Vacuum Systems and Technologies, part 1

Test and practice questions for the final exam

(only 1 selection per question is correct)
1. The correct value of atmospheric pressure is:
a. 101 325 [hPa]
b. 101 325 [Pa]
c. 1013 [bar]
d. 1013 [Pa]

2. The overpressure pe can be defined mathematically as:

a. pabs + pamp = pe
b. pabs ∙ pamp = pe
c. pabs - pamp = pe
d. pabs / pamp = pe

3. The pumping speed S can be measured using:

a. l/s, m3/h, cm3/s
b. mbar ∙ l, kg/h
c. mbar ∙ l ∙ s-1
d. mbar · l · s-1 · cm-2

4. The pV flow qpV can be defined mathematically as:

a. qpv = (p + V) / t = d (p + V) / dt
b. qpv = (p ÷ V) ∙ t = d (p ÷ V) ∙ dt
c. qpv = (p - V) / t = d (p - V) / dt
d. qpv = (p ∙ V) / t = d (p ∙ V) / dt

5. The leak rate qL is defined as:

a. A movement of gas particles through the pump intake port.
b. A movement of gas particles through any piping element.
c. A movement of gas particles through undesired passages.
d. A movement of gas particles through any valve.

6. The outgassing rate can be measured using:

a. mbar · l · s–1, mbar · l · s–1 · cm–2
b. mbar · l
c. l/s, m3/h, cm3/s
d. kg/h, kg/s

7. The suitable approximation for the kinetic theory of gases, where 𝒄̅ is the mean square of velocity c2 for
the individual gas molecules, z is the collision index and λ is mean free path length, can be written as:
a. 𝑐̅ ∙ λ = z
b. 𝑐̅ ÷ λ = z
c. 𝑐̅ + λ = z
d. 𝑐̅ − λ = z

8. The Collision frequency zv within the Kinetic theory of gases can be measured using:
a. Hz
b. n · s–1
c. Hz2 · s–1
d. cm–3 · s–1
9. Among the main model concepts and basic assumptions of the kinetic theory, these are:
a. Atoms/molecules are considered as a points
b. Forces cannot be transmitted one to another only by a collision
c. The collisions are inelastic
d. The molecules order prevails

10. The pressure ranges in vacuum technology are usually defined as:
a. Rough vacuum (1000 – 1 Pa), Medium vacuum (1 – 10-3 Pa),
High vacuum (10-3 – 10-7 Pa), Ultrahigh vacuum (10-7 – (10-14) Pa).
b. Rough vacuum (100 – 10 mbar), Medium vacuum (10 – 10-2 mbar),
High vacuum (10-3 – 10-6 mbar), Ultrahigh vacuum (10-6 – (10-13) mbar).
c. Rough vacuum (1000 – 1 mbar), Medium vacuum (1 – 10-3 mbar),
High vacuum (10-3 – 10-7 mbar), Ultrahigh vacuum (10-7 – (10-14) mbar).
d. Rough vacuum (1000 – 1 torr), Medium vacuum (1 – 10-3 torr),
High vacuum (10-3 – 10-7 torr), Ultrahigh vacuum (10-7 – (10-14) torr).

11. Select the correct statement about types of flow and conductance.
a. The Viscous flow mostly exists only in ultrahigh vacuum.
b. The Knudsen flow prevails in the rough vacuum range.
c. In a Molecular flow, molecules cannot move freely without any mutual interference.
d. The Turbulent flow is a subtype of the viscous flow.

12. Select the correct statement about Conductance for piping and orifices:
a. Conductance will not depend on the pressure and the nature of the gas.
b. Conductance will depend also on the sectional shape of the conducting element.
c. Conductance for a long straight pipe cannot be described using Knudsen equation.
d. The length and curvature of the piping does not affect the conductance.

13. Select the correct statement about Diaphragm pumps (DP):

a. DP produce significant amount of waste oil.
b. The volume of the DP remains constant during the pumping process.
c. The volume of the DP increases and decreases periodically.
d. In the so called “dead space” the gases are moved to the exhaust line.

14. Select the correct statement about Oil sealed rotary displacement pumps (OSRDP).
a. OSRDP is vacuum pump in which the gas is sucked in with the aid of pistons, rotors,
vanes, and valves or similar, possibly compressed and then discharged.
b. Rotary motion is not present inside the OSRDP.
c. The single-stage high compression ratio of the OSRDP is higher when no oil is used.
d. There is no difference between oiled- and dry-compressing displacement pumps, both
can be used in both modes.

15. What is the most common description of a Rotary vane pump construction?
a. Two symmetrically shaped impellers rotate inside the pump casing past each other
in proximity.
b. Standard flange-mounted motors are used for the drive and the shaft feedthroughs are
sealed by two oil sealed radial shaft.
c. The piston is moved along by an eccentric turning.
d. Cylindrical housing contains eccentrically suspended and slotted rotor.
16. Select the correct statement about the gas ballast facility.
a. Is used in the turbo pumps and cryo pumps permitting not only pumping of permanent
gases but also even larger quantities of condensable gases.
b. Prevents condensation of vapors in the pump chamber of the pump - may only be
compressed up to their saturation vapor pressure at the temperature of the pump.
c. The gas ballast allows the occurrence of condensation of the vapor in the pump.
d. The pump does not require reaching operating temperature for the gas ballast to be used.

17. Select the correct statement about the roots pumps (RP).
a. RPs are usually used in combinations with backing pumps (rotary vane- and rotary
plunger pumps) extending its range to medium vacuum.
b. The clearance between the rotors of RPs amounts to only a few millimeters.
c. The lowest back flows of the RPs are attained at operating pressures in the region of
100 mbar.
d. Roots pumps are oil sealed, therefore the compression ratios are only 100 – 1000.

18. Select the correct statement about the claw pumps (CP).
a. CPs belong to the group of gas-binding vacuum pumps.
b. In order to attain an optimum seal, the clearance between the rotor and the amount of
clearance with respect to the inside casing wall is rather small (1 mm).
c. The CP compresses the gas already within the pumping chamber.
d. The discharge slots and the intake of a CP is can only be opened at the end of the
pumping cycle.

19. Select the correct statement about the Claw pumps with internal compression (CPIC).
a. Due to the work done on compression a water cooling is not required.
b. The gear box is virtually hermetically sealed from the pumping chamber by piston rings
and a radial shaft seal.
c. The classic dry compressing claw vacuum pumps can be used without any special
requirements or modifications.
d. The mean velocity (VGas) of the flowing gas is given by VGas = (10 · qpV) / (p + A).

20. Select the correct statement about the Claw pumps without internal compression for chemistry applications
(“ALL·ex”).
a. The “ALL·ex” pumps produce waste oil in any mode of operation.
b. A special feature of the “ALL·ex” is that both shafts lacks their bearings in the gear.
c. The “ALL·ex” requires complicated and very extensive servicing each 4 years.
d. There are no restrictions as to the vapor flow: the “ALL·ex” may be operated within the
entire pressure range from 5 to 1000 mbar without restrictions.

21. Select the correct statement about the Condensors.

a. For pumping larger quantities of water vapor, for cooling media such as brine and
refrigerants cannot be used.
b. When pumping, certain quantity of air is involved, contained in vapors.
c. The condenser cannot be backed by a gas ballast pump to work in combination (like the
Roots pump)
d. The necessary pumping speed of the gas ballast pump does not depend on the existing
operating conditions, particularly the size of the condenser.
22. Select the correct statement about the Turbomolecular pumps (TP).
a. The gas particles to be pumped receive an impulse in a required flow direction.
b. The surfaces of the rotor fill intervening spaces in which the gas is vented to the backing
port.
c. For the turbomolecular pumps the spaces between the stator and the rotor disks were
made in the order of micrometers.
d. For the grease lubrication concept of the TP, the magnetic suspension is used.

23. Select the correct statement about Sorption pumps.

a. The pumped gas is bonded via electric or magnetic forces directly from the pumped gas
flow using Zeolite 13X which is frequently used as an adsorption material.
b. Principle of a sorption pump is the same as the principle of getter pump, since in both
cases gases are bonded to pure, mostly metallic surfaces, which are not covered by oxide
or carbide layers.
c. Getter surfaces are generated directly in the vacuum by evaporation
(evaporator pumps) or by sputtering (sputter pumps).
d. Passivating surface layer of the getter (metal) cannot be removed by
exposing the pure material to the vacuum.

24. Select the correct statement about Sputter ion-pumps.

a. The ions are being repelled from the cathode and sputter the cathode material.
b. The titanium located in a reservoir at other locations acts as a surface coating and adsorbs
reactive gas particles.
c. The energy of the ionized gas particles is not sufficient for the impinging ions to
penetrate deeply into the cathode material.
d. The triode-type sputter ion-pump reaches excellent stability comparing to the diode-type
in their pumping speed for noble gases because sputtering and film forming surfaces are
separated.

25. Select the correct statement about the special properties of Non evaporable getter pumps
(NEG Pumps).
a. Variable pumping speed in the HV and UHV ranges.
b. Particularly high pumping speed for hydrogen and its isotopes.
c. Before activation the pump can often operate at room temperature and will.
d. Causes several interferences by magnetic fields.

26. Select the correct statement about Vacuum gauges with pressure reading independent on the type of gas.
a. The interior of a tube bent into a circular arc (so-called Bourdon tube) is connected to
the vessel to be evacuated.
b. Aneroid capsule (the barometer) indicated the pressure on a logarithmic scale dependently
on the external atmospheric pressure.
c. The deflection of the diaphragm gauge is measured as the change in resistance of a plate
capacitor.
d. Deflection of a diaphragm can also be electrically measured as “strain” or as a change in
inductance.

27. Select the correct statement about Vacuum gauges with gas-dependent pressure reading.
a. The instruments consist of the actual sensor and is driven by a human operator.
b. In the spinning rotor gauge, the steel ball that has a diameter of several millimeters and is
suspended with direct contact in a magnetic field, is used as the measuring element.
c. The most widespread measuring instrument based on thermal conductivity principle is
the Pirani vacuum gauge.
 d. The sensing filament in the gauge head of Pirani Vacuum gauge forms a branch of a
Kelvin bridge

28. Select the correct statement about Ionization vacuum gauges.

a. Ionization takes place when electrons are decelerated using brake electric field and attain
energy low enough to form negative ions on impact with gauge surface.
b. The formation of ions is a consequence of either a discharge at a high electric field
strength (Cold-cathode or Penning discharge) or the impact of electrons that are emitted from
a hot cathode.
c. Penning measuring tube pumps gases attain very low degree of inaccuracy in the pressure
reading (up to around 5 %).
d. Penning measuring tube pumps are the most expensive of all high vacuum measuring
instruments.

29. Select the correct statement about Hot-cathode ionization vacuum gauges (HIVG).
a. Cathodes are usually made of oxide-coated tungsten (WO3, W2O5).
b. They work with high voltages and with the presence of external magnetic field only.
c. At low pressures the measuring range is limited by the X-ray effect and by the ion
desorption effect.
d. The positive X-ray effect is independent on the anode voltage as well as on the size of
the surface of the ion collector.

30. Within the Fundamentals of pressure monitoring and control, select one of the correct additional demands
on vacuum gauges:
a. Discrete indication of measured values, analog only.
b. Digital output to connect an external digital reader unit.
c. Facility for recording switching operations through built-in trigger points.
d. Built-in computer interface (e.g., RS-232).

31. Within the Automatic protection, monitoring and control of vacuum systems, the pump system is to be
protected against the following malfunctions:
a. Against the lightning and nuclear radiation.
b. Failure of cooling water to the diffusion pump.
c. Failure of diffusion pump.
d. Pressure rise in the vessel below a maximum permissible value.

32. Select the correct statement about Pressure regulation and control in rough and medium vacuum systems.
a. The terms and characteristic variables for describing control processes are mentioned in
DIN 19226.
b. Control and regulation do not provide the function of giving a physical variable.
c. Actuator does not change the energy supply to the physical variable and thus the variable
itself.
d. There are four possible ways two possible ways of adjusting the pressure in a vacuum
system.

33. Select the correct statement among the differences between Two-step and Three-step regulation using
pumping speed throttling and gas admission.
a. The pressure during the pumping speed throttling remains constant.
b. The process of gas admission depends exponentially on the time.
c. Two-step or three-step regulation is fully adequate in all vacuum ranges.
d. To specify the pressure window, only single variable is necessary.
34. Select the correct statement for the types of leaks.
a. Leaks in detachable connections are linked to solder and welding seams or glued joints.
b. Leaks due to thermal processing can be found in polycrystalline materials and cast
components.
c. Indirect leaks are particularly following mechanical deformation.
d. “Serial leaks” allow gas to pass in one direction but are tight in the other.

35. The leak rate QL is measured with:

a. mbar · l/s or cm3/s
b. l/s,
c. kg/h,
d. m3/h, cm3/s.

36. The “rule of thumb” for high vacuum systems expresses that:
a. For total leak rate < 10-6 cm3/s, the equipment is very tight.
b. For total leak rate < 10-6 l/s, the equipment is very tight.
c. For total leak rate > 10-4 m3/h, the equipment is leaky.
d. For total leak rate > 10-4 mbar · l/s, the equipment is leaky.

37. The helium standard leak is defined as:

a. Testing is carried out using helium at 100 bar differential between (external) atmospheric
pressure and the vacuum inside a system (internal, p < 100 mbar).
b. Testing is carried out using helium at 10 bar differential between (external) atmospheric
pressure and the vacuum inside a system (internal, p < 10 mbar).
c. Testing is carried out using helium at 1 bar differential between (external) atmospheric
pressure and the vacuum inside a system (internal, p < 1 mbar).
d. Testing is carried out using helium at 0.1 bar differential between (external) atmospheric
pressure and the vacuum inside a system (internal, p < 0.1 mbar).

38. Select the correct statement about leak detection methods without a leak detector unit.
a. The pressure rise test is based on that a leak will allow a quantity of gas to leave from a
partially evacuated vessel.
b. The Krypton 85 test uses a gaseous, radioactive isotope, that can be forced into the device
by applying pressure from the outside.
c. For the bubble immersion test, the test specimen covered in soap is submerged to increased
pressure causing the leaks to generate bubbles.
d. The High frequency vacuum test is based on connecting the surface of the vessel to a huge
Tesla coil generating few meters long sparks directly from the leaks.

39. Select the correct statement about Leak detection techniques using helium leak detectors.
a. For the spray technique, the test specimen is slowly traced with a very fine stream of helium
from the spray pistol, aimed at likely leakage points.
b. For the local leak test using the positive pressure method aka the sniffer technology, hydrogen cannot
be detected.
c. For the sniffer technology, the limitation of sensitivity in the detection of helium is due
primarily to the amount of helium in the tested vacuum vessel.
d. For the industrial leak testing the use of the helium test method would result in
considerable decreases in efficiency and decrease of testing reliability.
40. Provide the names of main parts of a diaphragm pump stage into the gaps.

Casing lid
Valves
Lid
Diaphragm disk
Diaphragm
Diaphragm support disk
Connecting rod
Eccentric disk

41. Provide the names of main parts of a rotary plunger pump stage into the gaps.

Exhaust pot
Gas ballast channel
Dirt trap
Intake port
Gas ballast channel Slide Valve
Oil level sight glass Hinge bar
Oil Sealed pressure valve Pumping chamber
Compression Chamber ( air is flowing in)
Eccentric
Cyliindrical piston
Casing

42. Provide the names of main parts of a roots pump stage into the gaps.

Intake flange
Rotors
Chamber

Casing
Exhaust flange
 43. Provide the names of main parts of an adsorption pump stage into the gaps.

Degassing port
Inlet port

Support

Pump body

Thermal conducting vanes

Adsorption material (eg. Zeolith)

44. Provide the names of main parts of a spinning rotor gauge into the gaps.

Connection flange
Bubble level

Permanent magnets

Stabilizationcoils

Ball

Measuring tube,closed at one end,welded into

Connection flange
4 Drive coils

Permanent magnets

45. Provide the names of main parts of a penning gauge into the gaps.

Connecting bush

Current leadthrough

Ceramic washer

Ring anode with ignition pin

Anode pin
Housing
Small flange DN 25 KF; DN 40 KF Cathode plate