A high-pressure flow through test vessel for neutron imaging and neutron diffraction-based strain measurement of geological materials

J. R. Carmichael, Y. Polsky, K. An, L. M. Anovitz, P. Bingham, Luc Dessieux, K. Ekici, M. Frost, S. Pemberton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Neutron scattering and neutron imaging have emerged as powerful methods for experimentally investigating material deformation and fluid flow in the interior of otherwise inaccessible or opaque structures. This paper describes the design and provides example uses of a pressure cell developed for investigating such behaviors within geological materials. The cell can accommodate cylindrical samples with diameters up to 38.1 mm and lengths up to 154 mm. Ports in the cell and a pressure isolating sleeve around the sample allow the independent application of confining pressure up to 69 MPa and axial pressure up to 34.5 MPa. Two material versions of the cell have been manufactured and used to date. An aluminum version is typically used for temperatures below 40 °C, because of its relative transparency to neutrons, while a titanium version, which is comparatively more neutron attenuating, is used for experiments requiring triaxial pressurization under conditions up to 350 °C. The pressure cells were commissioned at the VULCAN engineering diffractometer at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Spallation Neutron Source, and have since been used at the ORNL high flux isotope reactor CG1-D imaging beamline, National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) BT-2, and NIST NG6 imaging beamlines.

Original languageEnglish
Article number084502
JournalReview of Scientific Instruments
Volume91
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2020

Funding

Research was supported by the Geothermal Technologies Office, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed and operated by UT-Battelle, LLC. Research at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source was sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725, with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). The authors also acknowledge the support of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce, in providing the neutron research facilities used in this work.

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