1.Gleeble 3800 system

·       The Gleeble 3800 is a fully integrated digital closed-loop control thermal and mechanical testing system. Feature like, easy-to-use Windows OS based computer software in combination with an array of powerful processors provides user friendly interface to create, run and analyze the data from thermal-mechanical tests and physical simulations programs. Gleeble 3800 system uses direct resistance heating system to heat the specimens at rates up to 10,000°C/second, or can hold steady-state equilibrium temperatures.

·       General Specifications of Gleeble 3800 System:

1.  Maximum heating rate - 10,000°C/second;

2.  Maximum cooling rate - 10,000°C/second with water quenching system;

3.  Maximum stroke rate - 2000 mm/second

4.  Maximum force - 10 ton in tension and 20 ton in compression mode.

5.  Specimen:-

    Specimen Geometry: Round, Square and Flat geometry.

     Specimen Size:  (a) 5 mm dia. - 20mm dia. for Round specimen;

                          (b) 5 mm - 20 mm square for Square specimen;

                                  (c) 2mm - 5mm thick for Flat specimen.

2.BRAZING FURNACE

This is a PLC (Programmable Logic Control) controlled High Vacuum Furnace with Data Acquire Software SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data acquisition). Brazing is done either in high vacuum environment or inert gas environment.

Brazing furnace can operate in following three modes:

1.    High Vacuum Heating, High Vacuum cooling;

2.    High Vacuum + Inert gas heating, Natural or Fast cooling

3.    Inert gas Heating and Inert gas cooling.

Parameters of Vacuum Brazing Furnace:

1)    Heaters:  Molybdenum strip;

2)    Hot zone: 350mm(width) x 150mm(height) x 500mm(depth)

3)    Maximum Charge Weight: 75kg

4)    Temperature Uniformity: +/- 5 C

5)    Heating rate : Programmable From 1 c/minute to 25 c/minute

6)    Rapid cooling :Gas fast cooling using Internal blower and Heat exchanger

3.METALLOGRAPHIC LAB FACILITIES

·       Metallographic equipment(s) generally include sample cutting, grinding, mounting, polishing, etching, microstructural analysis etc. Depending upon the requirement of the application, following equipment(s) can be used to obtain proper sample preparation techniques.

Following are the metallographic lab equipment in the division:

  i.     Abrasive Cutting Machine

Usage: Machining of specimen, Tungsten tile machining, CuCrZr tube & block, SS pipes & block etc.

ii.    Pneumatic Mounting Press

Usage: Making of moulding of different sizes specimens, Automatic cooling system

iii.    General Purpose grinding Machine

Usage: Rough grinding of specimens, plate, tiles, copper block etc.

iv.    Semi-automatic double disc polishing machine

Usage: Polishing of specimens, fine polishing using different grit size SiC papers, Mirror finish polishing using diamond paste on velvet cloth etc.

v.    Metallurgical Microscope -Image analysis software-CCD colour camera

Usage: Optical microstructure analysis of specimen.

4.Laser Flash System

Principle:

Principle and working method of equipment is as per ASTM E1461. A small, thin, disc specimen mounted horizontally or vertically is subjected to a high-intensity short duration thermal pulse. The energy of the pulse is absorbed on the front surface of a specimen and the resulting rear face temperature rise is measured. Thermal diffusivity values are calculated from the specimen thickness and the time required for the rear face temperature rise to reach 50% percentages of its maximum value. System also measures the specific heat capacity of a material by comparative method.

System Details:

System consists of remote-controlled Class I Nd: glass laser with maximum power 35 joules. Ultrahigh tungsten furnace works under Vacuum (up to 10^-6 torr) or argon atmosphere with operating temperature range RT to 2100°C.  It consist room temperature add-on module with temperature range RT to 200°C and LN₂ cooled InSb detector for rear surface temperature measurement.

5.Magnetron Sputtering System

·        IPR RF Magnetron Sputtering Unit (BC-300) make HHV, Bangalore is having maximum capacity of RF power of 300W and substrate heating up to 1,000 ^oC. The vacuum chamber can work at high vacuum of the order of 10^-6 mbar. Metal targets like Ti, Cu, Cr, Al etc. and Non-metal like Graphite target are normally used. This unit provides a complete coating solution for the deposition of both metals and non-metal on various substrates with good control of uniformity.

The major components of the unit are:

·       Vacuum pumping system (HHV make FD-12 Rotary pump as primary, Edwards Next-400 Turbo Pump as secondary pump).

·       Provided gas (like Argon) purging line in the vacuum chamber during the sputtering process.

·       PLC vacuum controller, HMI touch control panel.

·       The 4 inch substrate heater cum substrate holder with rotation facility mounted on the base plate of the vacuum chamber.

Water chiller for continuous cooling the vacuum chamber & Magnetron.

6.Ultrasonic Immersion System

Principle:

Ultrasound uses high frequency sound waves to achieve this, typically in the region of 0.1 - 35 MHz. In Immersion testing the object is immersed in water, the water acts as the couplant between the source of ultrasound and the material. Omniscan MX (Make: Olympus) is used as Contact Ultrasonic Testing and this system combines with automated immersion system in which the ultrasonic probe is manipulated by a motion controller.

Immersion testing offers the following advantages compared with the contact method: - (a) Water coupling eliminates the variability associated with contact coupling; (b) High frequencies, up to 35 MHz can be used; (c) High resolution Scan up to 0.1mm step for C-scan imaging. (d) Scanning Area 900mm x 700mm x 700mm. - 300mm Dia. Turntable Rotating Chuck (e) A 6-axis manipulator for maneuvering the probe head. (f) Horizontal IRIS to inspect PFC Monoblock assembly.

The system shown in Figures has high frequency capability (25MHz), enabling extremely fine focusing. The pulser/receiver operate under the control of Tomoview software. This collects the entire waveform and enables the data to be presented in a variety of views (plan, cross-section, etc.). The probe manipulator has 2 degrees of freedom. Horizontal IRIS (Internal Rotary Inspection System) has been developed and which is being used to inspect a PFC Mock-up assembly of length 500mm to detect bonding defects. The tank can accommodate components that are up to 0.7m x 0.9m.

The system is equipped with a dedicated ultrasonic data analysis system (Tomoview), together with integral scanner controllers designed by Trotix Ltd. (IIT-Chennai).

7.Eddy Current Test system

Eddy Current Testing (ECT) is a non-destructive testing method which utilized the principle of electromagnetism to characterize the integrity of electrically conducting structural materials and components. A Portable Eddy Current Test System (Model: Eddycon C, OKOndt Group) is recently set-up at High Temperature Technologies Division, IPR.  A system consists of Eddy Current flaw detector, surface and bobbin eddy current probes, calibration standards to detect surface and sub-surface defects presents in materials and components. This facility have a potential utilization such as,

1.  To check the surface defects in Divertor plasma facing components at various stages of manufacturing as well as at in-service inspection,

2.  To evaluate electrical conductivity of material and

3.  To inspect raw materials, multilayered structures and tubes.

8.Sand blasting machine

IPR has sand blasting machine (Model SB 9182) make of M/s. Abrablast. This medium size sand blasting machine works on induction – suction principle of abrasive delivery. Mostly of smaller and medium size job are used to clean to achieve fine matter finish. Material surface can also be roughened.

The blaster machine has incorporated with reclaimer that ensure uniform cleaning and finishing each time and in every operation. This is achieved by an automatic abrasive cleaning system built into the reclaimer. The dust and debris are separated and only clean and sized abrasive are carried to blast ensuring a homogenous finish.

Suitable size job holder can be used to restrict the movement of the job during the sand blasting inside the cabinet. In a quick time, the job surface can be cleaned even for very hard surface like tungsten materials can be roughened.

Dimension Details:-

l   Working chamber size (Width × Depth): 700 × 820 mm

   Approximate area can be covered for sand blasting is 400 × 400 mm (Width × Depth)

9.Electro Polishing and Etching machine

Scope of equipment: Electro polishing and etching machine is used widely for the metallography of specimen/samples such as stainless steels, copper alloys, Tungsten and Tungsten alloys, etc. Eletcro Polishing and Etching includes very fine polishing (less than 1 micron) followed by revealing the microstructure of a specimen using suitable electrolytes.

Make:- M/s. Omni Tech, Pune

Model:- Electopol

Technical Specification (major):

  1.      Polishing Voltage: 0 to 110 V DC

  2.      Polishing Current: 0 to 10 Amp

  3.      Etching Voltage: 0 to 15 V DC
  4.      Etching Current : 0 to 2 Amp

10.Visual Inspection Set-up

Scope of work: Visual inspection is a nondestructive testing technique that provides a means of detecting and examining a variety of surface flaws, such as corrosion, surface contamination, surface finish, and surface discontinuities on joints (for example, welds, etc.) using high illumination grazing light source.

·       Technical Details:

Light Source: High Illumination LED light

      Illumination: ~ 4000 lux

11.2D and 3D Digital Image Correlation (DIC) System

DIC method is a powerful technique for measuring material strain deformation field. By comparison of digital images of the un-deformed and deformed configuration, DIC provides full - field displacements to sub-pixel accuracy and full–field strains in recorded images. 2D and 3D-DIC system is established at High Temperature Technologies Division, IPR using a single monochrome high speed imaging camera (1280x1024 pixels @ 2000 fps, Make Photron Inc.) and open source software for full-field strain measurement. DIC system have a potential utilization like (1) Material property and strain field characterization during tensile testing, (2) Strain induced on component/material due to temperatures (in high/Cryogenic regimes) and (3) Transient strain behavior during mechanical testing.

High Speed Camera features:

·                 1280 x 1024 resolution up to 2,000fps.

·                 1280 x 720 (720p) resolution up to 3,200 fps.

·                 12 bit Dynamic range.

·                 3.9 µsec Minimum exposure time.

·                 8GB Memory configurations.

·                 ISO Sensitivity: 10,000 monochrome.

·                 Fame rate synchronization with external trigger

·                  Non-contact inspection with immediate full - field displacements results.

·                 Open source DIC software analyzes strains, displacements, velocities, accelerations, rotations, angles and changes in angle.

12.Portable CMM

Portable coordinate measuring machines (PCMMs) are flexible tools for quality control. 3Dmeasuring arms are used for dimensional verification, alignment for assembly, CAD-comparison inspection, 3D scanning, reverse engineering, product development, rapid prototyping, tube geometry inspection, and many other quality control, inspection and verification applications.

Romer Sigma Portable CMM can measure with the accuracy of +/- 0.100 mm. It has shown the capability of measuring the large size object with high accuracy. It can measure the object within 5m diameter without shifting the machine. This system will be useful for the measurement of divertor systems because it requires accurate measurement due to close tolerances.

13.Helium Leak Detection Facility

We are using Pfeiffer Vacuum Helium Leak Detector to check the leak in various vacuum systems. This is a microprocessor-controlled leak-detecting equipment. All the processes in the instrument are controlled automatically. Leak detection in vacuum and sniffer mode is possible by this equipment. HLT 560 leak detector is having wireless remote control facility. Which is highly useful in leak detection of a large vacuum system.

·          Technical Data :-

  Smallest detectable leak rate of  He (Vacuum leak detection <5x10-12 mbar l/s)

  Smallest detectable leak rate of  He (Sniffer leak detection <5x10-8 mbar l/s)

  Test Method:- Vacuum and Sniffer

  Detectable gas :- 4He,3He,H2

  Internal He-Test leak 10^-7 mbar l/s

  Leak rate display 10^-12  - 1 mbar l/s

  Cold start to ready 3min

  Response time 0.5sec

  Flange (In) DN 25 ISO KF

  Inlet pressure Max 25mbar

  Ambient temp 10-35 C

  Interface: - RS232-C, RS485

  Power Consumption: 400VA

  Analog Out Put: - Leak rate signal 2x0-10V lin/log

  Digital-output: - Ready to start, Ready to measure, Leak error, Bypass valve, Calibration,Acknowledge

14.High Heat Flux Test Facility

HHF introduction:-

High heat flux test facilities of various kind are being used worldwide to investigate the performance of plasma facing materials/ mock-ups/ components under estimated thermal load conditions in various plasma fusion devices. The high heat flux test facility has been set-up at IPR to perform thermal load testing of plasma facing materials/ mock-ups /components. It is equipped with a high power cylindrical electron beam used as heat source having maximum beam power of 200 kW @45kV having static and dynamic deflection angle of +/- 25 and +/-10 degree respectively that allow testing of large size components up to 2m (W) x 1.2m (H)surface area. The beam can be operated to simulate quasi-steady state as well as transient heat loads over test objects by either rastering it over test object at high frequency (up to 10kHz) or by operating it in pulsed mode (t > 1ms). The electron beam is horizontally mounted on a large volume (~ 7 m3) D-shaped double-walled vacuum chamber with target-handling facility that can handle large sized test objects weighing up to 2 ton. High pressure Water loop system, High pressure Helium loop system, Thermal diagnostic systems and Data Acquisition & Control system will be integrated with the facility for testing water cooled as well as helium cooled plasma facing components.

Features of HHF test facility

  Simulation of ITER and DEMO specific thermal loads on plasma facing components viz. Divertors and First Wall Components.

  Thermal fatigue testing of divertor and first wall modules.

  ELMs simulation experiments for materials testing.

  High Pressure High Temperature Water and Helium coolant loops.

  Validation of materials, designs and joining process on small size test mock-ups as well as full-size fabricated components.

  Vacuum chamber having more than 50 diagnostic ports with several sophisticated thermal and calorimetric diagnostics.

  Sophisticated Data Acquisition & Control system.

1. Vacuum Chamber

A D-shaped configuration type vacuum chamber has been successfully fabricated and commissioned along with the electron gun for high heat flux testing. The electron gun is projected horizontally from backside and will be supported separately with a separate arrangement. The dimensions of the chamber are: Diameter 2.4 m, Height 1.5 m with double wall cooling system to accommodate full-scale mock-up of size: 2.0m x 1.2m x 0.8 m.  The mounting of test mock - up / components are carried out on target handling arrangement which is also a front door for closing the chamber. The door has feed-throughs for connecting high pressure systems to the test mock -ups. The position of diagnostic ports are designed in such a way that all the ports can view the total area of the mock - up such that the data at any point on the mock - up can be easily done through the diagnostic devices.  The salient features of the vacuum chamber are that small scale to full scale testing of mock ups / components can be done. The ~7m3 D-shaped vacuum chamber has over 50 ports for diagnostics and views of the target and 4500 l/s (N2 gas) cryo pump and 1900 l/s (N2 gas) turbo molecular pumps are used for creating vacuum pressure of 10-6 mbar.

2. Electron Beam System

High power electron beam gun EH 300 V manufactured by M/s Von Ardenne, Germany, has been installed, commissioned and tested successfully. The maximum beam power is 200kW for 12mm diameter cathode and the beam power is controlled by a patented VARIOCATHODE mechanism. Power below 20% are achieved by a reduction of the cathode temperature. The beam acceleration voltage is variable in the range between few kV up to 45 kV, whereas the maximum power is only reached at acceleration voltages of 45 kV. To enable the simulations of very short event types in the millisecond range, a high voltage pulse mode has been integrated. In this case, the beam power is controlled by a predefined cathode position, and a pulse repetition rate of up to 10 kHz can be defined. A system of two magnetic lenses is used to focus the beam. By additionally optimizing the process chamber pressure, the electron beam diameter can be reduced to reasonable size.  The total deflection angle of the EB is limited by the dimensions of the process chamber to +/- 33 degree. The process chamber and the two vacuum chambers of the EB-gun are effectively separated. This enables very flexible pressure optimizations and additionally access to single components with short process interruption times.

3. High pressure high temperature water circulation system HPHT-WCS

The high pressure high temperature water circulation system (HPHT-WCS) has been designed to cool down the test mock-up which is connected to the HHF test facility. The test mock-up connected to the water circulation loop has a maximum heat load of 210 kW. In this test loop de-mineralized water (D.M water) is used as a working medium and system can operate in the pressure range of 5 bar to 60 bar and the temperature range of 25 degree C to 160 degree C with a maximum flow rate of 300 LPM. Inert gas pressurization method is used to pressurize the DM water in the pressure vessel using nitrogen. The nitrogen source (bank of nitrogen cylinders) connected with pressure vessel and a pneumatic pressure regulator controls flow of nitrogen in to the pressure vessel. The data acquisition system (DAS) with instruments is installed along with the test facility to record and control the test parameters pressure, temperature and flow rate. The test loop is designed as per relevant safety standards.

The major components of the test loop are reservoir tank, two positive displacement pumps with motor, pressure vessel with accessories, bank of nitrogen cylinders, two booster pumps with variable frequency drive, vortex type flow meter, heater bank, cooling unit, different types of valves at various locations, safety devices, pressure, temperature, level and other sensors/ indicator/transmitters with controllers. A detailed engineering design of various components like pressure vessel, heat exchanger, cooling tower along with thermo hydraulic analysis has been carried out.

4. Integration of EHCL with Helium Cooled Target handling System (HTS):-

Experimental Helium Cooling Loop (EHCL) of Fusion Blanket Division is integrated with Helium cooled Target handling System (HTS) of HHFTF for supplying high-pressure, high temperature helium gas to the gas cooled plasma facing components. Helium gas is supplied by EHCL at maximum inlet temperature of 400ºC, maximum Inlet pressure of 80 bar and maximum flow rate of 400 g /s. Supply and returns lines are routed between EHCL and HTS and they are connected to a pipe header assembly.

14.1Portable Water Circulation System (PWCS)

The main function of portable water circulation system is to actively cool the test mock -ups (loads) which are supposed to receive heat loads that represent normal and off - normal thermal conditions. The PWCS typically consists of components such as high-pressure water pump with a control unit, corrosion resistant (stainless steel) water tank with built-in heater for heating and storage of water, calorimetric (temperature, pressure and flow rate of water) monitoring & diagnostic sensors, display unit and feedback control system. The operating parameters of the system is to circulate water at high pressures up to 20bar, high temperatures up to 80 deg C and high flow-rates up to 100 LPM through test mock-up tubes having inside diameters in the range 10mm-25mm and length up to 500 mm.

14.2Temperature measurement and calibration facility

·       Temperature Measurement Facility up to 3000 C:

Temperature measurement facility include instruments capable to measure temperature from 200 C to 3000 C with high accuracy and fast response time. For higher temperature measurements non-contact type IR Cameras and Pyrometers are used.

14.3Nitrogen Generation Setup (NGS)

·       Nitrogen generation setup is a facility possessed by High Temperature Technology Division (HTTD), which extracts Nitrogen from air and supply to the required system inlet.

     · Operating Parameters of the System:-

·Pressure at the outlet of the system 05 bar to 20 bar controlled by PRV

·Flow rate of the Nitrogen gas 10 Nm3/hr.

·Purity of the Nitrogen gas generated at the outlet >99.00%.

·Application of NGS:-

·Although Nitrogen gas has versatile application in scientific  work,  but in HTTD, Nitrogen gas is used as pressuring gas to water in HPHT-WCS’ pressure vessel. Also Nitrogen gas is currently being used for venting of High heat flux Vacuum chamber.

14.4Differential Pressure Transmitter

Pressure drop studies are very important in the view of single and two phase flow distribution and safety parameter like Critical Heat Flux (CHF). The pressure drop first decreases with increase in heat flux due to decrease in near wall viscosity until it reaches to some critical point between ONB (Onset of nucleate boiling) and OSV (onset of significant voids) then it increases with further increases in heat flux due to increase in void fraction and ultimately reaches to CHF. It may be noted that pressure drop fluctuation due to bubble induced turbulence in subcooled two phase flow is also important, which enhances further by increase in void fraction. The DPTs at HHFTF have high accuracies to  measure the pressure drop during heat flux tests.

14.5Liquid Tin-Lithium (Sn-Li) Alloy Production System

The Sn-Li production system is established to produce the liquid Sn-Li25at% alloy for the application of liquid metal-based PFC. The facility is capable to produce ~8.0 Kg (~1.3L volume) of Sn-Li alloy in one batch. The operating temperature of system is RT to 350C and pressure up to 5 bar (Argon gas). The system consists of SS 316L pipes and SS 316L tanks mounted on MS support structure. The major components of the system are; Rotary vane vacuum pump, Electro-magnetic stirrer, Control panel, Heaters (wire/Jacket type), Pressure and Vacuum Gauges, Thermocouples.

15.Small Specimen Testing of Mechanical Properties

·       Small specimen tensile testing techniques are developed for evaluating mechanical properties of the materials using Gleeble 3800 system. Small specimen testing techniques are useful for evaluating the mechanical properties of materials using very limited sample volumes. Small Specimen Tensile Tests, Shear Punch Tests and Small Punch Tests can be performed using Gleeble 3800 system.

Small Specimen Tensile Test:

Sample Size: Gauge length – 10 mm, Gauge width – 2 mm, Thickness – 2 mm , Overall length - 30 mm

Test Temperature: 200°C to 1700°C

Environment: 10^-3 torr vacuum or Inert Gas like Argon and Nitrogen.

Shear Punch Test and Small Punch Test

Sample Size: 8mm (d) x 0.5-1mm (t)

Test Temperature: RT to 700°C

Environment: 10^-3 torr vacuum or Inert Gas like Argon and Nitrogen.