Spallation Neutron Source First Target Replaced
After having outlasted all expectations in regards to its service life, the original mercury target of the Spallation Neutron Source – SNS – is being replaced for the first time. The SNS is the record-setting neutron science facility of the Department of Energy, which is located at Oakridge national laboratory. Operators at the SNS are therefore taking advantage of maintenance outage plan to replace the old target that had been in service since April 28, 2006 when SNS was started. A former SNS director revealed that they were anticipating that this SNS operation would take place since the summer of 2008, and that the target would receive 2 times the cumulative beam as the projections made for its lifetime limit. Neutron scientists are proud of their achievements in terms of the beam intensities that the SNS already provides. Read More About: Microwave Power Transmission Market Potential
This SNS mercury target is the first of its kind. The SNS mercury target works by having a proton beam generated by the linear accelerator of the SNS, directed to strike the SNS mercury target 60 times per second with a force equivalent to the bursts that come from a large-caliber machine gun. In the process, neutrons are spalled from the mercury that is circulating inside.
Eventually, it is expected that the wear and tear from these forces will in time damage the stainless steel of the target and thus make it unusable. The fact that the target is modular means that it can be changed out whenever necessary and scientists approximate the first change as being necessary a year ago.
The decision to run the SNS at lower power, in order to give experiments that are already being carried out a more stable beam time, could be one of the reasons for the SNS target’s longer than expected life. This could also be due to the need to step up the SNS power more slowly as well. By replacing the target during the maintenance outage periods, the scientists will be able to avoid interrupting any ongoing experiments.
The SNS has been routinely operating at just less than 500 kilowatts, even with a maximum design beam power of 1.4 megawatts. The SNS is already the most powerful source of neutrons in the world and whenever power is stepped up, a new record is set. Scientific users were already impressed by the current levels of power at the SNS even before the step up. The team at SNS has already operated the facility at close to megawatt levels.
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