Visualization experiment of 30 MeV proton beam irradiated water target

The nucleate boiling phenomena in a water target irradiated by 30 MeV proton beam were visualized experimentally. The beam size was 10 mm in diameter and beam current of 10, 15 and 20 μA were used, respectively. A target cavity of 4.5 cc in volume was filled with distilled water without atmosphere. A CMOS camera is used to record the phenomena through a side window. The temperature and pressure were measured during experiments. The depth of the Bragg peak was indicated by the blue light emission of the proton beam in the water target. In the case of 10 μA beam intensity, there was no visible phase change but fluxes by convection was observed at the Bragg peak and near the foil surface region. At 15 μA beam intensity, steam bubbles were generated by homogenous nuclear boiling at the Bragg peak and corrupted by cavitation at the upper region. The steam bubble generation point can be indicated by the blue light emission, which can show us the position of the Bragg peak. At 20 μΑ beam intensity, the steam bubbles were generated at Bragg peak and near the foil surface. The homogenous nucleate boiling at the Bragg peak was dominant and the heterogeneous nucleate boiling near the foil surface took place, occasionally. The cavitation of the steam bubble was also observed in the upper region within the target. The penetration depth of the proton beam was change along with the steam bubble formation. The blue light emission of the proton beam in water shows that the penetration depth of the proton beam becomes deeper when vapor bubbles are generated.