Shutdown at BESSY II: new supply technology ensures long-term operation
During the shutdown, the low voltage main distribution panel will be completely renewed (here in the picture: before the conversion). © HZB/A. Knoch
The conversion work is in full swing: the old components are being dismantled and replaced. © HZB/A. Knoch
The X-ray source BESSY II is in a three-month period of shutdown. During this period, the low voltage main distribution panel in the supply building outside the electron storage ring is being renovated. This will secure the long-term operation of BESSY II over the next decade.
“The feeder cubicles for the power supply of the BESSY II machine are key to its reliable operation,” relates the responsible project manager Andreas Knoch from Technical Services (FM-T). The equipment section of the low voltage main distribution board comprises 36 control panels. They provide electricity to important components for operating the accelerator facility. These include, among other things, power supply units, magnets, high frequency systems, vacuum systems, climate control, osmosis water systems and IT systems.
“We need to replace the respective switchgear one-to-one, since there are no substitutes for the important components due to their age. The control cabinets will be equipped with components similar to the existing ones, except with adapted elements and additionally universal meters, active arc protection and new data bus technology in all outputs,” Knoch adds. Furthermore, new chillers will be installed during the shutdown. These will ensure the climate control in the electron storage ring runs reliably.
The interrelated work during the shutdown is being coordinated by Ingo Müller together with Christian Jung. The three months of “darkness” will therefore be used for other tasks as well: among others, for example, construction is continuing for the new experimental stations of the “BElChem” lab. In this joint project, the Max Planck Society and HZB are setting up new experimental capabilities at BESSY II for analysing material systems for electrochemical and catalytic applications. This work will continue even after the summer shutdown has ended.
Even if the shutdown were to continue into August, the interruption is the best alternative in which the least amount of measurement time is lost. “After all, all of our measures are aimed at one thing: that BESSY II will be available to our users stably and without unplanned interruptions,” says Christian Jung.
BESSY II will be started up again from 8 August 2022. Three weeks after that, on 30 August, HZB will once again be welcoming its users to the BESSY II beamlines.
- Battery research with the HZB X-ray microscopeNew cathode materials are being developed to further increase the capacity of lithium batteries. Multilayer lithium-rich transition metal oxides (LRTMOs) offer particularly high energy density. However, their capacity decreases with each charging cycle due to structural and chemical changes. Using X-ray methods at BESSY II, teams from several Chinese research institutions have now investigated these changes for the first time with highest precision: at the unique X-ray microscope, they were able to observe morphological and structural developments on the nanometre scale and also clarify chemical changes.
- BESSY II: New procedure for better thermoplasticsBio-based thermoplastics are produced from renewable organic materials and can be recycled after use. Their resilience can be improved by blending bio-based thermoplastics with other thermoplastics. However, the interface between the materials in these blends sometimes requires enhancement to achieve optimal properties. A team from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands has now investigated at BESSY II how a new process enables thermoplastic blends with a high interfacial strength to be made from two base materials: Images taken at the new nano station of the IRIS beamline showed that nanocrystalline layers form during the process, which increase material performance.
- Hydrogen: Breakthrough in alkaline membrane electrolysersA team from the Technical University of Berlin, HZB, IMTEK (University of Freiburg) and Siemens Energy has developed a highly efficient alkaline membrane electrolyser that approaches the performance of established PEM electrolysers. What makes this achievement remarkable is the use of inexpensive nickel compounds for the anode catalyst, replacing costly and rare iridium. At BESSY II, the team was able to elucidate the catalytic processes in detail using operando measurements, and a theory team (USA, Singapore) provided a consistent molecular description. In Freiburg, prototype cells were built using a new coating process and tested in operation. The results have been published in the prestigious journal Nature Catalysis.