Development of JSNS target vessel diagnosis system using laser Doppler method

When an intense pulsed proton beam with a power of 1 MW is irradiated to a mercury target, a pressure wave caused by the proton beam gives a vibration on the target vessel. Pitting damage also occurs on the target vessel, especially incident beam area, resulting in shortening of a life-time. It is very important to monitor the vibration of the target vessel from the view point of the life-time estimation. We developed the target vessel diagnosis system using laser Doppler method and successfully installed it in an actual pulsed spallation source. The diagnosis system consists of retro-reflecting corner-cube mirror (reflective mirror) on the target, mirror assembly in a reflector plug and laser source-detector. The newly developed reflective mirror, made by nickel, was installed by vacuum silver brazing on the target vessel to detect the target vibration. In order to pass the laser beam to the target vessel, a mirror assembly was installed inside the reflector plug. It is replaceable using a remote handling machine during a maintenance period. Nd-YAG laser beam (wave length: 533 nm) with the power of 50 mW was adopted to detect the target vibration. The first proton beam to the target in the spallation neutron source (JSNS) was provided on 30 May 2008. The first signal related to the target vibration was also detected by using this target vessel diagnosis system.