Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(B.A.R.C.)
Submitted By:
Shikhar Bhardwaj
B.E. (Mechanical)-3rd Year
101308100
Thapar University, Patiala
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Abstract
RFQ is an accelerating structure best suited for heavy ions with high current at low
velocities. It uses electromagnetic field in the form of standing EM waves inside the RFQ
cavity to cause the particles to accelerate. The exact details of design and construction
require the knowledge of various fields like electrodynamics, beam dynamics, nuclear
physics, machine design, etc. A mature RFQ design starts with Electromagnetic model,
but must account for various practical concerns. When structure is conditioned to RF
power, heat dissipation causes thermal deformation and hence dimensional changes. This
deformation will change vacuum space, and therefore resonant frequency. Such
deformation can have significant control implications and must be evaluated and
optimized before final production. Because matching the simulation setup to exact
condition, the RFQ will seeing the operation is difficult, several rounds of simulation and
prototyping can sometimes be required to achieve the accuracy and desired
performance. Thermal radiation plays an important role at moderately high temperatures
in deciding the final equilibrium temperature profile in the whole accelerating structure.
These conditions are seen by the RFQ accelerator of the cooling system fails somehow, or
is not able to provide adequate cooling. In this report a thermal analysis including
temperature distribution on the RFQ structure taking into account the contribution by
thermal radiation will be described. Additionally in this report, the results of a thermal
analysis performed on various RF coupler components have been described. RF coupler
plays an important role in feeding RF power into the system. It couples the source (in our
case the klystron) to the load (RFQ accelerator) and provides efficient matching of the
two. Like the main accelerator body, heat losses due to RF power take place in RF couplers
as well. These need to be characterized and removed effectively from the system by
providing external cooling. A CAD model of the cooling system of FOTIA, modelled in
SOLIDWORKS using piping module has been presented. Finally a MATLAB code for solving
1-D heat equation using finite volume method written for conceptual understanding of
how various commercial solvers and numerical codes work is mentioned.
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Acknowledgements
I express my sincere thanks and gratitude to Dr B.K. Nayak (SO/H+), NPD, BARC who is a
marvellous mentor and guide. He provided a very caring and innovative environment to
me. I am very much thankful to him for his encouragement, valuable suggestion and
moral support provided during my project.
I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude to Prof. S.K. Mohapatra, Senior
Professor and Head, MED, Thapar University for his guidance, support and
encouragement during the course of this work. His critical remarks have helped me
immensely at various stages of the project.
I express my sincere thanks to my advisors Shri Nitin Mehrotra (SO/F), Shri Nand Kishor
Mishra (SO/C), Shri B. Srinivasan (SO/H) and Shri Raman Sehgal (SO/E) from NPD, BARC
and Shri S.K. Gupta (SO/OS) from IADD, BARC for their constant support and
encouragement. They have been very helpful in solving many engineering problems faced
at various times. They have also been very kind to provide me study materials required
for the proper completion of the project.
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Table of Contents
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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 About B.A.R.C.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) situated in Trombay, Mumbai is India's
primary nuclear research facility. It has a number of nuclear reactors, all of which are used
for India's nuclear power and research program. It was started in 1957, as the Atomic
Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET), and became India's primary nuclear research
center, taking over charge of most nuclear scientists that were at the Tata Institute of
Fundamental Research. After Homi J. Bhabha's death in 1966, the centre was renamed as
the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. BARC is a multi-disciplinary research centre with
extensive infrastructure for advanced research and development covering the entire
spectrum of nuclear science, engineering and related areas. Its core mandate is to sustain
peaceful applications of nuclear energy, primarily for power generation. It manages all
facets of nuclear power generation, from theoretical design of reactors, computerised
modelling and simulation, risk analysis, development and testing of new reactor fuel
materials, etc.
The Nuclear Physics Division (NPD) of BARC is involved in carrying out research in the
areas of experimental and theoretical nuclear and accelerator physics. It has undertaken
various accelerator related projects in the recent years like the FOTIA (Folded Tandem Ion
Accelerator) and LEHIPA (Low Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator). The NPD along
with the IADD (Ion Accelerator Development Division) is working towards a very
ambitious project called the Accelerator Driven System (ADS). It aims to achieve a new
type of reactor design which produces power even though it remains sub-critical
throughout its life.
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1.2 About Particle Accelerators
Particle accelerator is a device that accelerates charge particles like electrons, protons
and heavy ions as per requirement. The accelerator has developed as a great tool for
learning about the world of subatomic particles. It provides beams of high quality and
high intensity, sufficient to resolve the internal structure of the nucleus and its
constituent sub-nuclear particles. Like a microscope, it has probed the internal structure
of the atomic nucleus and of nuclear constituents, the proton and neutron.
Measurements made using the beam from an electron linear accelerator have given us
our present picture of proton that it is made of pointlike particles called quarks.
Furthermore, the linear accelerator is being used as source of Xrays for radiation therapy
throughout the world.
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1.3 Linear Accelerators: Historical Perspective
The first RF linear accelerator was conceived and demonstrated experimentally by
Wideroe in 1927 at Aachen, Germany. The Wideroe linac concept is to apply a time-
alternating voltage to a sequence of drift tubes whose length increased with increasing
particle velocity, so that the particles would arrive at every gap at the right time to be
accelerated. In 1931 Lawrence built a Wideroe-type linac and accelerated mercury ions.
The lighter beams of protons and electrons approaches the speed of light, and drift tube
lengths and distance between alternating gaps would be impractically large thus Wideroe
concept was not suitable for acceleration to high energy for lighter beams. Even if the
frequency was increased to minimize the length of accelerating structure, the drift tubes
and stems would function more like a resonant antenna with high power losses. After
World War-II a high-Q cylindrical cavity was proposed by Luis Alvarez. The concept was to
excite a mode with a uniform electric field in the gaps and zero field inside the drift tubes.
And they built a 12m drift tube linac with a resonant frequency of 200 MHz, which
accelerates proton from 4 MeV to 32 MeV (1955). Since then several types of accelerators
were built of different sizes ranging from few metres to few kilometres. An accelerator
consists of ion source followed by different accelerating structure suitable for particular
energy. Radio frequency quadrupole was first presented by Kapchinsky and Tepliakov in
1969 especially for the acceleration of the beams with low velocities. All high energy
beams begins at low velocities, and the acceleration technique used at low velocity is an
essential contributor to the overall performance of the accelerator. The RFQ can be used
to accelerate high current proton beams to several MeV and can serve as the initial linac
structure for a linac system that produces even higher energies.
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ion injector project (ECR Injector for SC LINAC) was initiated. This injector essentially
comprises of a superconducting ECR ion source, room temperature RFQ (Radio Frequency
Quadrupole) followed by superconducting Niobium resonators as accelerating elements.
1.5 RF Couplers
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3) Prevent any degradation of the cavity performance
4) It should not limit the cavity performance.
A good RF coupler design needs to be able withstand thermal gradients and differential
thermal contraction in both interior and exterior to the coupler. Hence it is important to
regulate the temperature field and thermal deformations in the bulk of a coupler using a
cooling system.
1.6 FOTIA Cooling System
The cooling system of FOTIA has aged quite a bit and needs upgradation. The first step in
designing an upgradation is to model the whole system in a CAD software. I was involved
in preparing this CAD model of the system in SOLIDWORKS software, which is presented
in this report. The main challenge was to model the piping as it had a complicated 3-D
arrangement. The pipes connect the various components of the system like heat
exchanger, water tank, pumps, etc.
1.7 Scope of work and Objective
The aim of this project is to study and perform thermal analysis of the RFQ structure as
requirement of RF power at room temperature is quite high. At present RFQ has been
fabricated and RF characterization at low power is in progress at BARC-TIFR Pelletron
Linac Facility. Because of peculiar shape of quadrupole vanes and stems, each RFQ is
different in geometry and construction, hence thermal study becomes necessary for
each and every RFQ structure. Thermal-structural numerical simulation, considering
predominantly radiation and natural convection modes of heat transfer has been
performed. The heat flux varies spatially and its data has been obtained through
electromagnetic analysis. According to this data power loss through surfaces of vanes,
stem and base plate are approximately 35%, 40% and 25% respectively. These losses are
essentially on the surface including few micron of skin depth.
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Fig 2. Photograph of prototype RFQ at BARC-TIFR PAF
2 Modelling of RFQ: Solid modelling and mesh generation of the RFQ cavity.
3 Radiative heat transfer analysis: Evaluation of temperature distribution for different
cases of single cell and 3 cell model and comparison between them.
4 Thermal deflection Analysis: Thermal deflection of RFQ cavity for known
temperature distribution from thermal analysis.
5 Thermal Analysis of RF Coupler components
6 SOLIDWORKS model of cooling system of FOTIA
7 MATLAB code for solving one dimensional diffusion heat equation by finite volume
method
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Chapter 2: Background
2.1 Introduction
Particle accelerators are devices producing beams of energetic ions and electrons which
are employed for many different purposes. Historically, particle accelerators were
developed for basic research for nuclear and particle physics. There is also an increasing
interest in producing new particles for fundamental research, isotopes for radiation
therapy etc. Industry has been using accelerators for material science using ion
implantation technique and many other applications. RFQ is a very important component
for accelerating beam at lower energy range. In India several accelerators are in progress
each having their different objectives.
Work on design and development of RFQ linacs started at VECC in the late nineties. Two
RFQ linacs have been built for RIB (rare isotope beam) facility. The first RFQ with beam
energy of 29 keV/u was commissioned in 2005 and was the first ever heavy ion RFQ to be
built in India. Subsequently an identical RFQ to the first one but double in length and
delivers 100 keV/u beams, commissioned in 2008 [15]. ANURIB (Advance National facility
for Unstable and Rare Isotope Beams) project for proton rich radioactive beams is in
progress. The injector for this project will be a high current rod type RFQ linac accelerating
proton to ~1 MeV followed by a 5MeV drift tube linacs [16].
Low energy high intensity proton accelerator (LEHIP) is being developed in BARC which
is to be used as front end injector for 1 GeV accelerator driven subcritical (ADS)
9 system. In recent years great interest has been generated, worldwide, for accelerator
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driven sub critical reactors, to produce energy and transmute radioactive wastes in a
cleaner and safer way than present. LEHIPA includes 50 KeV ECR ion source, a 3 MeV RFQ,
20 MeV DTL (drift tube linac) in between beam transport lines. RFQ is under installation
and commissioning stage at BARC [9], consists of four segments of OFHC copper structure
brazed together. It is a protons accelerator and inject beam into DTL for further
acceleration up to 20 MeV.
Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT) has taken up a program on R&D
activities for 1GeV, high intensity superconducting proton linac for spallation neutron
source. Front end of the linac will consist of H- ion source, LEBT, and 3 MeV RFQ. A 352
MHz prototype RFQ structure has been fabricated to validate the physics, RF design,
manufacturing and assembly procedures. A full scale 3 MeV, 325 MHz RFQ structure is
under development for 1 GeV ISNS (Indian Spallation Neutron Source) program [17].
There is a need for a pulsed neutron source at IGCAR for the active neutron interrogation
measurements. A compact RFQ based neutron source using 9Be(d,n)10B reaction for the
neutron flux of 109 n/s is in progress [18].
2.2.5 RFQ activities at IUAC for the High Current Injector (HCI)
The Inter University Accelerator Centre is in the progress of setting up a high current
injector to inject highly charged ion into the existing bulk niobium based superconducting
linear accelerator. At present the accelerator is fed by a tandem accelerator. The HCI is
intended to provide higher current of highly charged ions, as well as some more ions like
rare gas elements that are possible with the present tandem linac combination. A rod
type RFQ accelerator operating at 48.5 MHz for the above system is being built at IUAC
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to accelerate beam from 8keV/u to 180keV/u. It will see about 100 kW of RF power during
actual operation. Testing for mechanical assembly, thermal cooling and RF properties are
in progress [19].
A project has been initiated at Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar, on the
development of RFQ accelerator to produce 5 MeV, 40 mA hydrogen/deuterium ions for
study of fusion materials to be used for future fusion reactors. High neutron generated in
fusion reactor is a concern for the material compatibility. In order to ensure the
compatibility, realistic test for the fusion materials have to be foreseen to study the effect
of intense neutron flux exposure on the material properties such as displacement of
atoms, production of hydrogen, helium and swelling, embrittlement of material with a
aim to choose materials whose primary components and impurities do not results in long-
lived radioactive waste. The accelerated beams produced by RFQ and subsequent
reaction with the target (Be) spectrum of neutron will be produced for experiments [20].
RFQ is the best machine existing today that is used as a front end injectors in high current
linac particularly for accelerating ions in the low energy range (up to 3MeV/u) due to its
inherent properties of focusing, bunching and accelerating the beam with high
transmission (>90%) with the help of electric field inside the RFQ cavity. While beam
acceleration, heat is generated on the surface of the RFQ structure due to joule losses.
This heat needs to be removed to minimize the thermal deflection, thus frequency within
tuning range. Thermal deflection depends upon temperature distribution due to RF
heating. Cooling arrangement must be provided to remove this heat. In case the cooling
system fails to perform at its designated performance level, the temperature of RFQ
would rise rapidly. To assess and subsequently control the damage to the structure, it is
important to perform an analysis considering absence of any cooling system. If the
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temperature rises above 500 K, thermal radiation becomes an important mode of heat
transfer which need to be considered in the analysis of the model. The results of such a
study helps the designers identify the regions which are susceptible to high temperatures
and thermal stresses. At these regions, various metallurgical and structural changes take
place which might render the structure unsuitable for further use.
This paper mentions the design of cooling system and results of a fluid-thermal-structural
analysis of the RFQ at NPD, BARC. Cooling has been provided using water channels drilled
in the RFQ structure. An optimal flow scheme and flow velocity and inlet water
temperature has been chosen based on the analysis. The study has ignored the effect of
thermal radiation. Various other gaps in the study were found:
1. This paper does not analyse the temperatures in absence of cooling system. This
would have helped pre-assess the required capacity of the cooling system to bring
down the temperatures to an acceptable value.
2. External convection on outer walls of vacuum chamber has been ignored.
3. Validation of results is done by performing experiment on RFQ model of different
geometry and without the vacuum chamber. Also, heating strips are used instead
of RF power source to provide heat load the the structure. This can lead to different
results from the actual situation.
Thermal and structural analysis for 2 D as well as 3D model has been carried out. As shown
in the Fig. 7(b) the structure is symmetric and having multiple cooling channel at specific
location. This is a proton accelerator having very tight tolerances. Temperature contour
shows that maximum temperature is 31 1.6 0K for the inlet face whereas it is 314.7 0K for
the outlet face at the vane tip as shown in Fig.4.
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2.3.3 Thermal designs of an RFQ cell for the radio frequency quadruple under
construction for Image and Scanner Interface Specification (UK) [3].
The RFQ has a design peak power of 200 kW operating at a 10% duty cycle, resulting in a
surface heating of 20 kW distributed across 14 cells. Within each cell 34% appears on the
electrodes, 44% on the electrode support stem and 22% on the rest of the cavity but
mainly the ground plate. In this paper H. Vormann has done thermal- structural studies
in order to limit frequency shift. Coaxial channel for RFQ cell is integrated with each stem.
Only one cell was chosen for analysis and it is found that, the ground plate temperature
is around 86°C,
but as the ground plate is rigidly bolted to the RFQ vessel any thermal expansion will be
seen predominately on the stem. This temperature gradient produces a maximum
movement on the longer leg and is in the order of +0.2 mm in the ‘Y’ axis i.e. vertically
upwards, as shown in Fig. 4.
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2.3.4 Conclusion
There are limited literature contents available which deals with thermal analysis of RFQ
resonating cavity considering radiative heat transfer. Because of peculiar shape of
quadruple vanes and stems, each RFQ is different in geometry and construction, hence
thermal study becomes necessary for each and every RFQ structure. As discussed in the
previous section the paper titled “THERMAL ANALYSIS OF 75 MHZ HEAVY ION RADIO
FREQUENCY QUADRUPOLE at NPD, BARC“, summarises the results of the study which
considers forced convection inside cooling channels and conduction within solid regime
as the only modes of heat transfer. Thermal design of an RFQ cell for the radio frequency
quadruple under construction for ISIS”, is a thermal analysis with coaxial cooling channel
for each stem. “Thermal and structural analysis of CW- RFQ for ADS”, describes the
thermal-structural analysis of RFQ which has totally different geometry. Nowhere in the
models described in the papers, is the radiative heat transfer process considered for
calculating the temperature distribution. Further, the tolerances for four vane type RFQ
(for proton) is different from a four rod type RFQ accelerator. It is difficult to find any
literature content which deals with thermo-structural analysis of 75 MHz heavy ion RFQ,
intermediate accelerating component for ECR based heavy ion superconducting project
at BARC. Thermo-structural analysis of 75 MHz RFQ is aimed for this report.
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Chapter 3: Design Aspects of RFQ
3.1 Introduction
The important parameter for mechanical design of RFQ cavity is the conservation of
operational frequency. The frequency depends on the internal geometry. Deviations
from the nominal geometry induced by errors of machining of the single electrodes,
errors in position of single elements and deformation occurred by brazing procedure
and hence the RF power input need to be compensated. Thus to operate an RFQ at
operational frequency a tuner is an essential element, which takes care of variation in
geometry due to mechanical constraints. The tuners are comparable to a cylinder that
penetrates in the cavity, in order to perform a variation of the geometry of the cavity,
thus varying the frequency of the RFQ. The tuners compensate the shifts of the
frequency due to:
Errors of machining of the electrodes;
Errors on the alignment of the modules on the dry assembly phase;
Deformations by brazing steps; Tuners do not compensate the effect on the frequency
shift due to thermal deformations. Such effect can be controlled with the proper design
of the cooling system. At high power operation, RFQ structure is subjected to RF
induced heating. If the heat is not removed efficiently from the RFQ structure, it will
lead to structural deformations and hence resulting in frequency shift. Therefore,
thermal stability of the structure is one of the major concerns of engineering design. In
actual practice there are design challenges at each stage of RFQ development because
the needed tolerances are very tight (few microns). Some challenges are in the following
section.
3.2 Precision Machining
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machine. Even a thumb impression or a small scratch is not allowed for this kind of
accelerating equipment. The tolerance after assembly of electrodes is about 50 microns,
hence several prototyping and checks at every stage while manufacturing are needed. If
the vanes were not machined properly what could be the consequences, error analysis
given in [4]. The straightness which is required at high accuracy and twisting which is to
be minimize for long vane of these accelerating structures, hence precision machines
and techniques to be incorporated.
3.3 Beam Dynamics Design
Beam dynamics design includes the design of vane profile to minimize beams oscillation
and beam loss, designing the operating frequency away from existing dipole modes.
Namely there are four sections in an RFQ as shown, a radial matching, shaper, gentle
buncher and accelerator; modulations are designed to provide synchronized electric
field to the bunch for acceleration as shown in Fig.6.
3.4 Alignment Methodologies
Generally RFQ’s are made in several segments since accommodating a long structure in
a CNC machine will not be economical as well as there are some technological
limitations. Proper alignment of these segments reduces beam loss and maintains the
synchronization of bunch with the accelerating electric field.
Figure 6: Schematic of vane tips of an RFQ, the beam goes from left to right. Four
sections are shown a radial matching section (RM), a shaper section, a gentle buncher,
and an acceleration section.
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3.5 Joining Techniques
Joining of each segment with acceptable surface finish is a challenge even today. RF
current flows through surfaces; variation in surface finish changes the electrical
resistance, thus power loss. As discussed in previously thermal deflection disturb the
synchronization and affect the overall performance of the RFQ accelerator.
3.6 CMM Measurements
CMM stands for co-ordinate measuring machine, after machining it is an essential step
to check the dimensions of each electrode and assembly as well.
3.7 Temperature Sensitivity
Every RF structure has a characteristic frequency at which it creates resonance on
applying RF power source. The resonance frequency of a cavity depends upon its
internal geometry.
Thermal distortions due to RF heating results in a frequency shift as the shape and
volume changes for which tuning is required.
The frequency shift results in reduction of effective power used for acceleration, and
disturbs synchronisation of particle and vane geometry.
Frequency shift caused by RF heating can be controlled by adequate design of cooling
system.
3.8 Conclusion
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Chapter 4: Thermo-Structural Analysis
of RFQ
In this chapter RFQ details and theoretical basis for the analysis has been briefly
described. Simulation parameters which include modelling, meshing, boundary condition
and various radiating surfaces were also discussed.
A 75 MHz four rod type RFQ structure operating in CW mode will accelerate ions mass to
charge ratio (2< m/q<7) from 10 keV/u to 575 keV/u over a length of 4.62 m. Beam will
be accelerated with the help of several RFQ segments installed in series. Length of each
RFQ segment is 0.51 m, whereas total length of RFQ linac is 4.62 metre. Fabricated model
of prototype RFQ module is shown in the Fig.2. The RFQ will be enclosed completely
within a cuboidal vacuum chamber to maintain vacuum as well as contain the RF power
within the accelerating structure by forming a closed cavity. The material for the
construction of RFQ is Oxygen Free High Conductivity (OFHC) copper and that of vacuum
chamber is aluminium grade Al 6061. The designed RFQ linac is 4.62 m long, and it is
planned to fabricate it in several segments. Each segment includes three cells, and each
cell consumes 10 kW RF power. Thus 30 kW heat is dissipated in one RFQ segment. The
RFQ parameters are given in table.1.
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S.No. Parameter Values
1. Resonant frequency 75 MHz
2. Type Four rod type
3. Inter-vane voltage 16*m/q
4. Input Energy 10 keV
5. Output energy 575 keV
6. Quality factor 9000
7. Length of each segment 0.51 m
8. Total length 4.62 m
9. β 0.0046c to 0.035c
10. q/m 1/2 to 1/7
11. Material OFHC Copper
12. Power Consumption 30 W
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method with a radiation resolution of 256 is used with linear discretization in COMSOL
5.1 software. This is one of the most popular methods used for such problems because of
its computational efficiency and simplicity.
Another important factor that needs to be often taken into consideration is the
wavelength dependence of emissivity. Any object that has constant emissivity
irrespective of wavelength of thermal radiation is termed as a grey body. In our case the
two bodies in question (OHFC accelerator body and Al 6061 vacuum chamber) are
assumed to be grey bodies. There are two types of thermal radiative emissions be a
differential surface element namely: (i) Spectral emission (ii) Diffusive emission. Diffusive
radiation is one which follows lambert’s law and is assumed to radiate with equal intensity
in the 2π hemispherical solid angle surrounding the differential element. On the other
hand the spectral component follows laws of optics and the intensity is direction
dependent. Only diffusive component of radiation is assumed to exist in our study. This is
because of low optical reflectivity of surfaces to wavelengths which are predicted to be
emitted.
Also, since very high vacuum degree of exists between the accelerator body and vacuum
chamber, there is no need to carry out a study of radiative heat transfer in participating
media.
𝑸̇ = 𝝈𝜺𝑻𝟒
In case heat transfer between two bodies is to be studied, it is given by:
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where:
is the view factor from body 1 to 2, and rest of the symbols are usual notations.
Fourier’s law of solid body conduction governs rate of heat transfer via conduction inside
the solid body. It states that the net heat flux through a solid element is proportional to
the temperature gradient, or:
𝒅𝑻
𝑸̇ ∝
𝒅𝒙
To calculate rate of heat removal via natural convection (on outer walls of vacuum
chamber), the convective heat transfer coefficient, h needs to be calculated.
𝑸̇ = 𝒉 × (𝑻𝟐 − 𝑻𝟏 )
Various empirical relations are available to calculate the convective heat transfer
coefficient to complicated cases, like the Dittus-Boelter equation and Churchill and Chu
equations. The following simple equation can sometimes be used for the case of forced
convection (flow velocity=v) over a plate:
𝒉 = 𝟏𝟎. 𝟒𝟓 − 𝒗 + 𝟏𝟎√𝒗
A coupling needs to exist between these equations of conduction, radiation and
convection to obtain solution which represents the whole physical process accurately.
Any numerical method used to solve these equations needs to take care of this fact.
The RFQ is made up of OFHC (for actual use) Copper due to its higher conductivity and
machinability. There are namely three components Base Plate which holds all other
parts together, the stem from electrical point of view acts as an inductor and
mechanically provides support to the vane and modulated vanes which is the main
accelerating structure. Vane’s modulations are providing components of electric field in
radial and axial direction for the focusing and acceleration respectively. Many small
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features are required for fabrication for a mechanically designed model, but reduces
efficiency while simulation. It is desired to make certain geometrical changes to the CAD
model before it is simulated to ensure accuracy as well as efficiency. Complex shape of
modulation was removed. There are several threaded holes for leak tight connection
between stem and vane and also in base plate which were removed and considered as
bulk material for simulation. The vacuum chamber is a hollow cuboid with dimensions
as 70x50x56 cm.
The heat load due to RF power is considered as surface heat flux. There are actually four
vanes but variation of physical property like temperature, thermal displacement etc., of
two vanes and stems connected with base plate will be same as the remaining two vanes
and stems mounted such that vanes are facing each other. The first step of any simulation
is to define the problem. After the geometry is completed Fig.7, it must be exported in a
form that can be read by the simulation software so that it can properly interpret the
geometry.
4.5 Meshing
FEA require the cavity volume to be represented by a collection of smaller volumes called
cells. The process of defining the size and shape of these cells is called meshing. These
cells should be small to improve accuracy. The accuracy of the remaining figures of merit
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is strongly influenced by the quality of the mesh. Curved surfaces are especially sensitive
to meshing as the elements on the surface must be small enough to accurately represent
the curvature. A rule of thumb for small curved features is the cell size should be smaller
than one third the radius of curvature. While most software has advanced automatic
meshing algorithms, additional manual refinement may be required based on the
geometry. Generally for solids, finite element method is used for discretization of
governing equations because any shaped geometry can be modelled with the same effort
and it involves more mathematical techniques and algorithms. The domain is divided into
a set of finite elements. Free tetrahedral element was chosen for solid body as 3-D
element. A finer mesh was ensured at vane tips and stem’s circular surface to account for
higher temperature gradients at these locations.
Fig 8: Mesh geometry generated by COMSOL 5.1 for the RFQ model
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(a) (b)
Fig 9: (a) front view of RFQ geometry after meshing (b) meshing on vane, notice finer
elements at vane’s tips
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Location Value of heat flux (W/m2)
Base Plate 20,000
Vane tips 20,000
Stem Circular Surface 75,000
Stem Foot 60,000
Stem Side Surface 50,000
Table 3: Actual values of heat fluxes used in the model
(a) (b)
Fig 10: (a) Shows heat flux at stem circular surfaces (b) heat flux at vane surfaces
Fig. 10 shows the flux boundaries for the thermal analysis. Only vane surface, upper
surface of base plate and stem surfaces were subjected to the heat flux. All surfaces of
RFQ’s body and internal walls of vacuum chamber were defined as diffusive radiation
emitting surfaces. Outer surfaces of vacuum chamber were subjected to convective heat
flux. For the single cell model, the inner side walls perpendicular to axis of the RFQ were
imposed with a symmetry boundary condition. Ambient temperature for all calculations
was taken as 300 K.
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structure will be placed inside a vacuum chamber, so contribution of pressure loads
responsible for RFQ deformation is insignificant as compared to thermal load.
Fig 11: shows the boundary condition for structural analysis. Base plate is fully
constrained and attached to the base of vacuum chamber
For structural analysis, temperature distribution obtained from thermal analysis is applied
as temperature boundary condition. Material properties for thermal and structural
analysis are given in Tab. 3.
Fig 12: 3 cell model showing symmetry boundary condition at various surfaces
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4.1 The temperature profile on vane and stem from FEA results is as follows:
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the maximum temperature of RFQ drops from 1760 K to just 320 K and minimum
temperature drops from 1313 K to 293 K. Fig 16. Shows the surface plot of radiosity which
gives an idea of the surfaces contributing maximum to the radiative transfer process in
the whole system.
Also, the average temperature of upper two vanes is higher than the lower two vanes.
Because of such high temperatures, it is expected that the RFQ’s temperature will rise
very quickly once RF power is switched on. It is hence recommended that the cooling
system should be switched on first, before supplying RF power to the structure.
Fig 16: Plot of surface radiosity, vane tips have maximum value of radiosity
4.2 Comparison with 150 W model
An experiment was performed by designers in a similar RFQ at a different input power
(150 W) to measure the approximate temperatures seen in the structure if no external
32 | P a g e
cooling is provided. This value is 1/65th of heat load in our model (10 kW). Hence, the
accuracy of results obtained in this study can be verified to some extent by comparing the
order of the maximum temperature obtained in the experiment (around 100-1100C) with
the simulation results. Simulation shows the maximum temperature at this input power
to be around 70-75 0C. Hence, the results obtained for the full 10 kW power case are
‘believable’.
For the 150 W power, the structural analysis shows that the thermal stresses (Von Misces
stress=128 kPa) are well below the allowable stress in the material (yield strength of the
material). Hence these stresses are not important from mechanical point of view. But, the
deformations due to these stresses play an important role in shifting the resonant
frequency of the cavity. Fig 17, fig 18 shows plot of Von Misces stresses along with the
deformation profile and deformation along length of vane respectively.
Fig 17: Shows Von Misces stresses in RFQ along with deformation profile
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Fig 18: deformation of vane tip along length of vane
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Parameter Coarse Mesh Size Finer Mesh Size
Number of Mesh 8275 19388
Elements
Minimum mesh 0.031 m 0.0075 m
element Size
Maximum Temperature 1764 K (on stem circular 1769 K (on stem circular
surface) surface)
Minimum Temperature 1313 K (on base plate 1324 K (on base plate
corner) corner)
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Chapter 6: Thermal Analysis of RF
Coupler Components
RF coupler is the device that transfers energy from RF power source (like a klystron) to
accelerator. In this study, the analysis was carried out on the RF coupler part of the Low
Energy High Intensity Proton Accelerator (LEHIPA) project. It consists of various
components or sub-sections which are subjected to different heat loads. Like in the RFQ,
the heating is due to skin currents generated due to RF power supplied to the structure.
Since the proper working of RF coupler is strongly dependent on its internal geometry,
effect of thermal deformations must be kept within limits. A cooling system needs to be
designed to remove the heat effectively from the system. Thermal analysis was done on
the following three RF coupler components:
1. WR2300 Waveguide
2. Middle Ridge
3. 3rd section
5.1 Modelling:
For first step of this study was to generate a CAD model of the components. The model
was prepared in SOLIDWORKS using the dimensions specified by designers. Three
materials were chosen and compared to find the most efficient and cost effective material
to fabricate the components:
1. OFHC Copper
2. Al 6061
3. SS 304
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5.2 Results and discussion:
Formula used for calculating convective heat transfer coefficient in SI units (forced
convection):
h=10.45 − v+10√v
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e) Thermal Deformation:
Fig 21: (a) Single side constrained (b) Both Sides constrained
f) Results Data (natural convection):
Approximate mean temperature with forced air convection (h=20): 299 K (v=2 m/s)
a) Heat Flux: 30000 W/m2 (middle protruding surfaces), 4500 W/m2 (remaining
surfaces)
b) Cooling: Natural/Forced convection (due to water flow on upper and lower
surfaces), 8mm cooling channels
g) Materials: Al 6061, OFHC Copper, SS 304
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c) Temperature profile:
Fig 22
d) Thermal Deformations:
Fig 23
5.2.3 WR2300 (With Cooling)
a) Cooling: External Cooling Jacket installed on top and bottom faces. Coolant will
flow through the jacket along the length of faces.
b) Flow velocity of water: 0.8 m/s
c) Material: Al 6061, OFHC Copper, SS 304
d) Mode of heat transfer inside jacket: forced convection.
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e) Note: CFD analysis not performed hence nature of flow is unknown. Results do not
reflect change in temperature due to nature of flow.
f) Temperature Profile (Al 6061):
Fig 24
g) Thermal deformations, both sides constrained, Al 6061 (with plot of Von Misces
Stress):
Fig 25
40 | P a g e
Material Max Temp without cooling Max Tamp with cooling (K)
(K)
334.051 299.93
Al 6061
334.047 293.027
OHFC Copper
334.113 293.034
SS-304
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Fig 27: Cooling via Jacket installed on top and bottom faces
e) Thermal deformations, both sides constrained (with plot of 1st principle stress):
Fig 28
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(a) (b)
Fig 29: Plot of vertical displacement (a) for jacket cooling (b) for channel cooling
Hence maximum change in distance between faces: 0.0055*2= 0.011 mm. It can be
concluded from the above two graphs that the deformation profiles are almost similar in
both the cases. Hence, the channel cooling is recommended method due to easier
manufacturing and less pump power required.
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Fig 30: Temperature profile plot for cooling via water jacket
5.2.5 3rd Section
a) Cooling: Through cooling channels (6 mm dia)
b) Flow velocity of water: 2 m/s, 3 m/s
c) Material: Al 6061
d) Temperature Profile:
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For the flow velocity of 3 m/s, the equilibrium mean temperature drops significantly to
1786 K.
e) Thermal deformations, both sides constrained (with plot of von Misces stress):
Fig 32
f) Graph of vertical displacement of protruding faces along length of the faces:
Fig 33
5.2.6 Conclusion:
It is recommended that Al 6061 be used as material for constructing the coupler
components due to its low cost and insignificant temperature difference as compared to
OFHC Copper (the best material for such purposes). Also, for middle ridge, channel
cooling is recommended with a flow velocity of 2 m/s. For the 3rd section it is
recommended to use a flow velocity of 3 m/s as a large temperature drop is seen if flow
velocity is changed from 2 to 3 m/s. OFHC copper maximum flow velocity of 3 m/s can be
used before erosion of material starts taking place.
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Chapter 7: Miscellaneous Work Done in
internship
6.1 SOLIDWORKS CAD Model of Cooling System of FOTIA:
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Fig 35: Shows 3-D CAD model of cooling system including water tank, heat exchanger
(shell and tube type) and 2 centrifugal pumps
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6.2 MATLAB Code for solving 1-D heat equation:
function[T]=diffusion_equation_one_d_heat_ a(i,j)=aw+ae-sp;
generation()
if i<n
clear all;close all; clc;
a(i+1,j)=-aw;
%Governing Equation ddt+q=0
end
TA=100;% Boundary condition at end points
if j<n
TB=200;
a(i,j+1)=-ae;
end
n=50;
end
end
L=0.02;%Length of the insulated rod
x=[x,x1];
k=0.5;%conductivity W/mK
end
A=1;%Cross-sectional area
% Boundary condition at end 1
q=1000000;% heat generation rate w/m3
aw=0;
dx=L/n;
ae=k*A/dx;
x1=-dx/2;
sp=-2*k*A/dx;
x=[];
su=q*A*dx+2*TA*k*A/dx;
aw=k*A/dx;
a(1,1)=ae+aw-sp;
ae=k*A/dx;
b(1)=su;
sp=0;
%%%%%%%%%%%
su=q*A*dx;
% Boundary Condition at end 2
for i=1:n
aw=k*A/dx;
x1=x1+dx;
ae=0;
b(i,1)=su; % matrix for intermediate
points sp=-2*k*A/dx;
if i==j a(n,n)=ae+aw-sp;
b(n)=su;
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
% AA=[a,b];
T=a\b;
% T=gauss_elimination(AA);
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T=T';
T=[TA,T,TB];
x=[0,x,L];
plot(x,T,'--rs','LineWidth',2,...
'MarkerEdgeColor','k',...
'MarkerFaceColor','g',...
'MarkerSize',10)
grid on
axis([0,L ,min(T)-(TB-TA)/5,max(T)+(TB-TA)/5])
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Conclusion
Thermo-structural analysis has been carried out for room temperature RFQ. To
determine how the accelerating structure will behave in extreme conditions and the
highest values of temperature that can be seen in extreme conditions, the cooling
system has been neglected in the study. Results show the structure attains equilibrium
temperatures well above the material’s melting points when operating under full load
of 30 kW. Comparison of single cell and 3 cell models has been done. Experimental
values for lower input power (1/65th value) were available, hence, results obtained
from simulation at this input power were compared. Structural deformations at these
conditions have been presented. Comparison with results from reference [1] shows
that cooling system plays a major role in proper functioning of the accelerator.
50 | P a g e
References
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