a Self Magnetic Pinch (SMP) electron beam diode at 7.5 MV. The design work for MERLIN was carried out by L3 Pulse Sciences in San Leandro, California and builds on previous IVA experience in the USA. Prototyping of sub-systems was also carried out by L3 to confirm that the performance and reliability requirements for the overall accelerator can be met. However, it is only now that all the components of the accelerator have been brought together and its overall function can be characterised and compared with predictions. Commissioning of the accelerator has involved setting to work the ancillary systems which provide and control oil, deionised water, sulphur hexafluoride gas, vacuum, control and instrumentation, diagnostics and data acquisition. With these operating satisfactorily testing of the pulsed power systems was able to commence. Commissioning of the pulsed power systems started with a run up of the Marx generator into a resistive load to its operating voltage of 2.5 MV, including characterisation of the trigger systems and the diverter switches. These are intended to short the Marx output after it reaches peak voltage, or if a prefire occurs, in order to reduce the risk of electrical breakdowns. The waveforms produced during factory tests in the US were successfully reproduced and the jitter of the trigger systems shown to meet specification. This allowed the commissioning programme to proceed to the active commissioning phase where an X-ray output is generated. Active commissioning is enabled by the Marx generator being connected via an oil insulated transfer line to the Pulse Forming Lines (PFLs). Each module of MERLIN comprises an induction cell driven by one of these PFLs. The upstream section of each PFL receives its 2.5 MV charge from the Marx generator on a microsecond timescale before its pulse forming action is initiated by a laser triggered gas switch. The laser triggering should provide nanosecond order synchronisation, and hence excellent pulse reproducibility, when the pulses are combined in the adder. The 60ns duration 1.1 MV outputs of the PFLs are fed to their corresponding induction cells which act to perform voltage addition along a 28 metre long 80 Ohm MITL. This delivers an 11 MV forward going wave to the e-beam diode. The pulsed radiographic source driven by MERLIN will be a SMP diode developed in an AWE led research programme in collaboration with US National Laboratories. This diode operates at approximately 40 Ohms with the result that retrapping of the MITL sheath current occurs transforming the 11 MV forward wave down to ∼ 7.5 MV while increasing the load current to ∼ 200 kA. The PFL's configuration tailors the output pulse to compensate for the SMP diode's intra-pulse impedance droop and hence generate a relatively constant voltage during the X-ray flash. Since the SMP diode is a single shot device (due to the energy density incident at the anode/X-ray converter) a Large Area Diode (LAD) of similar impedance is utilised to allow repeated testing of the pulsed power systems. By mid-2017 the testing of the Pulsed Power systems and MITL with the LAD is due to have been completed and the optimisation of the SMP diode should be in progress.

A transfer line between a pulse tube cold head and a pressure wave generator is usually required to isolate the cold head from the vibrations of the compressor. Although it is a common practice to use a thin and narrow straight tube, a bent tube would allow design flexibility and easy mounting of the cold head, such as in a split Stirling type pulse tube cryocooler. In this paper, we report a preliminary investigation on the effect of the bending of the tube on the flow transfer characteristics. A numerical study using commercial computational fluid dynamics model is performed to gain insight into the flow characteristics in the bent tube. Oscillating flow experiments are performed with a straight and a bent tube at a filling pressure of 15 bar and an operating frequency of 40, 50 and 60 Hz. The data and the corresponding numerical simulations point to the hypothesis that the secondary flow in the bent tube causes a decrease in flow at a fixed pressure amplitude.

International audience; Laser-plasma acceleration is one of the most promising techniques to reach very high acceleration gradients up to a few hundreds of GeV/m. In order to push this acceleration scheme in the domain of the very high energies, the CILEX project was launched with the laser APOLLON. One of the main topics of this project is to study multi-staged acceleration. It consists in generating and pre-accelerating electrons in a first laser-plasma stage, to transport them up to a second stage where the electrons are accelerated again thanks to another laser pulse. The DACTOMUS project, based on a collaboration CEA-IRFU, CEA-IRAMIS, LAL, LPGP, LULI and LLR, aims at the study and realization of such a transfer line between these two stages. Firstly, a prototype will be developed and tested by the groups of CEA-IRAMIS-SPAM, LPGP, and LULI on the UHI100 facility(CEA-SPAM). This collaboration must enable to realize the first acceleration stage. For the transport line prototype, the main difficulties are to realize a very compact and energy accepting line with diagnostics to characterize the electron beam. We will present here the optics of this line, its performances and the inserted diagnostics.

This paper presents the results of calculations of a planned helium transfer line operating at cryogenic temperatures as low as 4.5 K. A strength analysis was conducted for the cryogenic transfer line designed to transport supercritical and gaseous helium. The strength analysis of a transfer line operating at extremely low temperatures was conducted using the Finite Element Method (FEM) for complex boundary conditions. The results of numerical calculations served as the basis for the design documentation of the XATL1 cryogenic line to be installed at DESY site.

The effective and efficient utilisation of cryogen is made possible by optimised transfer lines which ensures reduction in chilldown time and cryogen usage. Cryogenic chill-down experiments were conducted on coated and regular copper tubes. Liquid nitrogen at different mass flux condition was used as the working fluid and Polyurethane coatings belonging to the family of Teflon was used as coating material. The performance of the regular and coated copper tubes at corresponding mass flux were compared. An increase in heat flux and heat transfer coefficient along with reduction in chilldown time was obtained by providing a low thermal conductive coating between the cryogen and wall material.

We formulate a continuous-time Markov chain model of a transfer line in which there are two unreliable machines separated by a finite buffer. Due to limited repair resources, simultaneous repairs are not possible in cases where both machines fail, and therefore we develop a repair priority rule that depends on the number of work-pieces present in the buffer. Each machine is characterized by three exponentially distributed random variables: processing time, time to failure, and time to repair. We provide a stochastic model for finding an optimal repair priority rule and an efficient algorithm accompanied by easy-to-use Matlab software. An extensive numerical study is performed to test the sensitivity of the proposed dynamic repair priority rule. While in previous studies repair priority was given to the bottleneck machine, we show that there are situations in which priority should be given to the non-bottleneck machine. Finally, we identify conditions in which adding a second technician is economically advisable.