During iLIGO, there were 3-axis accelerometers that were mounted on the tabletops of optics tables. This was done by bolting three accelerometers to the sides of a aluminum cube that was then bolted down to a aluminum plate, which was bolted to the table. This mounting scheme, however, introduced a ~900Hz signal, associated with the resonance of the cube and the plate, into the accelerometer channels. We investigated new mounting schemes to use during aLIGO, and compared them.
For all the tests, we used as our reference an accelerometer that was attached to the table surface with a thin layer epoxy. The hole at the bottom of the accelerometer normally used for bolting it to cubes was sealed with a set screw to avoid having epoxy seep between the threads. The epoxy was Devcon 5-minute epoxy, which was applied to the bottom of the accelerometer. Excess epoxy was scraped off using the flat side of the mixing stick, to have the layer be as thin as we could make it. The accelerometer was then placed on the table, in an area where it was not over any of the holes for bolts, and the epoxy was allowed to cure for 5 minutes before the cable was attached to it. The thickness of such a layer of epoxy is no more than 0.3mm.
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SUCCESSFUL MOUNTINGS:
Items Used:
- Wilcoxon accelerometer, model 731-207
- Wilcoxon 1in. triaxial aluminum mounting cube, model TC1
- 520 ft Thermax RGS-316 cable
Z-axis mounting:
We tried adding a layer of Glad polyethylene wrap between the accelerometer and the table. A thin layer of epoxy was first applied to the accelerometer, and a piece of wrap was pulled taut against the bottom of the accelerometer. Then another thin layer of epoxy was applied to the wrap, and then the accelerometer was pressed to the table. The purpose of adding the layer of polyethylene wrap is to isolate the accelerometer from the object it's mounted to, since a thin layer of epoxy may actually allow parts of the metal exterior of the accelerometer to come into contact with the table. The combination of the epoxy and polyethylene wrap added 0.3mm to the heght of the accelerometer (the wrap itself is ~0.5 mils thick). We found that adding this layer does not make the signal deviate too much from that of the reference (see attachment 1).
Triple-axis mounting:
We tried attaching an accelerometer with a layer of polyethylene wrap on the bottom (as above) to an aluminum cube using epoxy, and attaching that cube to the table using epoxy. This also does not make the accelerometer signal deviate significantly from that of the reference (see attachment 2). For actual installation of triple-axis accelerometers, we recommend first attaching three accelerometers to a metal cube using the epoxy-polyethylene-epoxy method described above, outside the LVEA. Once the epoxy has cured and the triple-axis setup is stable, one only needs to use one batch of epoxy near the table to mount the cube. We tested a similar setup but with a (non-conductive) acrylic cube instead, but found that the aluminum cubes give better performance (see attachment 3).
Temporary mounting:
For temporary installations, we tested 1in wide double-sided clear clean room tape. Previously, in iLIGO, double-sided Scotch tape was used, but for aLIGO we wish to use particle-free adhesives such as clean room tape. We found that this mounting allowed the accelerometer to respond to vibrations in a similar way to the epoxied reference (see attachment 4). There were two kinds of clean room tape we tried, one that had a peel-away backing, and one that did not. Since the backing is a hassle to peel off, the tape without the backing is preferred.
Extra long cables:
For cases where extra long cables need to be used for an accelerometer, we verified that the length of the cable does not affect the accelerometer readings. We tested a 520 ft Thermax RGS-316 cable with an accelerometer that was epoxied to the table, next to the reference, and found no effects from using a longer cable (see attachment 5).
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SUB-OPTIMAL MOUNTINGS:
The first mounting scheme we tested was double-sided tape, used in temporary setups during iLIGO. This kind of mounting is useful in temporary installations, not specific to optics tables. The tape used was Scotch Permanent Double Sided Tape, 0.5in wide. Two parallel, non-overlapping strips were placed across the bottom of the accelerometer, which is 1in in diameter, and the accelerometer was pressed to the table surface, again away from any holes. It was placed adjacent to the reference to avoid variations due to positioning on the table. The tape was also found to be non-conductive, so it isolates the accelerometer from the object it's mounted to. We found that when taped to the table, the accelerometer behaves very similarly to one that is epoxied to the table (see attachment 6). However due to cleanliness concerns we opted to use clean room tape for future installations.
Next we compared the iLIGO setup to the epoxied reference. We again found the 900Hz resonance of the cube and plate entering the accelerometer channel (see attachment 6).
Other methods we tried were:
Accelerometer bolted to aluminum cube bolted to brown plastic plate (one of the iLIGO setups)
Accelerometer resting on the table (no mount)
Accelerometer bolted to cube taped to table
Accelerometer bolted to cube epoxied to table
Accelerometer taped to cube epoxied to table
Accelerometer epoxied to cube dog clamped to table
+ polyethylene wrap between cube and table
+ foam stuffed in dog clamp slot
+ foam between dog clamp and cube
+ different position on the table
+ cube replacement
+ tightening of the clamp
+ maximum tightening of the clamp
+ foil between clamp and cube
+ foil between cube and table
+ foil above and below cube
Accelerometer with a thin layer of epoxy + polyethylene wrap + a thick layer (0.7-1.0mm) of epoxy to the table
Accelerometer epoxied to cube bolted to plate
+ foil between cube and plate
+ foil between plate and table
+ foil above and below plate
Maggie Tse, Robert Schofield
The H1 SUS PR2 "safe" burt file was updated and committed to the "cds_user_apps" SVN repository locally in: '/opt/rtcds/userapps/release/sus/h1/burtfiles/h1suspr2_safe.snap' This is the file that is SVN version-controlled in the above directory. A soft-link pointing to this particular file was created in the directory: '/opt/rtcds/lho/h1/target/h1suspr2/h1suspr2epics/burt/' with the name "safe.snap" for use by the startup scripts when re-booting the "h1suspr2" Simulink user model.
[Jax, Elli, Alberto, Keita, Daniel, Bram]
After relocking the RefCav we started locking the Arm and setting alignments. Jax and Elli are running the mode-scans.
The ring heater at ETMY has been turned on at 19:27:25 UTC, 12:27:25 Local time. 630mA of current is requested in both segments. We will run the ring heater continuously for the next 3 hours.
HAM-ISI Unit #7 - Assembly Validation Testing was validated today. We can now proceed to storage of the unit for future insertion in HAM4 Chamber.
Reports regading the Assembly validation of previous units at LHO are available in the DCC:
HAM-ISI Unit #1 - Assembly Validation
HAM-ISI Unit #2 - Assembly Validation
HAM-ISI Unit #3 - Assembly Validation
HAM-ISI Unit #4 - Assembly Validation
HAM-ISI Unit #5 - Assembly Validation
HAM-ISI Unit #6 - Assembly Validation
Reports regading the Chamber Side testing of other units at LHO are available in the DCC:
HAM2 (HAM-ISI Unit #4) - Chamber Side Testing
HAM3 (HAM-ISI Unit #5) - Chamber Side testing
Note: Earlier this month we added an Initial In-Chamber Testing section to the HAM3-ISI Phase II - Integration Process testing report. This report has now two sections:
This report will be completed with the future tests performed on HAM3-ISI unitl the begining of Phase III - Control and Commissionning.
Kate and I are checking grounding on MC2. This will require disconnecting the exterior MC2 SUS cables from the chamber feedthru briefly.
The Simulink models for H1 MC1, MC3, PR3, and PRM were compiled, installed, and begun on the 'h1sush2a' FrontEnd this morning during the CDS Tuesday Maintenance period. The H1 DAQ was also re-booted to begin recording the channels for these models. All re-boots were clean with no apparent issues to note.
For future reference, the peak in the ISS_rpn spectrum at ~120Hz appears to be caused by the NPRO's noise eater. It also explains why I had to lower the reference signal to -2.5 from -1.9 to get the diffracted power to a reasonable level (33% down to 2%). This was fixed by turning the noise eater off and on. The attached plots show the noise eater noise (iss_rpn-009) and after it was reset (iss_rpn-001).
This was caused by swapping the FAST cable earlier last week. I was able to set the reference signal back to -1.9 afterwards.
Removed temporary connection used for PR2 testing and connected permanent cabling from HAM3 feedthrus to SAT Amplifiers.
I have put together 4 optics in the Faraday Isolator, out of 7 that should be there eventually. These include: Ca wedge polarizer s/n 12 currently on the input side Ca wedge Polarizer s/n 03 on the output side TGG crystal s/n 10, presently on the "long" tube together with Quartz rotator Still not assembled are: 2nd TGG crystal -- will put s/n 09 in tomorrow when Al-Bronze cap is out of the C&B oven HWP and DKDP -- don't yet have the proper mounts To install Ca wedges I used a slightly different technique. I cut two 5 mm long sections of the Indium rod, and rolled them together into one fat 5 mm long rod. I then pressed that rod onto the setscrew, and still had enough Indium thickness to tighten on the Ca wedge. The TGG is installed with Indium foil wrapped around the wedge. I had to roll two slices of the Indium foil together, as the lengths (or even the diagonals) of the foil squares that were delivered are shorter than the circumference of the crystal. The Quartz is installed withOUT the foil. Instead it contains at least 3 layers of the Indium wire on the cap side to keep it in place. More photos may be found on the Resource Space.
Attached are plots of dust counts > .5 microns in particles per cubic foot.
The Simulink models for the H1 HAM2 suspensions were modified today to add the IPC part broadcasting the watchdog state to the HAM-ISI model via the Dolphin network. For now, the watchdog state is broadcasting a constant "0" to first test the communication between the FrontEnds. After confirmation, the constant will be replaced with the correct WD state. The error signals for the receiving models were also added as EPICS outputs. The BIO IPC communication for the four models were also implemented via Shared Memory on the 'h1sush2a' FrontEnd. The ability to compile the models was confirmed via the "make" command on the "h1build" machine. These changes will be installed on "h1sush2a" tomorrow during the Maintenance Day period in the morning. The models modified were: "h1susmc1.mdl","h1susmc3.mdl","h1suspr3.mdl", and "h1susprm.mdl" The models were committed locally to the directory: '/opt/rtcds/lho/h1/userapps/release/sus/h1/models/'
This morning, several spectra were measured to evaluate the performance of the ISI-BSC6 with different blend configurations:
The plot LHO_ISI_ETMY_Isolation_aLOG_ST1_Y_20120820_2.pdf shows non calibrated spectra of the T240s in the Y direction. Around 500mHz, the isolation is slightly better with the T240 in the super sensor (comparison pink and black curves - In both cases, the blend is at 250mHz).
The blend on stage 1 can be lowered at 100mHz (red and brown curves).
The plot LHO_ISI_ETMY_Isolation_aLOG_ST2_Y_20120820_2.pdf shows non calibrated spectra of the GS13s in the Y direction. The isolation impprovement seen on stage 1 are also visible on stage 2.
On both ISIs (BSC6 and BSC8), the T240s can be introduced in the super sensor (cf https://alog.ligo-wa.caltech.edu/aLOG/index.php?callRep=3858).
Serviced inter-cooler and after-cooler auto drain units
- OAT needs quiet today - HAM5/6 and clean room cleaned - 9AM, contractors to EX to install linolium - 10AM - MichaelR to shut down PSL for power swap - DaveF working in Laser Safe PSL w/glasses while the laser is down - Keita to EY - Patrick to LVEA - Gerardo to LVEA test stand - Eric to LVEA near rollup door - Thomas near HAM4 doing Mode Cleaner Baffle assembly - Jodi to EY to get ameristat - Betsy, Calum, Norna, Lisa, Thomas,… out in LVEA Fairly quiet day - some issues with DAC with planned fixes tomorrow - power swap on H1PSL - more work at EX preping for install - purge air fix in LVEA - some issues with OAT and Ref Cav unlocking.
Filiberto, Richard, Michael R
The PSL was moved off of the temporary power supplies for 24, 18 and 12V and is now running on the DC power supplies in the H1 electronics room. For the moment, we are still running on the temporary power supplies for high voltage (400V for PMC/ILS, and 180V for FSS), however they were moved into the PSL rack to free up room. The purple cables in the electronics room were redressed as well.
The PSL servos and laser were shutdown for this work, and the key from the control box was removed to make the laser and ante room laser safe (to make David Feldbaums work easier). I plan on turning the laser on tomorrow morning, so it will be off for the night. If all goes well with David's work we may go to high power tomorrow as well.
Laser was restarted yesteday, with the FSS and PMC servos running. The ISS is off because it keeps glitching with work on the table. Watchdogs are on.
We ran a test on Friday to do scans measuring the cavity response to injected sidebands. These were run with the cavity cold and also with it heated. Unfortunately, the reference cavity lost lock before we turned on the ring heater. We locked up all the reference and arm cavity again after 2.5 hours of applied ring heater power. The cavity scan looked extremely noisy at this point - I think this indicated a noisy lock, rather than a severe mode-matching error. We lost lock on the reference cavity after 20 minutes or so and decided to call it a night.
The cold and hot cavity scans are attached below.
Details of the cavity scan measurement will be posted in another entry.
[Daniel and Bram]
With the appearance of the laser PZT resonance in the FIBR servo loop, we made a notch filter. We measured the PZT resonance in a previous entry 3857 to be at 287.55 kHz. After some searching and going back and forth we decided to go the easy way, using a passive notch filter (schematic attached 'FIBR_PZT_NOTCH.pdf'), which Daniel already has used in the TTFSS.
By the lack of finding the right capacitors, we used a 500 pF and a 100 pF parrallel, with a 0-100 pF variable capacitor (oh and we got a 470 uH SMD inductor!). With the help of EE-Dave we managed to pack it into a pomona box.
Also attached is a discustingly bad phone photo of the measured response (the RF analyser has a naughty floppy disk drive).
All in all success. We plugged it in and it worked, we can lock the FIBR Servo with a UGF of 28 kHz (another log entry will follow when I get the data from the disk).
PR2 was installed in HAM3 today, and traveled well on the Genie and Arm. It's sitting against it's cookie cutter, and dogged down overnight. The crew was Kurt Buckland and Scott Shankle, as well as Deepak and I