Long Ji-Dong

Image blur in high energy proton radiography

Proton radiography has provided a potential development direction for advanced hydrotesting, and its image blur is a crucial point that needs to be deeply studied. In this article, numerical simulation by using the Monte Carlo code Geant4 has been implemented to investigate the entire physics mechanism of high energy proton beam travelling through the object and beamline and arriving at the image plane. This article will mainly discuss the various factors which cause the image blur, including the chromatic aberration of the imaging beamline, the insufficient modulation of an incident particles transverse displacement and angle deviation, the longitudinal length of an object, the influence of containment vessel and otherwise.

Imaging beamline for high energy proton radiography

Proton radiography is a new tool for advanced hydrotesting. This article will discuss the basic concept of proton radiography first, especially the magnetic lens system. Then a scenario of 50 GeV imaging beamline will be described in every particular, including the matching section, Zumbro lens system and imaging system. The simulation result shows that the scenario of imaging beamline performs well, and the influence of secondary particles can be neglected.

A design study of a magnifying magnetic lens for proton radiography

Magnifying magnetic lenses can be used in high-energy proton microscopes. The −I lens suggested by Zumbro is analyzed in this paper, and a new type of magnetic lens called a lengthened lens is introduced. Theoretical analysis shows that the lengthened lens can form a magnifying lens, and at the same time the main advantages of a Zumbro lens are inherited. Using the My-BOC beam dynamics code, an example of the design is shown. The results show that the method of designing magnifying magnetic lenses is effective.

Modeling of PZT Ferroelectric Ceramic Depolarization Driven by Shock Stress

Shock-induced phase transition of ferroelectric ceramic PZT 95/5 causes elastic stiffening and depolarization, releasing stored electrostatic energy into the load circuit. We develop a model to describe the response of the PZT ferroelectric ceramic and implement it into simulation codes. The model is based on the phenomenological theory of phase transition dynamics and takes into account the effects of the self-generated intensive electrical field and stress. Connected with the discharge model and external circuit, the whole transient process of PZT ceramic depoling can be investigated. The results show the finite transition velocity of the ferroelectric phase and the double wave structure caused by phase transition. Simulated currents are compared with the results from experiments with shock pressures varying from 0.4 to 2.8 GPa.

Mode Transition of Vacuum Arc Discharge and Its Effect on Ion Current

The mode transition of a pulsed vacuum arc discharge, which is from vacuum surface flashover to non-surface vacuum breakdown or vice versa, is studied by simply adjusting a trigger resistor. This approach provides a possibility to research the transition discharge process. Since the transition process is smooth and controllable, the transition mechanism and its effect on the performance of an ion source can be investigated via various diagnosis experiments. The experimental results show that the mode transition occurs when the resistance is in the range of 0–10Ω. With the mode transition from surface flashover to non-surface vacuum breakdown, the vacuum arc discharge becomes more intense and the ion current produced by the Ti cathode ion source increases by two times. The related physical mechanism is also discussed in detail.

Transient Behavior of Negative Hydrogen Ion Extraction from Plasma

For plasma source, the extraction of negative ions is quite different from that of positive ions. To understand the effect of extraction field on plasma, the time-dependent behavior of negative hydrogen ion extraction from a negative ion source has been studied by particle-in-cell simulation in the collisionless limit. The simulations have shown that, due to the difference in dynamics between electrons and ions, the imbalance of the numbers of charged particles occurs in the source, results in the broadening of plasma sheath and the great increase of plasma potential. The resultant high sheath field and the ambipolar electric field in plasma make the negatively charged particles congregate inside the sheath and move toward the extraction outlet. The emission area of negative ions is much smaller than that of the extraction aperture, which is in sharp contrast to the case of positive ion extraction.

Effect of H− ion extraction on a plasma sheath under an external weak magnetic field

The extraction of negative ions inevitably leads to the destruction of the original plasma state. To understand the effect of extraction on a plasma sheath under a weak magnetic filter field, the time-dependent behavior of H− ion extraction from a negative ion source has been studied by particle-in-cell simulation in the collisionless limit. The simulation results have shown that the plasma sheath would undergo a transient process, in which there exists an edge electrostatic wave that propagates counterclockwise along the wall with a velocity of 4 mm/ns until it reaches the other side of extraction aperture. The thickness of the plasma sheath and the plasma potential both increase greatly at the final quasi-steady-state. For comparison, the results of extracting positive ions are also given.

A preliminary study of a negative hydrogen PIG-type ion source for the compact cyclotron

A Penning ion gauge (PIG)-type ion source has been used for the generation of negative hydrogen ions (H−) as the internal ion source of the compact cyclotron. The discharge characteristics of the ion source are systematically studied for hydrogen operation at different discharge currents and gas flow rates on the prototype cyclotron. The preliminary study results for the low DC voltage H− extraction measurements are presented in this paper. The H− beam current is measured by the order of magnitude from several tens to hundreds of microamperes at different parameter conditions. The discussion and analysis for the experimental results are good for improving the design and working stability of the ion source.

Conceptual design of an intense positron source based on an LIA

Accelerator based positron sources are widely used due to their high intensity. Most of these accelerators are RF accelerators. An LIA (linear induction accelerator) is a kind of high current pulsed accelerator used for radiography. A conceptual design of an intense pulsed positron source based on an LIA is presented in the paper. One advantage of an LIA is its pulsed power being higher than conventional accelerators, which means a higher amount of primary electrons for positron generations per pulse. Another advantage of an LIA is that it is very suitable to decelerate the positron bunch generated by bremsstrahlung pair process due to its ability to adjustably shape the voltage pulse. By implementing LIA cavities to decelerate the positron bunch before it is moderated, the positron yield could be greatly increased. These features may make the LIA based positron source become a high intensity pulsed positron source.

Axial electric wake field inside the induction gap exited by the intense electron beam

While an intense electron beam passes through the accelerating gaps of a linear induction accelerator, a strong wake field will be excited. In this paper a relatively simple model is established based on the interaction between the transverse magnetic wake field and the electron beam, and the numerical calculation in succession generates a magnetic wake field distribution along the accelerator and along the beam pulse as well. The axial electric wake field is derived based on the relation between field components of a resonant mode. According to some principles in existence, the influence of this field on the high voltage properties of the induction gap is analyzed. The Dragon-I accelerator is taken as an example, and its maximum electric wake field is about 17 kV/cm, which means the effect of the wake field is noticeable.