Celotex (Registered) Replacement Study
The AL-R8 is the pit storage container in most widespread use at Pantex. The AL-R8 container family consists of standard 20-in.-diameter steel drums, 30 to 60 in. in height, with insulation inserts made of Celotex{reg_sign}--a fiberboard product made from processed sugar cane. Celotex is an acceptable material for inserts in many radioactive material shipping and storage containers. It is a good shock mitigator/insulator, does a fair job in fire protection (when oxygen is excluded), shielding, and criticality, and is inexpensive and easily available. However, the fiberboard absorbs water in humid environments which, when combined with chemical residues in the fiberboard, forms corrosive compounds that can shorten the life of the container and affect container contents. To protect the contents from this potentially damaging environment, the AL-R8 SI was developed to isolate the contents within a sealed stainless steel vessel inside the AL-R8. Although the SI protected the contents, corrosion studies indicated the SI lid bolts might corrode over time and surveillance showed that areas of the outer drum were still subject to corrosion. To address this potential problem, DOE/Albuquerque sponsored bolt and Celotex replacement studies. The bolt replacement study was assigned to Mason and Hanger's Pantex Facility and this Celotex Replacement Study to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The Celotex Replacement Study evaluated options for replacing Celotex with a material that is chemically compatible with the AL-R8 SI container. The evaluation was limited to materials either used previously in nuclear materials shipping and storage containers or materials with known properties in a low-radiation environment. This limitation was set to ensure that the long-term aging effect on the new material is known a priori. Initial material evaluations narrowed the material choices to foam and cork. Although cork performed better than foam in some tests, cork was considered a less advantageous replacement material due to the potential need for additional poisons to avoid criticality concerns for unlimited arrays, potential variability in its performance due to expected variations in natural materials, potential availability concerns for long term use, and increased container weight and cost. For these reasons, an all-foam replacement design was selected for direct comparison to Celotex using the AL-R8 SI test requirements. The materials were compared in drop tests, thermal equilibrium tests, fire tests, and vibration tests. In addition, analyses of the materials were compared for chemical compatibility and structural, thermal, shielding, and criticality performance. The study found the General Plastics FR-3700 Last-A-Foam{reg_sign} family of polyurethane foams to be a good alternative to Celotex and a superior choice for applications where there are material compatibility concerns and fire resistance, thermal and structural performance requirements. The design shown in Figure 5.1.a is an example where a combination of GP FR-3700 series Last-A-Foam materials were used to design a package meeting such requirements. Test and analysis have shown that this design met or exceeded the performance requirements of the AL-R8 SI using Celotex. Based on the tests and analysis conducted to date, the FR-3700 family of foams should be a good candidate to replace Celotex in AL-R8 SI containers. The current estimated cost of the material ({approx}$300/container) could be further reduced by working with the vendor to set up the manufacturing and molding process.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15003276
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-ID-151168; TRN: US0402528
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 1 Oct 2002
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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