ligo-ex ligo-ds
  Richardson Lab Experimental Log, Page 6 of 12  Not logged in ELOG logo
ID Date Authordown Type Category Subject
  334   Wed Feb 21 23:15:07 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsLong Shoelaces 1 Layout Created in Gtrace and Fixed Ghosting in Beamsplitter
I have created the long shoelaces 1 layout for cosmic explorer using gtrace, a slight modification from the shoelaces 1 layout design. I also modified the simulation code slightly to remove ghosting effects in the beamsplitter. Originally the python code specified that the HR and AR sides of the beamsplitter both have the same transmission/reflection. I modified this to the ideal case of: Refl_AR = 0, Trans_AR = 1. I have attached two images below to show the before and after effect of this modification.
  342   Tue Feb 27 03:26:28 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsReverse aLIGO Layout Created in Gtrace
I've created the simulation for reverse aLIGO layout in gtrace. Attached are the desmos model and the output dxf file. From here Pooyan and I plan to create a brief report of our progress to the CE optical design group.
  357   Sun Apr 7 13:42:51 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsUpdate on status of gtrace project
[Pooyan, Michael]

After meeting and discussing the current state of our work with Prof. Fulda a few weeks ago, we have decided that the best next step for the gtrace project is its integration into finesse work. Our first step towards this integration involved creating a sequential beam trace in contrast to the previous non sequential gtrace simulations. A sequential beam trace not only allows for faster runtimes of the simulation (<1 second) but also allows for more direct reading of certain beam parameters (beam size, gouy phase, and angle of incidence). The sequential model was created alongside a yaml output which provides values of parameters, now including the angle of incidence on a mirror.

Last Monday, Pooyan gave a report to the Cosmic Explorer optical design team on the current state of our project and the ultimate goal of our work. During the same meeting another group working in the optical design team presented their own work with gtrace and optical design, focusing more on optimization of parameters based on desired beam sizes at each mirror. It might be a good idea to begin attempting to bring our individual projects together to allow for collaboration and further developments.

Currently, only the crab1 layout has a sequential trace model. Pooyan is currently working on creating a finesse model for crab1 to serve as a proof of concept for how gtrace could be integrated with finesse by providing useful values such as angles of incidence.

  397   Mon Jul 8 12:26:10 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsMinimizing Astigmatic Effects in the SRC of LIGO
This is the first look and analysis of the effects of astigmatism in the aLIGO optical layout which can lead to mode mismatch and therefore increased losses into higher order modes. Specifically I am currently looking at measuring the effect of changing the radii of curvature of the SRC mirrors https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qhIehqyNukg4g8S2fqfQZz83yr9aB76tEa6fn2J-TrM/edit?usp=sharing
  409   Mon Jul 15 15:52:40 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsaLIGO locking with varying SRC mirrors and measuring mode mismatch
  Draft   Sun Aug 4 09:01:01 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsUpdate on SRC Mode Mismatch Analysis
An update on my analysis to minimize mode mismatch/scattering by introducing toroidal mirrors to the SRC.
  436   Mon Sep 9 12:36:45 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsUpdate on Analysis of Mode Mismatch Minimization in A#
I have taken a closer look at the solution curve in the mirror parameter space which I have searched, focusing on the "resilience" of specific points, with the plan to analyze how certain conditions of the interferometer change as we move along this solution curve.
  482   Mon Dec 2 00:11:23 2024 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsStatus Update on Toroidal Mirrors Project Work
As it has been significant time from my last update on this project, I compiled a few notes about what I have been working on, current issues, and my future plans. The past few weeks have been focused on me attempting to obtain a reliable symbolic expression for mismatch. This is important going forward as it allows us to determine optimal points in the parameter space and the surrounding behavior efficiently without significant computational cost. However this been quite difficult since I've encountered some fundamental discrepancies in the way values like the ABCD matrix and q-parameters are calculated/returned in Finesse. Since I have yet to resolve this, I'm focusing on next steps in developing tools for statistical simulations.

Update Slides

  523   Tue Feb 25 01:37:00 2025 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsUpdates and Current Next Steps for Toroidal Mirrors Project
Since the previous discussion of this project, I've worked on building finesse models to verify mathematical results which model the astigmatism in a two mirror system which we attempt to minimize. This left us with a single condition for an output non-astigmatic beam. However, as can be seen in finesse simulations, there does exist other configurations which have a negligibly small astigmatism, which we may want to consider. Below I've attached the link to my overleaf project which has some updated information which I plan on discussing.

https://www.overleaf.com/project/67968921426e61d5b2fd8c96
  548   Tue Apr 8 00:17:01 2025 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsSqueezing Performance Graphs for Case With and Without Toroidal Mirrors in LIGO
I've created some graphs for the frequency dependent observed squeezing level in LIGO for both the nominal case and the case where we include toroidal mirrors, giving some interesting results. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RBr47hNaxFTdGrwys5ZCUEUOgVOVHmZ2B_5EQwY62IY/edit?usp=sharing
  556   Mon Apr 21 16:56:42 2025 MichaelUpdateInterferometer SimulationsFixed Observed Squeezing Curve for Toroidal Mirror Case
We've resolved the issue with the observed squeezing curve for the toroidal mirror case showing worse performance at lower frequencies and better performance at higher frequencies compared to the nominal case. This issue was caused by the beam parameter at the squeezer being fixed before changing the radii of curvature of the mirrors. This has been changed to be fixed after changing the mirrors, and we see an improvement in the toroidal mirror case.
  541   Sun Mar 23 15:39:06 2025 Luke JohnsonUpdateScripts/ProgramsRingheater Location optimization
Attached are some plots that show a new parameter sweep with a finer mesh then before. I have also been able to get a heatmap of power of HOMs in a very simple finesse model.
  543   Mon Mar 31 11:26:45 2025 Luke JohnsonUpdateScripts/ProgramsHeatmaps of power delivery performance
These plots show the required temperature to release 100W of power and the efficiency of a particular configuration with half-width w and distance away from the barrel z. I want to add to these heat maps a limit line that has restricts the proximity of the reflectors from the barrel.
  405   Mon Jul 15 13:30:49 2024 Luke UpdateVACProblem with 2.75" to 1.33" zero length reducer
Last Friday while checking the depth of the ZLR I got one of the screws stuck. Today I tried a couple things to get it out. First I tried a few different pliers to be able to grip lower on the screw this didn't work. So I switched to the other method of drilling a small hole to see if maybe the threads would pull away from the walls of the hole a bit. This kind of worked as seen in the picture below I was able to remove most of the screw but there is a bit still stuck which I was not able to remove and I didn't want to use a larger bit for fear of damaging the tapped hole.
  423   Mon Aug 12 16:35:30 2024 Luke Update Ringheater modeling Update
  435   Fri Sep 6 14:34:52 2024 Luke UpdateVACHeating tape work

On the 5th I had tried to start baking the vacuum chamber however certain parts of the chamber were getting too hot and causing the controllers to shut off. So I turned them off so that the next day I could rearrange the temperature probes. I then on the 6th set them up so that instead of overshooting the temperature they would be a little low in places.

After being left over night the cooler parts of the vacuum chamber got much closer to the desired temperature of 120C.

Here is a table of the temperatures of the sections of the chamber. Note: After these measurements were taken the PID controllers were set to 125C.

Location   Temperature (C)
Lid (PID controller 1 emergency shutoff) 108
Barrel lower (PID controller 1) 120 
Barrel upper (PID controller 2 emergency shutoff) 118
RGA volume (PID controller 2) 120

Here is a table of temperature of the flanges that have electronics.

Electronics Temperature (C)
Pressure gauge (Main volume) 79
Main turbo pump 64
RGA 51
Pressure gauge (RGA volume) 55
Cal leak 47
Mini turbo pump 50
Pirani gauge 45 

Other temperatures of note:

The optical table was about 38C

The cleanroom was around 33C (~91F)

  452   Wed Oct 2 12:05:42 2024 Luke Update Ringheater modeling Update

Power point slides

  Draft   Wed Oct 23 12:33:54 2024 Luke Update Zernike calculation update

PowerPoint slides new

PowerPoint slides older

  471   Wed Nov 13 14:06:00 2024 Luke UpdateGeneral 

slides

  472   Thu Nov 14 10:46:20 2024 Luke SummaryCleanroomCleanroom cleaning

 

[Luke, Luis, Michael]

cleaning cleanroom and particle count

  • 8:30 am: started particle count
    • zone 3:
      • 0.3 u: 1195
      • 0.5 u: 177
      • 1.0 u: 132
    • zone 4:
      • 0.3 u: 619
      • 0.5 u: 0
      • 1.0 u: 0
  • 9:00 am: began surface check and wipedown, including softwalls
  • 9:35 am: started vacuuming the floor
  • 9:43 am: finished vacuuming the floor
  • 9:45 am: started mopping the floor
  • 9:55 am: finished mopping the floor
  • 9:56 am: started cleaning the buckets
  • 10:00 am: started mopping with IPA wipes
  • 10:05 am: finished mopping with IPA wipes
  • 10:20m: started particle count
    • zone 3:
      • 0.3 u: 2213
      • 0.5 u: 398
      • 1.0 u: 0
    • zone 4:
      • 0.3 u: 1150
      • 0.5 u: 177
      • 1.0 u: 44
  474   Tue Nov 19 17:10:34 2024 Luke UpdateVACLeak check

Chamber temperature: 23C

Chamber Initial Pressure: ~1.8e-8 main, ~3.5e-8 rga

Did another leak test after monday's work to check how the seal was holding up initial leak was 5.5e-9. I then tried to tighten the bolts a bit more the leak rose to 1.9e-8 about a factor of 4 change.

I checked another flange to confirm that I was preforming the test properly. I measured the elbow to pressure sensor to be 2.2e-11 aproximatly what it was earlier in the month (1.9e-11). 

I ran another isolation test. It is still exponetial. Graph attached.

Thoughts:

I belive at this point that it is a knife edge issue when replacing the gasket I checked both flanges and the new gasket. The tp knife edge seemed perfectly fine, the gasket had very minor scratches, and the reducing cross had very small imperfections on its edge. 

We may want to try and use the liquid sealant or get annealed gaskets for 4.5"

  478   Wed Nov 27 12:27:45 2024 Luke SummaryVACSummary of vacuum work

[Luke, Luis]

Update of current state of vacuum chamber

Current temp: 24°C

Current pressure: Main 1.77e-8, RGA 5.3e-9 [torr] (Gate valve open)

Summary of recent work-->

To try and reduce the leak in the turbo pump by reducing cross-connection, we replaced the copper gasket. This made no improvement to the leaks.

Initially: 1.9e-9 --->

Left side: 1.33e-9, Right side: 3.37e-9 (Gate valve open)

This is still a significant leak. We have tried to tighten the bolts further, but they are as tight as reasonably possible. 

Things of note: While examining the knife edges, we found some very slight imperfections on the reducing cross's flange as seen in 474. This could be the source of our leak. We have replaced this gasket 1-2 times already and consistently have a slight leak. This imperfection is on the right side of the flange, which would be consistent with the measurements above. 

Unless we want to use the liquid sealant or replace the gasket with an annealed gasket, we could try baking the system again, as this allowed us to reach UHV in the main volume before. It also allowed us to pass the RGA scan, which we are currently failing. (see attached)

  480   Wed Nov 27 16:23:58 2024 Luke UpdateVACStarted bake

[Luke, Luis]

The vacuum chamber is currently baking. 

We stepped up to 125°C by increments of 30°C starting at 60°C. Everything went fine. After about 20 minutes of the PID controllers being set to 125°C, the flange closest to the RGA was 38°C, so we left it connected. 

Current state as of 4:15:

The gate valve is open, and the filament of the RGA is on.

The temperatures are as follows:

PID right barrel upper: 105°C,  RGA volume: 125°C

PID left barrel lower: 125°C, Lid: 82°C

The lower temperatures should climb as the whole system heats up. 

I will come in Saturday afternoon to turn them off so that we can look at the pressures on Monday. 

  483   Mon Dec 2 13:35:45 2024 Luke UpdateGeneralClean and bake of Viton O-rings

[Luke, Luis]

We couldn't access the bake log on the wiki. (see attached) So we looked in the documentation provided on the DCC to find at what temperature to bake the Viton O-rings. We found that we should bake Viton at 180°C for 24 hours. 

So we sonic-washed the O-rings, dried them, and then put them in the oven set to the following:

100°C in 15 minutes

100°C for 30 minutes

180°C in 30 minutes

180°C for 24 hours

30°C in 2 hours

 

Other things of note:

We refilled the water container as it was running out.

The nitrogen used to dry the clean and baked objects is now critically low.

The helium used in leak testing is also quite low (~400 psi).

 

Regarding the vacuum chamber:

I reattached the pressure gauges to the chamber and gave them about an hour to stabilize. They read out main 8.7e-9, RGA 2.6e-9. Please note these pressures should lower more as we only stopped baking on Saturday afternoon. 

  497   Wed Jan 8 17:35:57 2025 Luke SummaryCleanroomCleanroom cleaning

[Luke, Tyler, Cynthia, Shane, Michael]

Summary of Cleaning Activities:

We began cleaning Room 1119 at 2:00 PM.

At 2:30 PM, we moved to Room 1129 and continued cleaning.

Cleaning tasks included wiping down dust-collecting surfaces and vacuuming the floors.

Once the labs were clean, we proceeded to the cleanroom. 

  • Wiping down surfaces and soft walls
  • Vacuuming, mopping the floor, and finishing with IPA wipes

Particle Count Measurements:

  • Pre-cleaning (2:30 PM):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 973
      • 0.5 µm: 354
      • 1.0 µm: 132
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 486
      • 0.5 µm: 177
      • 1.0 µm: 0
  • Post-cleaning (4:10 PM):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 619
      • 0.5 µm: 132
      • 1.0 µm: 0
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 397
      • 0.5 µm: 0
      • 1.0 µm: 0

 

  500   Tue Jan 21 10:12:02 2025 Luke SummaryGeneralFrosti toy model

[Luke, Liu]

Over the winter break I have been working on this desmos toy model of the Frosti. There are still a few rough spots but I belive that it is a good visual representation of a 2D slice of the frosti. 

  502   Sat Jan 25 18:19:39 2025 Luke UpdateGeneralRingheater modeling Update

Here is a quick update on some of the things I have been working on regarding my project. 

  507   Sat Feb 1 17:25:52 2025 Luke SummaryGeneralCleanroom cleaning

[Luke, Cece, Luis]

Particle Count Measurements:

  • Pre-cleaning (12:15 PM):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 1325
      • 0.5 µm: 265
      • 1.0 µm: 0
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 618
      • 0.5 µm: 132
      • 1.0 µm: 44
  • Started Cleaning (3:20 pm)
  • Finished Cleaning (4:20 pm)
  • Post-cleaning (4:35 PM):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 1106
      • 0.5 µm: 221
      • 1.0 µm: 0
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 530
      • 0.5 µm: 44
      • 1.0 µm: 0

 

  509   Fri Feb 7 12:25:56 2025 Luke SummaryVACStarted bake

[Luke, Luis]

The vacuum chamber is currently baking. 

We stepped up to 120°C by increments of 30°C starting at 60°C. We took about an hour break at 90°C to let the temperatures equilibrate.  

Current state as of 12:20:

The gate valve is open, the calibrated Argon leak is open, and the filament of the RGA is on.

The temperatures are as follows:

PID right barrel upper: 113°C,  RGA volume: 120°C

PID left barrel lower: 121°C, Lid: 114°C

The lower temperatures should climb as the whole system heats up. 

 

  513   Sun Feb 16 16:45:18 2025 Luke UpdateGeneralRingheater position optimization

Over the last couple weeks I have been working on finding the optimal position of the ringheater's thermal profile. 

Today I would like to give an update of where I am at and my next steps.

Using the python COMSOL interface I have been able to run and save deformation data sweeping through a great deal of potential combinations of widths and positions.

I then calculated their zernike coefficients and using a very simple "quality" function (02 - (40)*10 - (4-4)*10), where 02 stands for the zernike mode of quadratic deformation, I was able to generate a heat map of comparing the "quality" verses the width and position used. 

Seen below are four plots. The first is simply the 02 coefficient of the decomposition followed by the negative of 40 and 4-4 then the "quality."

This 'quality' function was an arbitrary choice on my part. I believe that my next step would either be defining a more useful function or using finesse to model the actual effects of this surface deformation.

  517   Tue Feb 18 11:19:13 2025 Luke ConfigurationVACRepositioning of the lid's temperature probe
Before the recent bake I slightly repositioned the temperature probe on the lid from beside the heater tape to under the heater tape. This was done to better know and control the temperatures of the chamber while baking. It has appeared to work with the temperatures being held very close to the 120C target.
  520   Sun Feb 23 12:11:43 2025 Luke SummaryCleanroomCleanroom cleaning

[Luke, Mary, Luis]

Particle Count Measurements:

  • Pre-cleaning (8:40 am):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 441
      • 0.5 µm: 44
      • 1.0 µm: 0
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 353
      • 0.5 µm: 176
      • 1.0 µm: 44
  • Started Cleaning (3:16 pm)
  • Finished Cleaning (4:10 pm)
  • Post-cleaning (4:15 pm):
    • Zone 3:
      • 0.3 µm: 574
      • 0.5 µm: 265
      • 1.0 µm: 132
    • Zone 4:
      • 0.3 µm: 177
      • 0.5 µm: 44
      • 1.0 µm: 0

 

  521   Sun Feb 23 16:00:07 2025 Luke UpdateScripts/ProgramsRingheater modeling Update

These are some plots:

The first shows the convergence of the 02 mode reducing the size of the mesh. The second shows the the numerical error of the zernike.

The first is found by sweeping a parameter that changes the size of the mesh. The HR surface was set to half a cm for all values.

The second by taking the inner product of a zernike mode with its self and calculating its deviation from pi for varying fineness of the mesh.

  550   Tue Apr 8 12:15:59 2025 Luke UpdateScripts/ProgramsUpdated optimization plot
  557   Tue Apr 22 08:00:39 2025 Luke UpdateScripts/ProgramsThermal optimization modeling 40kg

I have redone the width and location optimization with a 40kg test mass. This was to see where the nominal ring heater would fall in this optimization map see attached.

There are two concerns I have with this modeling:

  1. I am using normalized power only imparting 1W, which may effect the single pass scattering used for optimization.
  2. I am only looking at the surface deformation and I believe that looking at OPD may also be something that is important to consider. 

Note z_RH is measured from the HR surface and w_RH is the half width of the target plane

  561   Fri Apr 25 09:09:03 2025 Luke UpdateScripts/ProgramsUpdate to optimization plots
I have calculated the curvature of the surface plots and created a heat map out of the data. I have also created a contour plot of them together. It is very rough and the artifacts at small w make it hard to read. I am planning on excluding that data and replot them. In the meantime I have created a temporary function that balance the two values. (log_10(curvature/HOMscattering))
  562   Fri Apr 25 19:18:10 2025 Luke UpdateScripts/ProgramsNew optimization plots

I have created two more plots. One on the transmitted power for a specific configuration. This was done by taking the product of the efficiency and the power released by surface area of the source plane for a configuration assuming it is at 300C. The second is a plot of how close the reflector is to the test mass I have included a contour line at 2mm the nominal proximity constraint. Both of these plots are generated for a 2cm wide target plane.

Somethings of note: Because the proximity requires no modeling and can be determined purely mathematically it is easy to re-generate this plot of other target widths. If you increase the target width the proximity contour moves upward and downwards if reduced.

  371   Fri May 31 19:37:47 2024 LukeUpdate Vacuum chamber Disassembly
[Luke, Aiden, Jon, Michel, Tyler] Work done: On Tuesday (5/28) we removed the RGA line with minimal difficulty. On Wednesday (5/29) we removed the turbo pump, which had a few bolts that we needed to cut. We borrowed a dremel with ceramic blades from the machine shop to help remove some of the bolts. On Thursday we moved the vacuum chamber onto the floor to check and resecure the heating band on the bottom of the vacuum chamber. We then relocated the posts the vacuum chamber rests on closer to the end of the table and reinstalled the chamber. The post’s height was also reduced from 2in to 1in. Current state of vacuum chamber: The vacuum chamber is currently reinstalled in its new position. Some of the parts on the table will be used in the assembly of the turbo pump and RGA lines with the others being able to be moved to storage.
  378   Wed Jun 19 18:45:14 2024 LukeUpdate Vacuum chamber reassembly
[Luke, Aiden, Mohak , Tyler] On Tuesday we had the silver screws for the spherical cube shortened by a quarter of an inch so that they would fit into the gate valve. We then attached the spherical cube to the vacuum chamber. On Wednesday we finished assembling the RGA line and the main turbo pump.
  384   Tue Jun 25 17:19:42 2024 LukeUpdateVACVacuum chamber leak checking
Currently our main leak is in the RGA line. We found this by closing the gate valve from the main volume to see if which side was leaking more. After identifying this we are pumping down the main volume to see how low it can go the third attachment was taken at 4:16 6/25/24. Pumping started around 3:15. We have not been able to find exactly which flange is leaking, but our guess is on the small blanks and where the cube attaches to the gate valve as seen in the second attachment. We will try a few more things and if the leak is not found/fixed we are planning on changing the configuration of the RGA line to remove the spherical cube, which we believe to be the problem. See fourth attachment for rough sketch of initial idea. We have all of the parts required and they are clean and double bagged in 1129. I have not yet made all the measurements to confirm that this design is feasible.
  386   Wed Jun 26 16:39:34 2024 LukeUpdateVACVacuum chamber leak checking
On Tuesday I had isolated the main volume and let it pump down over-night. Today, Wednesday, I checked it and it had only gone down by a small amount compared to when I left it on Tuesday. I then proceeded to tighten down the bolts attaching the tubo-pump to the zero-length reducer while it was under vacuum. This caused the pressure to drop down a few orders of magnitude.
  390   Fri Jun 28 18:15:16 2024 LukeUpdateVACVacuum chamber

We will be configuring the RGA line to remove the spherical cube from the system. Currently our plan for the new design is to connect a 4.5" to 2.75" Reducing Cross to the gate valve on the vacuum system. It will be orientated vertically with the turbo pump on top coming off the end will be a 90 deg elbow. On the bottom there will be a 4.5" to 2.75" Zero length reducer attached to that will be a Tee on one side the pressure sensor and the other the RGA. Connected to the elbow will be the calibrated leak. 

The only parts not readily available are the ZLR and the 2.75" gaskets

Part name Count needed Status/comment
2.75" Tee 1 In use in current RGA line
4.5" to 2.75" Reducing Cross 1 Needs to be clean and baked
4.5" to 2.75" Zero length reducer 1 To be purchased  
2.75" 90 deg elbow 1 Clean needs to be removed from another part
5/16 - 24 X 2.00" Bolts and nuts 16

8 in clean room and plenty in storage they will need to be clean and baked. Plenty of nuts in clean room.

1/4 - 28 X 1.25" Bolts and nutplates 24 12 in use in RGA line and 12 in storage that will need to be clean and baked. Sufficient nutplates in clean room
1/4 - 28 X 7/8" Bolts  12 Plenty of bolts in clean room
2.75" Copper Gasket   6 5 gaskets in clean room and none in storage. So some will need to be purchased
4.5" Copper Gasket 2 About 10 in clean room 
  400   Wed Jul 10 17:31:07 2024 LukeUpdateVACRGA line disassembly and upgrade

[ Luke, Cynthia, Michael, Xuesi, Anthony ]

Started work around 12:45

We vented the chamber first and once it reached atmospheric pressure we started taking apart the RGA line.

We removed the parts in this order: Calibrated leak, RGA, Pressure gauge, 2.75" Blank on Tee, 2.75" Tee, all 1.33" Blanks on the cube, 4.5" feed through port, and finally the cube. Everything went smoothly after every part was taken off we covered the ends in Aluminum foil to maintain cleanliness. 

We then started the assembly of the new line. The parts were added in this order: Reducing cross, ZLR, Tee, Cal leak, RGA, 90 deg Elbow, and Pressure sensor.

We left off the Turbo pump as of now because we weren't able to find a 1" post not in use and we didn't want to put too much weight on the cross. We also noticed that the RGA might not fit on its probes because of a slight tilt to the cross and by extension the Tee. If this ends up being a problem we might need to remove all the parts connected to the cross so that we can reposition it so that the 2.75" rotating flange is connected to the gate valve.

Ended work around 4:00

  401   Thu Jul 11 15:53:39 2024 LukeUpdateVACRGA line upgrade

[ Luke, Jon ]

Started work at 11:00

As mentioned in my previous post the RGA was not clearing the table because of a tilt in the cross. So I removed the 90 deg elbow, loosened the bolt securing the Tee to the ZLR, and removed the cross from the gate valve. I then spun around the Tee on the bottom so that the cal leak would be pointing in the right direction and connected the rotating 2.75" flange of the cross to the gate valve. I then added the small turbo pump to the top of the cross. 

Then with the help of Dr. Richardson, we made some adjustments to how the Tee was oriented with respect to the cross and how the cross was with respect to the table. So that the cal leak and RGA would fit on the table. After that we made some changes to the bolting of the ZLR to reducing cross replacing the 2.00" bolts and nuts with 1.75" bolts and nut plates. We did face some difficulty with half of the 2.00" bolts which required a bit of torque to get them out. 

Finished work at 2:20 

 

Things to do:

Before we start pumping down the system again Dr. Richardson wanted two other changes to be made. To replace the 2.75" to 1.33" conical reducer with a zero length reducer. He also wants the bolts that hold the main turbo pump to be replaced with nut plates. 

I plan on starting this work on Friday (7/12) before pumping down over the weekend

  403   Sat Jul 13 15:09:04 2024 LukeUpdateGeneralRing heater COMSL model update

After the feedback from last meeting and Liu's help narrowing down what I should do to improve the model. I made some changes: First with Liu's help I made the proportions of the test mass and ring heater much more reasonable and parametrized by constants. Second from Cao's paper "FROSTI Nonimaging Reflector Design" Liu showed me what I should do to define the elliptical mirrors. Third during Friday's modeling/programming meeting walked me through getting the different irradiance plots to work. 

  411   Mon Jul 22 18:19:34 2024 LukeUpdateVACZero length reducer stuck bolts

Today, I borrowed a bolt extractor drill bit from the machine shop to remove some stuck bolts from the zlr. Before starting, I laid down a sheet of aluminum foil on the work table and wiped down all the tools I was going to use. I began by drilling a small pilot hole and then enlarged it with a 5/32 drill bit. However, when I attempted to use the bolt extractor, it didn't grip the bolt effectively. Our bolts were too seized, causing the extractor bit to repeatedly slip instead of gaining traction.

  427   Fri Aug 23 16:08:32 2024 LukeUpdateVACRGA line leak testing

[Luke, Luis, Jon, Tyler]

On the 22nd Dr. Richardson showed Luis, Tyler and I how to preform a leak test with the RGA. We did the initiall test and found a few leaks two were particuarly bad highlighted in orenge below. To try and remidy this we planned on replacing the copper gaskests on the leaking flanges. We then began taking the two problem flanges off, but seven of the eight bolts holding on the turbo pump were over tightened and had seized. So after we got them off we postponed the rest of the work to the next day.

On the 23nd Luis and I reattached the badly leaking flanges with new copper gaskets. We then preformed the Helium leak test with the RGA. As seen in the table below we weren't able to majorly changed the leaks in the two flanges.

 

Connection Initial  After disassembly
Tee - RGA 3.1e-9 -> 2.4e-9 9.2e-9
Tee - Cal leak Low Low
Tee - ZLR (2.75"-4.5") Low 9.2e-9
ZLR (2.75"-4.5") - Reducing Cross 2.1e-8 -> 1.9e-8 3.6e-8 -> 9.3e-9
Cross - Elbow Low 1.2e-9
Elbow - Pressure sensor Low 2.9e-9
Cross - Turbo pump (small) 2.1e-8 -> 3.1e-8 6.9e-8 -> 2.2e-8
Cross - Gate valve Low Low
Gate valve - Port 2.4e-9 -> 2.2e-9 1.2e-9
Port - ZLR (6.0"-8") 1.1e-9 N/A
ZLR (6.0"-8") - Turbo pump (large) Low N/A
Port - Pressure sensor Low N/A
Port - Up to air valve Low N/A
Port - Blank Low N/A
Port - Feed though  port Low N/A
Lid Low N/A

 

  429   Tue Aug 27 15:01:26 2024 LukeUpdateVACRGA line leak testing

[Luke, Tyler]

On the 27th Tyler and I ran the RGA leak test again with the electron multiplier on. These were the leaks we measured. The chamber's overall pressure was at ~6e-8 torr. 

Connection Leak rate (torr)
Tee - RGA 3.92e-11 (very low)
Tee - Cal leak 4.77e-11 (very low)
Tee - ZLR (2.75"-4.5") 4.97e-11 (very low)
ZLR (2.75"-4.5") - Reducing Cross 2.45e-9   (low)
Cross - Elbow 7.36e-11 (very low)
Elbow - Pressure sensor 2.36e-11 (very low)
Cross - Turbo pump (small) 8.07e-9   (lowish)
Cross - Gate valve 4.02e-11 (very low)
Gate valve - Port 2.27e-9   (low)
Port - ZLR (6.0"-8") 1.11e-9   (low)
ZLR (6.0"-8") - Turbo pump (large) 1.00e-10 (very low)
Port - Pressure sensor 1.05e-10 (very low)
Port - Up to air valve 1.08e-11 (very low)
Port - Blank 5.58e-10 (very low)
Port - Feed though port 1.21e-11 (very low)
Lid 1.11e-11 (very low)

 

 

  430   Tue Aug 27 18:37:40 2024 LukeUpdateInterferometer SimulationsRingheater model update
Updated the model to produce a more circular deformation in the HR surface. The first three attachments are from irradiance patterns gotten from ray tracing. The last is from a pre-defined irradiance pattern.
  431   Thu Aug 29 16:39:34 2024 LukeUpdateVACPhotos of heater tape
ELOG V3.1.3-7933898