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| Pisces Upgrade - Discharge and Heater Flange Fabrication |
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| Pisces Upgrade - Discharge and Heater Flange Fabrication |
These flanges are fabricated from CAD 18200 chromium copper to utilize the material's high-strength, high-temperature capability. The fabricator is Precision Tubedraw & Machining, Inc. of Gardena, CA, under subcontract to The Boeing Company. There were three flanges fabricated for PISCES-Upgrade. One is the discharge flange that holds the LaB6 cathodes. The other two are the heater flanges that support and supply current to the carbon heater elements.
The main functions of the discharge flange are to support all the annular cathode elements, with the exception of the heaters components, and to provide the discharge current to the cathodes . There are 38 individual cathode subassemblies that are attached to the interior of the flange with four cap screws for each subassembly (two each side). A maximum of 8000 amps at 100 volts is provided to the flange through a large busbar connector. This large current is distributed to the 38 individual cathode subassemblies. Cooling of the flange is provided by means of an annular channel just outside the flange bolt circle. The channel has been closed with an electroformed layer of copper. The channel shown just inside the bolt circle is a O-ring groove.
The two Heater Flanges are similar to the Discharge Flange in overall configuration of diameters, bolt circles, and O-ring grooves. They have a busbar connection to the Heater Power Supply. Two cap screws connect one side of the heater element to the each of the flanges to make the complete electrical circuit through the heater element. These flanges are cooled with an identical cooling arrangement as the Discharge Flange. All three flanges are isolated from each other and from the Anodes with 0.197-inch thick Pyroceram glass insulating flat rings.
You may return to the PISCES Upgrade home page for more information or go directly to pages that illustrate the fabrication status of other PISCES Upgrade hardware:
The Boeing Program Manager for the PISCES Upgrade design and fabrication contract is Lester M. Waganer. The University of California - San Diego is the sponsoring agency for the Department of Energy.