Anodizing of High Electrically Stressed Components

Conference · Sat Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2013 · Proceedings of the 2013 19th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (PPC)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/PPC.2013.6627548· OSTI ID:1136308

Flores, P. ^[1]; Henderson, D. J. ^[1]; Good, D. E. ^[1]; Hogge, K. ^[1]; Mitton, C. V. ^[1]; Molina, I. ^[1]; Naffziger, C. ^[1]; Codova, S. R. ^[2]; Ormond, E. U. ^[2]

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1. NSTec
2. SNL

Anodizing creates an aluminum oxide coating that penetrates into the surface as well as builds above the surface of aluminum creating a very hard ceramic-type coating with good dielectric properties. Over time and use, the electrical carrying components (or spools in this case) experience electrical breakdown, yielding undesirable x-ray dosages or failure. The spool is located in the high vacuum region of a rod pinch diode section of an x-ray producing machine. Machine operators have recorded decreases in x-ray dosages over numerous shots using the reusable spool component, and re-anodizing the interior surface of the spool does not provide the expected improvement. A machine operation subject matter expert coated the anodized surface with diffusion pump oil to eliminate electrical breakdown as a temporary fix. It is known that an anodized surface is very porous, and it is because of this porosity that the surface may trap air that becomes a catalyst for electrical breakdown. In this paper we present a solution of mitigating electrical breakdown by oiling. We will also present results of surface anodizing improvements achieved by surface finish preparation and surface sealing. We conclude that oiling the anodized surface and using anodized hot dip sealing processes will have similar results.

• Research Organization: Nevada Test Site (NTS), Mercury, NV (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Office of Defense Programs (DP)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC52-06NA25946
• OSTI ID: 1136308
• Report Number(s): DOE/NV/25946-1814
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the 2013 19th IEEE Pulsed Power Conference (PPC), Conference: IEEE Pulsed Power and Plasma Science/ICOPS Conference, June 16-21, 2013; San Francisco, CA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Anodizing
sealing
dielectric strength
surface quality