Speaker
Description
The Laboratorio Argentino de Haces de Neutrones (LAHN) is currently developing the ANDES (Advanced Diffractometer for Engineering and Science) neutron instrument for the Reactor RA-10. The instrument requires the highly accurate positioning and displacement of its subsystems over a specially designed sliding floor. These operational requirements impose stringent design specifications on the sliding floor, particularly regarding flatness, surface roughness, and surface continuity, to ensure the proper functionality of the instrument subsystems and its overall performance.
This work presents the experimental testing performed on a prototype sliding floor composed of granite slabs, with the objective of establishing the technical specifications for the floor to be installed in ANDES at the Reactor RA-10. A series of experimental tests was carried out using the ANDES positioning tables to evaluate the performance of the pneumatic support system and characterize the sliding floor. The geometric characterization of the prototype was performed using a high-precision laser tracker, allowing the evaluation of the flatness of each individual slab, the overall floor flatness, and the relative positioning between adjacent slabs. In addition, the behavior of the pneumatic support pads was analyzed under the TANGO control system to identify the main issues associated with the interaction between the support system and the supporting surface.
The results obtained, together with complementary analyses, will establish the geometric and functional parameters required for the proper operation of the pneumatic support system. These results provide the technical basis for defining the specifications of the final sliding floor to be installed in ANDES.
Key Words
ANDES; LAHN; RA-10; Sliding floor; Pneumatic support system; Laser tracker.