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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Bremsstrahlung converter debris shields: test and analysis

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5609801

Electron beam accelerators are commonly used to create bremsstrahlung x-rays for effects testing. Typically, the incident electron beam strikes a sandwich of three materials: (1) a conversion foil, (2) an electron scavenger, and (3) a debris shield. Several laboratories, including Sandia National Laboratories, are developing bremsstrahlung x-ray sources with much larger test areas (approx. 200 to 500 cm/sup 2/) than ever used before. Accordingly, the debris shield will be much larger than before and subject to loads which could cause shield failure. To prepare for this eventuality, a series of tests were run on the Naval Surface Weapons Center's Casino electron beam accelerator (approx. 1 MeV electrons, 100 ns FWHM pulse, 45 kJ beam energy). The primary goal of these tests was to measure the stress pulse which loads a debris shield. These measurements were made with carbon gages mounted on the back of the converter sandwich. At an electron beam fluence of about 1 kJ/cm/sup 2/, the measured peak compressive stress was typically in the 1 to 2 kbar range. Measured peak compressive stress scaled in a roughly linear manner with fluence level as the fluence level was increased to 10 kJ/cm/sup 2/. The duration of the compressive pulse was on the order of microseconds. In addition to the stress wave measurements, a limited number of tests were made to investigate the type of damage generated in several potential shield materials.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5609801
Report Number(s):
SAND-83-0110; ON: DE84002147
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English