PROOF-OF-PRINCIPLE LEAKAGE TESTING ON THE MODEL FL CONTAINMENT VESSEL\" PART I-CONTAINMENT VESSEL LEAKAGE TESTS

The Model FL packaging was designed to ship payloads of various sizes, weights, and shapes between U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) facilities while meeting the strict requirements of 1 0 CFR 71. As part of a recent recertification effort, it was decided that the Model FL containment vessels should meet the ANSI Nl4.5-1987 definition of\"lealctight.\" Proof-of-Principle Leakage Testing was perfonned at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) on three Model FL containment vessels. The purpose of the testing was twofold: 1) to develop a set of leakage test procedures that could be used to redefine the allowable leakage rate criteria for the Model FL containment vessel from 10-4 cm3 /sec to 101 cm3 /sec, i.e., the ANSI Nl4.5-1987 definition of \"leaktight,\" and 2) to develop a set of leakage test methods that could be used to prove that the Model FL containment vessel can meet the redefined allowable leakage rate criteria. The data obtained from the leakage testing on the Containment Vessel Bodies has shown that a set ofleakage test procedures can be developed to redefine the allowable leakage rate criteria for the Model FL Containment Vessel Bodies to meet the ANSI Nl4.5 definition of \"leaktight.\" (See Hamer 1997). The data obtained from the tests on the 0-ring sealing surfaces and the 0-rings themselves are presented in Part ll of this discussion, Proof-of-Principle Lealcage Testing on the Model FL Containment Vessel, Part l/-0-Ring Lealcage Tests, also published in this Proceedings (Hamer 1998). The test data resulted in several conclusions, primarily that the silicone 0-rings used for the Model FL containment vessels are too porous to be used for leakage testing at, or below, the 10\"7 cm3 /sec region, using conventional helium leakage testing techniques.