USE OF PERFLUOROCARBON TRACER (PFT) TECHNOLOGY FOR SUBSURFACE BARRIER INTEGRITY VERIFICATION AT THE WALDO TEST SITE.
Testing of perfluorocarbon gas tracers (PFT) on a subsurface barrier with known flaws was conducted at the Waldo Test Site operated by Science and Engineering Associates, Inc (SEA). The tests involved the use of five unique PFTs with a different tracer injected along the interior of each wall of the barrier. A fifth tracer was injected exterior to the barrier to examine the validity of diffusion controlled transport of the PFTs. The PFTs were injected for three days at a nominal flow rate of 15 cm{sup 3}/min and concentrations in the range of a few hundred ppm. Approximately 65 liters of air laced with tracer was injected for each tracer. The tracers were able to accurately detect the presence of the engineered flaws. Two flaws were detected on the north and east walls, and one flaw was detected on the south and west walls. In addition, one non-engineered flaw at the seam between the north and east walls was also detected. The use of multiple tracers provided independent confirmation of the flaws and permitted a distinction between tracers arriving at a monitoring port after being released from a nearby flaw and non-engineered flaws. The PFTs detected the smallest flaw, 0.5 inches in diameter. Visual inspection of the data showed excellent agreement with the known flaw locations and the relative size of the flaws was accurately estimated. Simultaneous with the PFT tests, SEA conducted tests with another gas tracer sulfur hexafluoride (SF{sub 6}).
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- SCIENCE & ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES, INC., SANTA FE, NM (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-98CH10886
- OSTI ID:
- 11462
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-66726; 400408000; R&D Project: 86344; 400408000; TRN: US0104386
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 1999
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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THE BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY PERFLUOROCARBON TRACER TECHNOLOGY: A PROVEN AND COST EFFECTIVE METHOD TO VERIFY INTEGRITY AND MONITOR LONG TERM PERFORMANCE OF WALLS, FLOORS, CAPS, AND COVER SYSTEMS.
Monitoring subsurface barrier integrity using perfluorocarbon tracers