Year
2024
Abstract
| Sandia National Laboratories is advancing technical capabilities used in passive loop seals. The “Puck” seal uses a set of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines for new passive loop seals published in 2020 as a design guide. The seal is based on oxygen sensitive materials encased in an oxygen impermeable 3-D printed acrylate shell, is monolithic rather than 2-part, incorporates self-capturing wire features, contains colored water beads and bubbles formed during processing as unique identifiers, and visually indicates tamper (whether from seal body penetration or from seal wire removal) by irreversibly changing the seal body from multi-colored to black. Sandia has developed prototype seals that have undergone environmental testing and is currently modifying the design based on that testing. Further, Sandia is working together with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) on another seal version, Puck/SAW, that uses the same seal body and incorporates a surface acoustic wave (SAW) chip that can provide a unique identifier upon standoff interrogation and monitor wire continuity. This paper will provide details on the design, development, and environmental testing of Puck prototypes. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. SAND2023-14799A |