Performance Evaluation of AG-1 FC Filters Under Upset Conditions and the Effects of Aging on Filters - 19501
- Institute for Clean Energy Technology, 205 Research Blvd, Starkville, MS 39759 (United States)
High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters are routinely used in nearly every operating Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Safety Administration (NNSA) nuclear facility. These nuclear grade HEPA filters installed in DOE and NNSA confinement ventilation systems are credited as the final barrier to protect the environment, the public, and the worker from accidental release of virtually all airborne radioactive materials, and must meet the American Society of Mechanical Engineers' (ASME) Code on Nuclear Air and Gas Treatment (CONAGT) AG-1 standard. This testing activity evaluates ASME AG-1 Section FC axial flow HEPA filters, both separator and separator-less, under upset conditions. Additionally, testing efforts have analyzed the effects of filter degradation due to aging. In 1997, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) raised concerns of the potential vulnerability of HEPA filters in vital safety systems, both from a design stand point and the potential for degradation of HEPA filter performance over time. The DOE Office of Environmental Management (DOE-EM) has a Cooperative Agreement with Mississippi State University (MSU) Institute for Clean Energy Technology (ICET) to conduct testing of HEPA filters. DOE-EM has established a Technical Working Group (TWG) of over thirty subject matter experts from the nuclear industry to provide input and oversight of ICET projects and activities. This has included establishment/approval of testing parameters for evaluating these filters under ASME NQA-1 compliant Test Plans. The current scope of work involves evaluation of the performance envelope for new and aged separator and separator-less designs of AG-1 Section FC axial flow HEPA filters. A range of elevated test conditions (T and RH) are used to determine the operating envelope within which DOE nuclear safety experts can credit installed HEPA filter performance, thereby establishing a risk-informed DOE service life. This paper will present preliminary test results of new and aged axial flow filters tested at ICET. Results in this paper include data collected from new separator and separator-less type FC HEPA filters and equivalent test data for a limited group of aged separator and separator-less type FC HEPA filters. Testing for both scopes of work evaluate initial filter performance under ambient conditions of temperature (60 deg. F - 80 deg. F (∼16 - ∼27 deg. C)) and relative humidity (40-60%), loading of each filter with Aluminum Trihydroxide, Al(OH)3, to a specified differential pressure, and then exposing the filter to specified elevated temperature and relative humidity conditions. In addition to the upset conditions of elevated temperature and relative humidity, the performance of HEPA filters under fire scenarios is not well characterized. ICET is currently designing a burn box and testing apparatus to study the effects of fire from burning liquids and a wide range of blends of combustible solids. (authors)
- Research Organization:
- WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 23005374
- Report Number(s):
- INIS-US-21-WM-19501; TRN: US21V1301045708
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: WM2019: 45. Annual Waste Management Conference, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 3-7 Mar 2019; Other Information: Country of input: France; 17 refs.; available online at: https://www.xcdsystem.com/wmsym/2019/index.html
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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