Analysis of the ANL Test Method for 6CVS Containment Vessels
In the fall of 2010, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) contracted with vendors to design and build 6CVS containment vessels as part of their effort to ship Fuel Derived Mixed Fission Product material. The 6CVS design is based on the Savannah River National Laboratory's (SRNL) design for 9975 and 9977 six inch diameter containment vessels. The main difference between the designs is that the 6CVS credits the inner O-ring seal as the containment boundary while the SRNL design credits the outer O-ring seal. Since the leak test must be done with the inner O-ring in place, the containment vessel does not have a pathway for getting the helium into the vessel during the leak test. The leak testing contractor was not able to get acceptable leak rates with the specified O-ring, but they were able to pass the leak test with a slightly larger O-ring. ANL asked the SRNL to duplicate the leak test vendor's method to determine the cause of the high leak rates. The SRNL testing showed that the helium leak indications were caused by residual helium left within the 6CVS Closure Assembly by the leak test technique, and by helium permeation through the Viton O-ring seals. After SRNL completed their tests, the leak testing contractor was able to measure acceptable leak rates by using the slightly larger O-ring size, by purging helium from the lid threads, and by being very quick in getting the bell jar under a full vacuum. This paper describes the leak test vendor's test technique, and other techniques that could be have been used to successfully leak test the 6CVS's.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 1021334
- Report Number(s):
- SRNL-STI-2011-00338; TRN: US201116%%724
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: INMM 2011
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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