CNPEM ENGINEERING

Technological development put to the test

Developing new technologies to produce equipment, and mastering materials manipulation on a variety of scales are part of CNPEM’s expertise.

 

CNPEM has forged partnerships with industry in Brazil and abroad and invested in its internal team over its history to build the capacity to design and produce scientific instruments, a competence associated with the knowledge accumulated since the construction of Brazil’s first synchrotron light source. For example, today the Center operates one of the most advanced vacuum infrastructures in the country, with the capacity to manufacture chambers using various materials (stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and ceramics), and has developed complex welding techniques for applications that require pressures typically found in space (below 10-11mBar) and are fundamental for synchrotron operations, manufacturing superconducting magnets, and cryogenic systems. In the area of digital electronics, CNPEM designs and develops different operating components for complex diagnostic and control systems, precision machines composed of advanced mechanical systems, in order to adapt applications of the different research techniques available to the many types of samples and conditions required in experiments. In the area of catalysis and energy, the development of a catalytic reactor simulator with controlled reagent flow is a highlight. These are just a few examples of CNPEM’s efforts to develop scientific tools and instrumentation related to the operation of large and complex research infrastructures. In short, the design, development, and operation of complex infrastructures and equipment are one indication of a country’s technological capacity. CNPEM’s performance in this area moves Brazil beyond just an importer of equipment to a country that also accumulates technical skills by developing technologies with export potential. This is a significant milestone for the country and part of the mission of its technology centers.

PARTNERSHIP

Agreement between PITEC and CNPEM advances the development of state-of-the-art technology

UNDERSTANDING ESTABLISHES GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR COOPERATION IN TECHNOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN X-RAY DETECTORS, ACCELERATOR ENGINEERING, AND BEAMLINES

Pi Tecnologia (PITEC), a company dedicated to developing communications and imaging systems with state-of-the-art electronic systems, and CNPEM have signed in 2020 a broad technical cooperation agreement to carry out projects in applied research and technological development that involves the transfer of know-how and technologies. The agreement establishes general conditions for the joint development of new products, provision of new components for the Sirius synchrotron light source, and technology transfer between both parties, in order to make it possible to develop high-impact applications that will surpass what currently exists in both institutions. Detectors are one of the most important components of beamlines and act as digital cameras specially developed to detect synchrotron light. They are responsible for capturing the light that results from the interaction between synchrotron light and the sample; with the help of supercomputers, they transform it into quantifiable data that can be used by researchers in their analyses. The company and CNPEM signed a licensing agreement so PITEC can utilize the technology worldwide.

“I believe that the great beauty of having a relationship with an institution like CNPEM lies in its multidisciplinary nature. You end up applying your knowledge in areas that you didn’t even imagine would be possible. The knowledge we find at CNPEM and Sirius, together with the engineering and construction capacity we have here, created the ideal environment for us to solve highly complex problems,” says PITEC CEO Júlio César. “By transferring technologies developed at CNPEM to a domestic company like PITEC, we gain a partner that can produce devices adapted to the high standards we need in accelerators and beamlines on a larger scale. With this, we can focus on aspects that make Sirius more competitive, such as developing new experimental stations, new data acquisition and processing methods, and various other innovative fronts worldwide,” explains Lucas Sanfelici, Division Head of the Beamlines Engineering Division.

PITEC has worked with CNPEM team to develop PIMEGA, a largearea X-ray detector with high frame count and high-capacity data transfer for use in the Sirius experimental stations
PITEC has worked with CNPEM team to develop PIMEGA, a largearea X-ray detector with high frame count and high-capacity data transfer for use in the Sirius experimental stations

THANKS TO THE INVOLVEMENT OF THE BRAZILIAN COMPANIES, THE PROJECT ACHIEVED A 85% INDEX OF NATIONALIZATION

OTHER TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIPS

One of the objectives of Sirius was to stimulate the development of the Brazilian industry by inducing demand for services, raw materials, and equipment. Thanks to the involvement of Brazilian companies, the project’s nationalization rate (in other words, the share of resources invested within the country) reached approximately 85%. All in all, the different types of partnerships involve over three hundred Brazilian companies of all sizes, not to mention those involved in the demand for related civil construction projects, which were managed by the Racional Engenharia construction company. Of this group, more than forty companies have worked on technological developments, especially for the Sirius Project. In addition to PITEC, WEG, FCA, and Termomecânica are some of the partners involved in the Sirius Project.

QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES
Niobium is a malleable, ductile metal with high thermal and electrical conductivity that is highly resistant to corrosion, heat, and wear. Because of these characteristics, it is used in several metal alloys to improve the properties of different materials.

CBMM and CNPEM work to accelerate the development of superconductivity technologies

PARTNERSHIP PROMOTES SCIENTIFIC
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTS RELATED TO
SUPERCONDUCTING MATERIALS WITH NIOBIUM

CBMM, a world leader in producing and marketing niobium products, and CNPEM have signed a cooperation agreement for research and technological and scientific development in the area of superconducting materials with niobium. “The goal of this cooperation agreement is to work in science, develop technologies and apply them at all scales, adding value to new products of interest to society,” comments James Citadini, Manager of Engineering and Technology at CNPEM. “CBMM works to diversify the global niobium market, and to do so invests around R$ 200 million reais per year in its Technology Program, which is one of the most innovative segments for superconductors. We understand that there is no alternative for producing these materials on a large scale that does not involve the use of niobium,” says Rodolfo Morgado, manager of CBMM’s Special Products sector. CNPEM is an organization with a mission to provide and contribute to the scientific and technological development of Brazil in its areas of competence. To understand the properties of superconducting materials, CNPEM has the Sirius infrastructure at its disposal, with several research stations that make it possible to study the magnetic behavior of the materials. This agreement also involves providing the design, development, and applications of superconductivity as a key element of equipment performance in a wide variety of areas including medicine, energy, particle physics, electrical and electronic, and defense, generating high value-added components.

 

NIOBIUM

 

This element can be applied to the structure of buildings and bridges, vehicles, aircraft turbines, rockets, and space probes, as well as gas mains and electric batteries. It is also essential to develop superconducting materials. Superconductivity is the property that allows certain materials to conduct electric current without resistance and therefore without a loss of energy. Superconductors are already used in applications that involve energy transmissions, such as much more efficient electric motors, magnetic resonance machines, and other high-performance medical diagnostic equipment, as well as manufacturing scientific research equipment such as magnets for particle accelerators. However, a major limitation on large-scale use of superconducting materials is the need to maintain them at very low temperatures close to absolute zero (-273.15°C), which in turn requires large cooling infrastructures. For this reason, there is a constant search for superconducting materials that work closer to ambient temperature, which would permit a true technological revolution. And it is here that titanium-niobium alloys make a difference, playing a vital role in the operation of such equipment.

SUPERCONDUCTIVITY IS THE PROPERTY THAT ALLOWS CERTAIN MATERIALS TO CONDUCT ELECTRICAL CURRENT WITHOUT RESISTANCE AND, THEREFORE, WITHOUT ENERGY LOSS.

EMA

One of the new experimental stations open at Sirius, called Ema, is one of the most advanced resources for experiments that seek solutions for technologies that involve superconductivity. This research station is designed to study materials subjected to extremely high temperatures above 8000°C, extremely low temperatures near absolute zero, or extremely high pressures equivalent to double the pressure at the center of the Earth. When a substance is subjected to these extreme conditions it may present new physical and chemical properties (for example, it may transform from a conductor to an insulator, from magnetic to non-magnetic, or vice versa), or even exhibit characteristics that do not exist under normal conditions, as in the case of superconductive materials. These conditions can only be revealed by a high-brightness X-ray beam such as the one produced by Sirius, by combining several techniques such as diffraction, absorption spectroscopy, and non-elastic x-ray scattering. This beamline will investigate questions about the atomic structure of materials and how they change according to the very low temperatures or very high pressure required during the process of manufacturing superconductive materials. “At the Ema Beamline we seek to microscopically understand the effect of superconductivity and observe it at room temperature. This understanding could affect all technological applications in our Society”, hightlights Narcizo de Souza Neto, Head of Division in the Condensed Matter and Material Science Division.

Particles being slammed into one another inside a synchrotron

CNPEM and CERN sign collaboration agreement

THE EUROPEAN ORGANIZATION FOR NUCLEAR RESEARCH (CERN), ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING PARTICLE PHYSICS LABORATORIES, AND CNPEM SIGNED A BROAD AGREEMENT ON SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COLLABORATION ON DECEMBER 4, 2020.

This agreement established the legal conditions for collaboration in research and resource sharing in any area of mutual interest, particularly technologies applied to the physics of accelerators, magnets, and superconductive materials. This knowledge holds enormous value to developing new technologies, both in the scientific field as well as in various sectors of industry. “CNPEM’s partnership with CERN will make it possible to carry out projects in several areas, particularly superconductivity. Like any high-tech project, there will be major involvement by domestic industry, which will benefit from the project in areas such as the development and construction of cryostats, development and manufacture of superconducting wires and materials to operate in extreme conditions, and manufacture of coils, development of rapid power electronics and diagnostics,” comments James Citadini, CNPEM’s Manager of Engineering and Technology. CERN, which operates the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the planet’s largest particle collider, is working on feasibility studies for a new structure: the Future Circular Collider (FCC), a four-fold infrastructure approximately 100 kilometers long that will focus on research into the fundamental components of matter. This project requires human resources and supplies of certified materials made to the highest technological standards. “I am very pleased to sign this collaboration agreement,” said Frédéric Bordry, Director of Accelerators and Technology at CERN. “For 30 years, Brazil has been a strong partner in CERN’s scientific activities. Signing this new agreement will expand our collaboration in scientific research, training, innovation, and knowledge sharing in the area of accelerator technology. CNPEM and Brazil have many proven skills and talents in this area, and I am convinced this will bring with it many mutual benefits, and also motivate industry partners.”

“THE SIGNING OF THIS NEW AGREEMENT WILL INCREASE OUR SHARING OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE AREA OF TECHNOLOGY OF ACCELERATORS”, said Frédérick Bordry, Director of Accelerators and Technology from CERN.

PARTICLE ACCELERATORS
Photo of a small part of the CERN LHC (Pexels/Pietro Battistoni) shows how the dimensions of the equipment are different, as they accelerate protons, which are larger and heavier than electrons.
Photo of a small part of the CERN LHC (Pexels/Pietro Battistoni) shows how the dimensions of the equipment are different, as they accelerate protons, which are larger and heavier than electrons.

What are the differences between Sirius and CERN's LHC?

CNPEM’s Sirius particle accelerator and CERN’s LHC have some similarities, but they are quite different. In both types of accelerators, particles travel along a circular trajectory within metal chambers, and their path is guided by magnets. Some of the components that make up these accelerators are consequently similar, which is why an agreement between the two institutions that house each opens technological opportunities for both. However, each of these infrastructures has distinct scientific objectives. Within the LHC, proton beams are accelerated in opposite directions, so they collide with each other. Researchers detect and analyze these collisions to study matter on a subatomic scale and investigate the building blocks of the universe. Meanwhile, in a synchrotron light source such as Sirius, electrons are accelerated in the same direction without colliding with each other. The electrons circulate steadily for long periods of time; this electron beam produces a special type of light, called synchrotron light, which is then used by researchers to study various materials at the molecular and atomic scales.