NK-1 Removable Cryogenic Shroud (A Study of the Bimba Pneumatic Cylinder)

The Mark 1 Cryostat requires a cryogenic shroud that must be retracted immediately before firing the NIF laser. This paper evaluates a pneumatic cylinder that has been chosen to open and close the shroud. After a variety of motion control and vacuum compatibility experiments, we concluded that the Bimba feedback control cylinder may be used to retract the shroud with certain modifications to its control system and additional rod seals. The Mark I Cryostat is a system that allows fielding of a wide range of targets on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The purpose is to have a system with the capability of controlling the target temperature between ∼10 and 300 K. While in the Target Chamber, a shroud must cover the cooled targets. This shroud allows the cold target to be shielded from condensable residual gasses in the target chamber. The removable shroud may be cooled to 80 K to provide a radiant shield for the target from the room temperature target chamber. The shroud must remain over the target until approximately one second before shot time, and then retract on command, without inducing vibration into the target. An actuation system design, which removes the shroud, is constrained by the size limitations of the MK-1, the need to build from low-activation materials, the need to operate in a vacuum, and the need for high reliability. The scheme for retracting the shroud that they investigated was a pressurized air cylinder. The pneumatic cylinder tested in our experiments was built by the Bimba Manufacturing Company. We thought it would be suitable for shroud retraction because its manufacturer claimed that its motion was smooth, highly accurate, controllable and the appropriate size for our needs. The pneumatic cylinder moves a piston by changing the gas pressure in the two sections of the cylinder on either side of the piston. The cylinder also uses the piston as a voltage potentiometer to determine the current position of the piston. This voltage is then output to a controller card, which processes the voltage and compares it to the desired position input by the user. If the piston is not at the input location, the controller card dynamically controls the piston by opening and closing valves to the cylinder, varying pressure on the piston. The piston is connected to a shaft, which through a linkage system, attaches to the removable shroud. This report summarizes our studies of the controllability and vacuum characteristics of the Bimba Pneumatic Cylinder.