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-----Electropolished aluminum for vacuum service?
2005
Is electropolishing a good technique to prepare 1100 and 6000-series aluminum for high-vacuum or ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) service? Does the electropolishing result in a bulk alloy condition with a dense native surface oxide? Do any contaminants (processing chemicals) or hydrogen get entrapped in the near-surface?
Are there industry-standard specifications for electropolishing of aluminum (e.g ASTM or MIL)?
Grant Kiehnemanufacturing - Bloomfield, Connecticut, USA
You might want to contact CERN about the use of aluminum in vacuum systems. I visited them many, many years ago -- back in the 70's. We were given a tour of their colliding storage ring -- the first proton-anti-proton unit. Needless to say, they had to keep an ultra-ultra high vacuum in the rings. I was shocked to learn that the rings were mostly made of aluminum. Apparantly, if you bake out the aluminum properly it works better than stainless steel.
Jim Treglio - scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover
San Diego, California
2005
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