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Title: Pin Wire Coating Trip Report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/15009819· OSTI ID:15009819

A meeting to discuss the current pin wire coating problems was held at the Reynolds plant in Los Angeles on 2MAR04. The attendance list for Reynolds personnel is attached. there was an initial presentation which gave a brief history and the current status of pin wire coating at Reynolds. There was a presentation by Lori Primus on the requirements and issues for the coating. There was a presentation by Jim Smith of LANL on the chemistry and to some extent process development done to date. There was a long session covering what steps should be taken in the short term and, to a lesser extent, the long term. The coating currently being used is a blend of two polymers, polyethersulfone and polyparabanic acid (PPA) and some TiO2 filler. This system was accepted and put into production when the pin wire coating was outsourced to another company in 1974. When that company no longer was interested, the wire coating was brought in-house to Reynolds. At that time polyparabanic acid was actually a commercial product available from Exxon under the trade name Tradlon. However, it appears that the material used at Reynolds was synthesized locally. Also, it appears that a single large batch was synthesized in that time period and used up to 1997 when the supply ran out. The reason for the inclusion of TiO2 is not known although it does act as a rheological thickener. However, a more controlled thickening can be obtained with materials such as fumed silica. This material would have less likelihood of causing point imperfections in the coatings. Also, the mixing technique being used for all stages of the process is a relatively low shear ball mill process and the author recommends a high shear process such as a three roll paint mill, at least for the final mixing. Since solvent is added to the powder at Reynolds, it may be that they need to have the paint mill there.

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:
15009819
Report Number(s):
UCRL-TR-203055; TRN: US0406633
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 18 Mar 2004
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English