Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber (RRFMC)

Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber (RRFMC)LAUR-18-31857Yong Tao, Murray Moore, Kirk Reeves, Tristan Karns, Paul Smith, Tim Stone, and Jude OkaLos Alamos National LaboratoryLos Alamos NM 87545Dec. 19, 2018AbstractThe Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber (RRFMC) is a 20-foot tall, HEPAfiltered and airtight drop tower. The maximum drop height is 4.88 m and maximum drop mass is68.0 kg. The minimum detectable mass value is 2.7×10-7 g (unit density assumed). It is a uniquecapability for measuring a non-toxic test powder (CeO2) aerosol release from a dropped nuclearmaterial storage container. The system directly measures Airborne Release Fraction (ARF) andRespirable release Fraction (RRF) for plutonium and uranium surrogates under various accidentconditions. It is also equipped with two hi-speed cameras for video capture of the drop impactfrom two axial directions. The system’s background particulate concentration, its aerosoltransmission ratio and the CeO2 aerosol effective density were measured. The involveduncertainty was analyzed. The RRFMC operation procedure meets NQA-1 2008, 2009addendum to sub part 2.4 Research and Development.In FY2018, a group of selected containers was drop tested in the RRFMC. The releasedmass, damage ratio, ARF and RRF were measured. The measured RRF ranged from 8.30×10-8 to4.85×10-5. The RRFMC is proving to be a valuable tool for container development and testing.The capability is being used to evaluate a new LANL in-glovebox container, allowing for a quicktest of different design prototypes.More applications than (nuclear material storage container) drop tests are beinginvestigated. One possibility would measure test powder release from a pressurized, staticcontainer. The RRFMC is also suitable for drop testing other items with or without aerosolrelease measurements.