Calorimetry measurements in less than 20 minutes

Conference · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:5472524

Perry, R B ^[1]; Cremers, T ^[2]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
2. Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)

Argonne National Laboratory has developed a new series of 10 watt Bulk Plutonium Assay Calorimeters (BPAC10). The calorimeter measures bulk samples of plutonium bearing material in containers up to 5in. in diameter and 7in. high. The average measurement time is 19.7 minutes compared to 2--9 hours for the same sample measured in a water bath calorimeter. Measurement precision in the range of 1--10 watts is 1% to 0.1% and it is 0.010 watt for sample power less than 1 watt. BPAC10 series calorimeters are in use in two plutonium facilities at the EG G Rocky Flats Plant and at the Los Alamos National Laboratory TA55 Plutonium Facility. The paper presents a description of the calorimeter, discusses operating experience at Los Alamos, and presents a comparison of data on typical samples measured with both types of calorimeters. 5 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38; W-7405-ENG-36
• OSTI ID: 5472524
• Report Number(s): ANL/CP-71984; CONF-910774-76; ON: DE91017318
• Resource Relation: Conference: 32. Institute of Nuclear Materials Management (INMM) annual meeting, New Orleans, LA (United States), 28-31 Jul 1991
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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