Semiportable load-cell-based weighing system prototype of 18. 14-metric-ton (20-ton) capacity for UF/sub 6/ cylinder weight verifications: description and testing procedure

Conference · Tue May 29 00:00:00 EDT 1984

OSTI ID:6925912

McAuley, W A

The 18.14-metric-ton-capacity (20-ton) Load-Cell-Based Weighing System (LCBWS) prototype tested at the Oak Ridge (Tennessee) Gaseous Diffusion Plant March 20-30, 1984, is semiportable and has the potential for being highly accurate. Designed by Brookhaven National Laboratory, it can be moved to cylinders for weighing as opposed to the widely used operating philosophy of most enrichment facilities of moving cylinders to stationary accountability scales. Composed mainly of commercially available, off-the-shelf hardware, the system's principal elements are two load cells that sense the weight (i.e., force) of a uranium hexafluoride (UF/sub 6/) cylinder suspended from the LCBWS while the cylinder is in the process of being weighed. Portability is achieved by its attachment to a double-hook, overhead-bridge crane. The LCBWS prototype is designed to weigh 9.07- and 12.70-metric ton (10- and 14-ton) UF/sub 6/ cylinders. A detailed description of the LCBWS is given, design information and criteria are supplied, a testing procedure is outlined, and initial test results are reported. A major objective of the testing is to determine the reliability and accuracy of the system. Other testing objectives include the identification of (1) potential areas for system improvements and (2) procedural modifications that will reflect an improved and more efficient system. The testing procedure described includes, but is not limited to, methods that account for temperature sensitivity of the instrumentation, the local variation in the acceleration due to gravity, and buoyance effects. Operational and safety considerations are noted. A preliminary evaluation of the March test data indicates that the LCBWS prototype has the potential to have an accuracy in the vicinity of 1 kg.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant, TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OT21400
• OSTI ID: 6925912
• Report Number(s): K/OA-5643; CONF-8404153-2; ON: DE84012853
• Resource Relation: Conference: 11. annual meeting of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers, Houston, TX, USA, 25 Apr 1984; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
CYLINDERS
WEIGHT MEASUREMENT
URANIUM HEXAFLUORIDE
PORTABLE EQUIPMENT
ACCURACY
CENTRIFUGE ENRICHMENT PLANTS
RELIABILITY
ACTINIDE COMPOUNDS
EQUIPMENT
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
ISOTOPE SEPARATION PLANTS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
URANIUM COMPOUNDS
URANIUM FLUORIDES
055001* - Nuclear Fuels- Safeguards
Inspection
& Accountability- Technical Aspects
050502 - Nuclear Fuels- Uranium Enrichment- Centrifugation- (-1989)