Performance characteristics of cryofocusing GC/MS system at BWXT Pantex Plant.

Brown, Jason R. ; Banet, Judith F. ; Ithaca, Jerry (BWXT Pantex Plant, Amarillo, TX) ; Thornberg, Steven Michael ; Woods, Lorelei (BWXT Pantex Plant, Amarillo, TX)

Sandia National Laboratories

关键词: Gas Chromatography;    Cryogenics;    Stockpiles;    Gas Analysis.;    37 Inorganic, Organic, Physical And Analytical Chemistry;   

DOI  :  10.2172/890603
RP-ID  :  SAND2006-2845
RP-ID  :  AC04-94AL85000
RP-ID  :  890603

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

Ensuring the reliability of all components within a weapon system becomes increasingly important as the stockpile ages. One of the most noteworthy surveillance techniques designed to circumvent (or take place alongside) traditional D&I operations is to collect a sample of gas from within the internal atmosphere of a particular region in a weapon. While a wealth of information about the weapon may be encoded within the composition of its gas sample, our access to that information is only as good as the method used to analyze the sample. It has been shown that cryofocusing-GC/MS offers advantages in terms of sensitivity, ease of sample collection, and robustness of the equipment/hardware used. Attention is therefore focused on qualifying a cryo-GC/MS system for routine stockpile surveillance operations at Pantex. A series of tests were performed on this instrument to characterize the linearity and repeatability of its response using two different standard gas mixes (ozone precursor and TO-14) at various concentrations. This paper outlines the methods used and the results of these tests in order to establish a baseline by which to compare future cryo-GC/MS analyses. A summary of the results is shown.