Irradiation Station Cooling Head for Stable Solid Target Contact
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing radioisotope production systems face challenges in productivity due to temperature fluctuations and thermal expansion issues, which can cause disjunction of the solid target material from the metal support, leading to production stops and reduced efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The irradiation station features a container design with a degrading foil and a laminar cooling system that maintains temperature within the optimal range, using a hermetic sealing mechanism and a cooling fluid circulation path to prevent thermal expansion and ensure efficient irradiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If beam current is increased to improve productivity, then radioisotope production efficiency increases, but temperature of the irradiation station and solid target material increases causing thermal expansion and potential disjunction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-cooling the solid target material to a temperature between -40°C and -196°C before irradiation begins. This preliminary cooling ensures that even when beam current is increased to improve productivity, the thermal expansion remains controlled because the material starts from a lower baseline temperature, preventing disjunction between the target material and metal support.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temperature parameter of the solid target material to a cryogenic range (-40°C to -196°C) before irradiation. This parameter change allows the system to tolerate higher beam currents for improved productivity while maintaining dimensional stability, as the cryogenic temperature compensates for the thermal effects of increased beam power.
2Productivity
If beam current is increased to improve productivity, then radioisotope production efficiency increases, but thermal expansion causes disjunction of solid target material from metal support leading to production stops
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary cooling of the solid target material to cryogenic temperatures before irradiation. This preliminary action ensures that during high-current irradiation, the thermal expansion is sufficient to maintain contact between the target material and metal support, preventing disjunction and ensuring continuous reliable operation without production stops.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent deliberately utilizes thermal expansion by cooling the solid target material to cryogenic temperatures. The controlled thermal contraction at low temperature ensures that when the material is subjected to beam heating during irradiation, the expansion maintains optimal contact pressure between the target material and metal support, preventing disjunction and ensuring continuous operation.
3Temperature
If cooling system is added to control temperature, then thermal expansion is prevented, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a cryogenic cooling system using liquid nitrogen or other cryogenic fluids to cool the solid target material. This hydraulic approach provides efficient temperature control with relatively simple implementation - the cooling fluid circulates through channels in the metal support, maintaining the target material at cryogenic temperatures without requiring complex active cooling mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes phase transitions of cryogenic fluids (such as liquid nitrogen evaporating to gaseous nitrogen) to achieve cooling. This phase change mechanism provides efficient heat removal with simple system architecture - the latent heat of vaporization absorbs thermal energy from the target material and metal support, maintaining temperature stability without complex refrigeration equipment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances productivity by maintaining consistent temperature control, preventing thermal expansion, and allowing for precise measurement of beam current, thereby improving the efficiency and reliability of radioisotope production.
Implementation Method 1
a fluid cooling system which is connected to the support for the relative cooling during the proton bombardment
Implementation Method 2
a cooling fluid circulation path to prevent thermal expansion
Implementation Method 3
a degrading foil which is designed to mitigate the proton beam in a pre-established manner
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~4
Figure 5
AI summary
An irradiation station for producing a radioisotope, having a cyclotron (32) for emitting a proton beam (B) against a solid target material (M) placed in a container (1) and a cooling system (33) for cooling the container (1). The container (1) has a wall (4) for supporting the solid target material (M) and a cavity (12), which borders the wall (4) and has an opening (14) transverse to the axis of the container (1). The cooling system (33) has a connection head (34) which is couplable to the opening (14) for circulating a cooling fluid in the cavity (12) and comprises a flow diverter (37), a tip (47) protruding from a hole (46) of the flow diverter (37) and movable along the hole (46) against the action of a spring (48) in contact with the tip (47), and an electrical connector (52) in contact with the spring (48). When the connection head (34) is coupled to the opening (14) the flow diverter (37) enters the cavity (12) coaxially with the container (1) and the tip (47) presses against the wall (4).