Consideration on the Performance of the Los Alamos In-Place-Filter-Test System for Post Drop Storage Canister Testing

The portable In-Place-Filter-Tester system from Los Alamos National Laboratory was used to measure air leakage flow of 27 Hagan-style nuclear storage canisters, before and after drop testing at the Southwest Research Institute (San Antonio, TX). System evaluations with standardized leaks were conducted to validate system reliability during testing. Testing with the standardized leak fixtures indicate that temperature fluctuations can produce a false positive leak. The lower limit of leak detection for the In-Place Filter Testing system was determined to be 0.01 accs (actual cubic centimeters per second) for canisters in a temperature-controlled enclosure. Of the twenty-seven drop-tested canisters, four had leak flows greater than 0.17 accs (the Los Alamos post-drop criterion, adjusted for the IPFT 5 kPa test pressure at 101.1 kPa). After drop testing, eighteen of the twenty-seven containers had leak flows greater than 0.17 accs. Fifteen of the eighteen failed canisters had gross, unmeasurable leaks. Only nine out of the twenty-seven Hagan canisters passed the LANL design qualification leak rate (post-drop) criterion.