An analytical approach of thermodynamic behavior in a gas target system on a medical cyclotron.

An analytical model has been developed to study the thermo-mechanical behavior of gas targets used to produce medical isotopes, assuming that the system reaches steady-state. It is based on an integral analysis of the mass and energy balance of the gas-target system, the ideal gas law, and the deformation of the foil. The heat transfer coefficients for different target bodies and gases have been calculated. Excellent agreement is observed between experiments performed at TRIUMF's 13MeV cyclotron and the model.