Speaker
Description
The Dual Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test (DARHT) facility consists of two linear induction accelerators (LIA’s) used for flash radiography. The electron to Bremsstrahlung X-ray conversion at the target generates upstream traveling debris and requires debris blockers for machine protection. A spinning wheel debris blocker is installed on DARHT Axis I and the timing of the spinning wheel iris opening and the injector firing must be coincided to allow the electron beam to pass through while stopping debris from potentially traveling back into the accelerator. The coincidence between the spinning wheel and injector is the first signal used in the slow sequence of logical feedback needed to fire the machine. DARHT Axis I utilizes a pair of legacy custom electronics to handle this synchronization, giving the green light to the controls system to fire. This hardware is decades old and requires modifications to the input signals to continue the operational readiness of the accelerator. In this poster, we will discuss how we have reconfigured this hardware to bolster the ability to sync the machine with the controls and timing systems using standard off-the-shelf hardware. We will then discuss the new diagnostics and interlocks that we have implemented, to prevent future interruption of accelerator operations, and plans to incorporate a second debris blocker on Axis II into this timing configuration.
Funding Agency
This work was supported by the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. 89233218CNA000001.
