Floor Plan of BL4-2
The floorspace occupied by BL4-2 is divided into two areas:
- experimental hutch: this is where the SAXS instrument is located and the X-ray measurements are performed. It has a radiation tight enclosure and access to it is controlled by a hutch protection interlock system to ensure save operation of the beamline.
- control area: where the control computers for the instrument are located and the on-site user is running the measurement from and perfomr the data analysis. There is also some space for basic sample preparation and storage in the control area.
The hutch protection system (HPS) is designed to ensure that synchrotron radiation can only enter the experimental hutch after the hutch has been vacated and the interlock system successfully activated. It consists of several components (hutch interlock start box, hutch door key, hutch interlock panel and key drop box) as well as an interlock search protocol that the user will be trained on at the begining of the experiment. A detailed explanation on how to interlock the hutch can be found here. There are also three emergency motor stop buttons at the beamline (two inside the experimental hutch and one in the control area) that will immediately stop any motor move inside the hutch. Once the motro stop has been engaged it needs to be reset using the Motor Reset Button (which will be blinking green if the stop button has been activated) to return to normal operation of the beamline. The locations of the safety components inside the hutch and in the control space is indicated in the following two images.
Location of the safety compoinents inside the BL4-2 experimental hutch
Location of the safety components in the BL4-2 control area
