High Temperature Sealants and Gaskets in Nuclear Applications

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 2016 · Transactions of the American Nuclear Society

OSTI ID:23042709

Carrillo, Elisa N.; Ramana, Chintalapalle V ^[1]; Brown, Erik; Mitchell, Mark ^[2]

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1. University of Texas at El Paso (United States)
2. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, 7000 East Ave, Livermore CA 94550 (United States)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been conducting research to develop and deploy advances in ceramic filter technology to benefit nuclear facilities. There is a need for better materials for High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters, especially those able to withstand moisture and higher temperatures as experienced in fire conditions. One of the next steps in this process is the improvement of the system sealants and gaskets. The LLNL team has reached out to the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) for assistance with the task of identifying potential materials as well as conducting experiments utilizing the testing units developed by LLNL's collaboration with California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). Current commercial filters use fluid seals and urethane gasket seals. Although these seals are sufficient for the minimum requirements of existing nuclear facilities, they will not be sufficient as improvements in ceramic filters and pre-filters reach their full potential. Currently, HEPA filters can only survive up to 1000 deg. F (exhaust air) and 500 deg. F (supply air) for less than 2 hours. Our research at the University of Texas at El Paso reviewed hundreds of sealant and gasket materials to identify improved sealants and gaskets that can be used in existing filters as well as ceramic HEPA filters and pre-filters. Results of the research will be supplied to support the relevant code, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) AG-1, in particular Section FO. (authors)

• OSTI ID: 23042709
• Journal Information: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society, Journal Name: Transactions of the American Nuclear Society Vol. 115; ISSN 0003-018X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CERAMICS
GASKETS
HUMIDITY
MATERIALS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PARTICULATES
TESTING
URETHANE