Investigation of Polyurethane and Fire-Retardant Foams as a Radiological Contamination Fixatives - 20202

Conference · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2020

OSTI ID:23030424

Nicholson, James C.; Groden, Nicholas; Sinicrope, Joseph; Peters, Brent; Rivas, Andy; Washington, II, Aaron L.; Serrato, Michael G. ^[1]; Simoes-Ponce, Tristan; Piedra, Alexander M.; Lagos, Leonel ^[2]

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1. Savannah River National Laboratory (United States)
2. Florida International University Applied Research Center (United States)

Fixation of radiological contamination in decommissioning and deactivation can reduce worker risk, and mitigate potentially hazardous conditions; however, nearly every marketed contamination fixative has been found to be flammable, a significant concern in radiological facilities. Coupled with this, industry fixatives are normally used as a thin coating which can present problems when attempting to stabilize irregular void spaces or areas that are difficult to access and ensure full coverage. To this end, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL), in conjunction with Florida International University (FIU), have begun investigating the applicability of polyurethane based foaming materials, which will expand to fill a given asymmetric volume and provide fire retardancy to ensure no release of contamination in the event of a facility fire. Commercial foams undergo exothermic reactions resulting in gaseous release that subsequently causes the curing foam material to expand. Heat generation during curing can potentially compromise rubber parts of an enclosure, a significant concern in nuclear facilities. To mitigate large body heat generation, SRNL has also examined multiple layering of the material to ensure compatibility of the curing material with a previously cured body of the same material. Environmental studies were also completed in order to determine the influence on polyurethane based foams curing process. These studies showed that nearly half of the materials tested delaminated from a cured body of the same material, a property not discussed in commercially available documentation on the products. Of note was the compatibility of the foaming material with the substrate, depending on the type material that the foam was cured in/on, significant delamination could occur. Mechanical testing via tensile pull tester, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was also performed. (authors)

• Research Organization: WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
• OSTI ID: 23030424
• Report Number(s): INIS-US--21-WM-20202
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ASYMMETRY
COATINGS
COMPATIBILITY
CURING
DEACTIVATION
FOAMS
HEAT
MECHANICAL TESTS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
POLYURETHANES
REACTOR DECOMMISSIONING
RUBBERS
SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
SUBSTRATES
SURFACE CONTAMINATION
THERMAL GRAVIMETRIC ANALYSIS