Performance characteristics of cryofocusing GC/MS system at BWXT Pantex Plant.

Technical Report · Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2006

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/890603· OSTI ID:890603

Brown, Jason R; Banet, Judith F; Ithaca, Jerry ^[1]; Thornberg, Steven Michael; Woods, Lorelei ^[2]

---

1. BWXT Pantex Plant, Amarillo, TX
2. BWXT Pantex Plant, Amarillo, TX

Ensuring the reliability of all components within a weapon system becomes increasingly important as the stockpile ages. One of the most noteworthy surveillance techniques designed to circumvent (or take place alongside) traditional D&I operations is to collect a sample of gas from within the internal atmosphere of a particular region in a weapon. While a wealth of information about the weapon may be encoded within the composition of its gas sample, our access to that information is only as good as the method used to analyze the sample. It has been shown that cryofocusing-GC/MS offers advantages in terms of sensitivity, ease of sample collection, and robustness of the equipment/hardware used. Attention is therefore focused on qualifying a cryo-GC/MS system for routine stockpile surveillance operations at Pantex. A series of tests were performed on this instrument to characterize the linearity and repeatability of its response using two different standard gas mixes (ozone precursor and TO-14) at various concentrations. This paper outlines the methods used and the results of these tests in order to establish a baseline by which to compare future cryo-GC/MS analyses. A summary of the results is shown.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 890603
• Report Number(s): SAND2006-2845
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
CRYOGENICS
GAS ANALYSIS
GAS CHROMATOGRAPHY
Gas analysis.
MASS SPECTROMETERS
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Nuclear weapon stockpile.-Reliability
PANTEX PLANT
PERFORMANCE TESTING
RELIABILITY
SAMPLERS
SENSITIVITY
STOCKPILES
Weapons systems.