Year
1990
Abstract
Bubbler-probe manometry has been used to measure the volume of uranium and plutonium bearing solutions in highly radioactive process tanks for over forty years. The technique involves directing a flow of gas through a submerged probe and measuring the resultant line pressure. The pressure can be expressed as a function of height or weight per unit area of the liquid above the bubbler-probe orifice. Measuring pressure is simple and quick, and high-accuracy level measurements are easily obtained by means of pneumatic scanning techniques and a null-balance, quartz Bourdon-tube, electromanometer. Overall volume uncertainties of less than 0.1 % are routinely achieved using a computer-based data-acquisition system that averages the electromanometer response over ten seconds. This paper describes the application of highaccuracy, bubbler-probe manometry to volumetric measurements in process tanks.