Developing Load Cell Monitoring on the Mock UF₆ Feed and Withdrawal System

Technical Report · Fri Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 2013

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1089771· OSTI ID:1089771

Snow, Ross D. ^[1]; Garner, James R. ^[1]; Whitaker, J. Michael ^[1]

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1. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

A proof-of-concept load cell monitoring system has been developed for the Mock Feed and Withdrawal (F&W) System at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This system leverages industry-standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software in a modular and scalable design. The Mock F&W System was designed to simulate operations at a uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) gas centrifuge enrichment plant F&W area. It provides a test bed for process-monitoring technologies. Water, used as a surrogate for UF₆, is pumped from three feed tanks, through a process surge tank, and is then cut between two tails tanks and three product tanks. The weight of the each tank is continuously monitored using a load cell monitoring system. In addition to the F&W stations, large and small accountancy stations are monitored. The Mock F&W System allows ORNL to test and evaluate capabilities of industry-standard process monitoring hardware and software. A variety of commonly used weighing indicators are connected to the load cells to monitor the weight at each station. These weighing indicators are representative of the types likely found in operating facilities. A data center modeled after those currently used for international safeguards was installed to collect and manage the weight data. This data center provides a robust and flexible test bed for testing and developing software solutions. COTS software packages that leverage industry-standard communication protocols provide a data flow architecture that is modular, interoperable, and scalable. One software package provides communication drivers to collect the raw weight data from the weighing indicators. A data historian is used to store the raw data. Custom in-house algorithms have been developed using MATLAB to analyze the raw historical data and to automatically identify process information. This information includes the number of cycles completed and the mass of material transferred from stations to the process. The process information identified by the analysis is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database. Visualization concepts have been developed that display the analyzed process information alongside visually compelling plots and animations of the raw data. The load cell monitoring system developed on the Mock F&W System was designed as a proof of concept that could be scaled to a field trial at an operating facility. This system, built with industry standard hardware and software, has allowed ORNL to develop capabilities that provide confidence in the ability to leverage existing operator load cell monitoring equipment with minimal impact on operations. The international safeguards community is evaluating the use of load cell monitoring as an additional safeguards measure; this system demonstrates a practical solution to collect, store, analyze, and visualize load cell weight data.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1089771
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM--2013/34; NN4009010; MDGA517
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

GCEP safeguards
commercial off the shelf
containment and surveillance
load cell monitoring
mock feed and withdrawal