Large area window on vacuum chamber surface for neutron scattering instruments

The feasibility of a large area window using a thin aluminum plate on the surface of the vacuum chamber for neutron scattering instruments at a pulsed neutron source was investigated. In the prototype investigation for a window with an area of 1 m × 1.4 m and a thickness of 1 mm, the measured pressure dependence of the displacement agreed well with a calculation using a nonlinear strain–stress curve up to the plastic deformation region. In addition, we confirmed the repetition test up to 2000 pressurization-and-release cycles, which is sufficient for the lifetime of the vacuum chamber for neutron scattering instruments. Based on these investigations, an actual model of the window to be mounted on the vacuum chamber of the High Resolution Chopper Spectrometer (HRC) at J-PARC was designed. By using a calculated stress distribution on the window, the clamping structure capable of balancing the tension in the window was determined. In a model with a structure identical to the actual window, we confirmed the repetition test over more than 7000 pressurization-and-release cycles, which shows a lifetime long enough for the actual usage of the vacuum chamber on the HRC.