Cracked lifting lug welds on ten-ton UF sub 6 cylinders

Conference · Fri Aug 16 00:00:00 EDT 1991

OSTI ID:5362759

Dorning, II, R E

Ten-ton, Type 48X, UF{sub 6} cylinders are used at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant to withdraw enriched uranium hexafluoride from the cascade, transfer enriched uranium hexafluoride to customer cylinders, and feed enriched product to the cascade. To accomplish these activities, the cylinders are lifted by cranes and straddle carriers which engage the cylinder lifting lugs. In August of 1988, weld cracks on two lifting lugs were discovered during preparation to lift a cylinder. The cylinder was rejected and tagged out, and an investigating committee formed to determine the cause of cracking and recommend remedial actions. Further investigation revealed the problem may be general to this class of cylinder in this use cycle. This paper discusses the actions taken at the Portsmouth site to deal with the cracked lifting lug weld problem. The actions include inspection activities, interim corrective actions, metallurgical evaluation of cracked welds, weld repairs, and current monitoring/inspection program. 4 figs.

• Research Organization: Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, OH (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76OR00001
• OSTI ID: 5362759
• Report Number(s): POEF-T-3566; CONF-9110117-4; ON: DE91018899
• Resource Relation: Conference: 2. international conference on uranium hexafluoride handling, Oak Ridge, TN (United States), 29-31 Oct 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
GAS CYLINDERS
HOISTING
REPAIR
WELDED JOINTS
CRACKS
INSPECTION
PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
CONTAINERS
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANTS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ISOTOPE SEPARATION PLANTS
JOINTS
MATERIALS HANDLING
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM FLUORIDES
US DOE
US ERDA
US ORGANIZATIONS
050900* - Nuclear Fuels- Transport
Handling
& Storage
050500 - Nuclear Fuels- Uranium Enrichment