Year
2006
Abstract
Studies are currently being conducted to assess the feasibility of safeguarding natural uranium conversion plants (NUCPs). The objective of these studies is to reduce the probability of uranium ore concentrate being converted to a form suitable for use in the production of undeclared special nuclear materials. Although a simple accounting system for assessing uranium inputs and outputs will provide some assurance that undeclared material is not leaving an NUCP, the use of unattended monitoring instruments can validate accountability data and significantly improve a safeguards program. The objective of the work discussed in this paper was to test commercially available flowmeters on both a small scale and a production scale for use as safeguards monitors. Three different types of commercially available flowmeters were tested on a small-scale uranyl nitrate solution flow loop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to determine which would be best suited for testing in a production facility. The Endress+Hauser Promass 83F Coriolis meter was selected for field testing and was installed in a production facility in December 2005. The meter was tested under actual process conditions for approximately 3 months. The flow monitoring system performed very well under actual process conditions.