Monday, Oct. 7, 2013
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Have a safe day!

Monday, Oct. 7

2:30 p.m.
Particle Astrophysics Seminar - WH6W
Speaker: Pat Seitzer, University of Michigan
Title: Applied Astronomy: Optical Studies of Space Debris at Geosynchronous Orbit

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

4 p.m.
All Experimenters' Meeting - Curia II

Tuesday, Oct. 8

11 a.m.
Academic Lecture Series - One West
Speaker: Roni Harnik, Fermilab
Title: Theory of Charged Lepton Flavor Violation

3:30 p.m.
DIRECTOR'S COFFEE BREAK - 2nd Flr X-Over

4 p.m.
Accelerator Physics and Technology Seminar - One West
Speaker: Jim Hylen and Patrick Hurh, Fermilab
Title: NuMI Horns and Targets and the Ongoing FNAL High Power Target R&D Program

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63°/42°

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Current Security Status

Secon Level 3

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Flags at full staff

Wilson Hall Cafe

Monday, Oct. 7

- Breakfast: blueberry crepes
- Breakfast: sausage, egg and cheese croissant
- Philly-style cheese steak with peppers
- Smart cuisine: sweet and sour apricot chicken
- White-wine-poached salmon
- Spicy Asian chicken wrap
- Stir fry sensations
- Texas-style chili
- Egg drop soup

Wilson Hall Cafe menu

Chez Leon

Wednesday, Oct. 9
Lunch
- Roasted vegetables and goat cheese on herbed focaccia
- Grilled shrimp and wild rice medley
- Lemon almond butter cake

Friday, Oct. 11
Dinner
- Spinach salad with pears, pecans and balsamic vinaigrette
- Rib eye roast with mustard and black pepper
- Potato and sage gratin
- Winter greens with pancetta and mint
- Swedish apple pie

Chez Leon menu
Call x3524 to make your reservation.

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Feature

Pipe dream fulfilled

This picture, taken this summer, shows a new 12-inch-diameter pipe ready to be inserted into the Neutrino-Muon berm pipe. The Accelerator Division recently finished sleeving the berm pipe, and now the pipe can maintain vacuum for experiments using the beamline. Photo: Ryan Schultz

For years, vacuum problems plagued Fermilab's 760-foot-long Neutrino-Muon berm pipe and seemed impossible to overcome.

Much to the joy of everyone involved, a team led by AD Project Engineer Ryan Schultz finally put the problem to bed. This summer they successfully inserted a slightly smaller pipe inside the Neutrino-Muon berm pipe. Now experiments such as SeaQuest can maintain vacuum in the beamline.

"It wasn't straightforward, but it really was the only option," Schultz said. "So we found a way to make it work."

Over the pipe's lifetime, water and stray electrical currents helped gradually corrode the steel pipe, allowing groundwater to seep in.

The Accelerator Division had previously attempted to solve the problem, to no avail. They also considered digging out and replacing the pipe, but this would have been both expensive and challenging, given the area's tangled underground nest of electrical feeders, adjacent enclosures, and water and gas lines.

It became clear that sleeving was the only viable option. AD Engineering Physicist Mike Geelhoed called on Schultz to plan and execute the operation.

Sleeving a pipe is typically straightforward. But sleeving the Neutrino-Muon berm pipe was fraught with potential pitfalls. The pipe is over twice as long as a football field and rapidly changes diameter at three points, increasing the potential for the smaller pipe to get caught in the transition regions. Also, the new pipe's environment would be somewhat corrosive, potentially leading to what metallurgists call microbiologically induced corrosion and stress corrosion cracking.

Schultz found a type of stainless steel called Duplex 2205 that would survive the corrosive surroundings.

"It's twice as strong and twice as corrosion-resistant as standard 316 stainless steel but only about 30 percent more expensive, so you get more bang for your buck," Schultz said.

Half of the problem was solved, but the other half remained.

"It doesn't take much for the smaller pipe to get caught," said Geelhoed, who oversaw the project. "The new pipe could have stalled in the transition regions if the front end wasn't designed just right."

Schultz and his team performed practice runs on a full-size mockup. They understood that once they began installing the new pipe, there would be no chance at a do-over.

The tests paid off. At one end, workers assembled 22 sections of pipe, each 35 feet long. Then they welded the sections together and leak-tested as they progressed. At the other end, an 86-ton tugging machine pulled the new pipe through. The team sleeved the pipe in eight weeks.

Schultz points out that Technical Division and other groups contributed to the project.

"Machinists, welders, the Material Development Lab and many others played supportive roles," Schultz said. "AD wouldn't have been successful without them."

The Accelerator Division now has the experience to draw from should another berm pipe start to degrade.

"Hopefully we'll never need it again — knock on wood," Geelhoed said. "If we do, we have the expertise and a successfully proven process. We've got the solution."

Leah Hesla

The inserted berm pipe is finished and ready to be joined with the adjacent beamline. Photo: Ryan Schultz
In the News

Etched glass could create table-top particle accelerators

From Physics World, Oct. 3, 2013

Two independent teams of physicists have used small pieces of glass etched with tiny gratings to accelerate electrons through enormous electric-field gradients. One team boosted the kinetic energy of the electrons at about the same rate as a conventional particle accelerator, while the other achieved 10 times that speed. The technology could one day be used to build table-top accelerators that are much smaller than conventional devices, bringing the benefits of particle-beam therapy to a wider range of cancer patients.

Read more

In the News

APSU students earn high marks for research at famed Fermilab

From Clarksville Online, Oct. 4, 2013

Clarksville, TN – Mees Fix, an Austin Peay State University physics student, thought he might be in trouble. He was outside of Chicago, analyzing white dwarf stars at Fermilab – [a] U.S. Department of Energy's national laboratory – when he noticed something strange. One of the stars was giving off way too much light energy.

Read more

Tip of the Week: Safety

National Fire Prevention Week: Preventing Kitchen Fires

This week the National Fire Protection Association wants you to be aware of how to prevent kitchen fires.

Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 6-12, and the National Fire Protection Association 2013 Fire Prevention Week theme is "Preventing Kitchen Fires."

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, NFPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the leading cause of home fires is from unattended cooking equipment. More fires start in the kitchen than in any other part of the home. U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of 156,600 cooking-related fires between 2007 and 2011, resulting in 400 deaths, 5,080 injuries and $853 million in direct damage.

There are many things that you can do at home to practice fire safety. Here are some statistics and helpful tips to prevent cooking or kitchen fires:

  • Clothing was the item first ignited in less than 1 percent of home cooking fires, but these incidents accounted for 16 percent of cooking fire deaths. Keep all flammable objects such as towels, cookbooks and curtains at least 3 feet from stoves. Wear appropriate clothing. Do not wear long baggy sleeves that could come in contact with flames.
  • Ovens and stovetops account for nearly 75 percent of home cooking fire incidents. Turn all pot and pan handles inward to keep them out of reach from small children. Clean the cooking surface regularly to prevent grease buildup.
  • Microwave ovens are one of the leading home products associated with scald burn injuries not related to fires. Nearly half (44 percent) of the microwave oven injuries seen at emergency rooms in 2011 were scald burns.
  • Children under the age of five face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking than being burned in a cooking fire.

Prevention is always the best option, but in case of an accident, make sure that your family is prepared in case of an emergency. In addition to practicing and participating in fire drills here at Fermilab, it is also important to practice in-home fire drills with both children and adults.

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Fermilab Fire Department will display one of their fire engines in the horseshoe in front of Wilson Hall from noon to 1 p.m. Employees should feel free to contact the Fire Department at x3428 if they have any fire prevention questions.

Chuck Kuhn, Fermilab fire chief, and David Esterquest, BSS emergency planner

Photo of the Day

Misty morning

The early-morning Sun peers through the trees by Wilson Road. Photo: Sue Quarto, FESS
In Brief

Lunch and learn about how you can volunteer for science - Wednesday at noon in Curia II

Are you a scientist who wants to encourage young students to get excited about physics but don't know where to start? Or perhaps you're an engineer who enjoys meeting with young people to share your interest in electronics along with a little Q&A. Maybe you're a graduate student who, in the course of earning your degree, discovered you enjoy talking with people about your research.

If any of the above applies to you, consider attending the Education Office's annual lunch for those interested in volunteering in Fermilab's STEM education and outreach efforts.

The lunch, hosted by the Fermilab Student and Postdoc Association and Fermilab Friends for Science Education, will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 9, from noon to 1 p.m. in Curia II. Susan Dahl and Marge Bardeen of the Education Office and FSPA's Jason St. John will be there to talk with you and answer any of your questions.

Whether you have 15 minutes or half a day, there is a way for you to volunteer. Learn more about the lunch and how you can help. For those who can't attend but are interested in volunteering, email Susan Dahl to be added to the Education Office's listserv of volunteers. More information is on the Education Office volunteer website.

Announcements

Today's New Announcements

School's Day Out - Oct. 11 and 14

Money just got cheaper

Power Writing Workshop offered Oct. 24

Writing for Results: Email and More class offered Dec. 11

SPIE digital library online trial at Fermilab

Flu vaccination information

Accelerate to a Healthy Lifestyle

NALWO "English Conversation" mornings

Indoor soccer now on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Basketball open gym on Wednesdays

Scottish country dancing Tuesday evenings at Kuhn Barn

International folk dancing Thursday evenings at Kuhn Barn

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey discounts