Study of Plutonium Oxide Powder Emissions from Simulated Shipping Container Leaks
To provide data to facilitate the predictions of PuO{sub 2} emissions through leaks in PuO{sub 2} shipping containers under accident conditions, a series of experiments was conducted using PuO{sub 2} powder and an experimental system designed to simulate a shipping container leak. Over two hundred experiments were completed. The experimental parameters investigated were the leak size/type, internal system pressure, agitation of the apparatus, leak orientation with respect to the powder location and the run time. No single parameter appeared to have any observable effect on the quantities of PuO{sub 2} emitted. However, there was an apparent dependency on the interaction between the orifice area and the internal pressure. The dependency took the form of a function of A{radical}P. Although this functional form was suggested by the data, the data were not sufficient to allow a more detailed function to be determined. The results of experiments in which the run time was variable produced the observation that changes in the run time did not result in changes in the quantities of PuO{sub 2} emitted. This observation led to the conclusion that the majority of PuO{sub 2} observed is emitted during the initial pressurization of the leak tube.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC06-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 1076483
- Report Number(s):
- PNL-3278: NUREG/CR-1302
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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