Observed Temperature Effects on Load Cells

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory subjected load cells to a range of temperaturesbeyond their compensated range to characterize the temperature effect on the minimum dead loadoutput over their entire operating temperature range. In modern front-end nuclear fuel cyclefacilities, load cells are often used in UF6 feed and withdrawal stations to monitor the material beingfed to or withdrawn from the cylinders. Load cells exhibit some temperature dependence; however,manufacturers try to minimize temperature effects by compensating load cells over a range oftemperatures (typically from -10 °C to +40 °C (+14 °F to +104 °F)). Load cells in modern UF6 feedand withdrawal stations tend to operate beyond this range: down to -25 °C and up to 80 °C (-13 °Fto 176 °F). While load cell data sheets often include specifications for the temperature effect on theminimum dead load output and the sensitivity over the compensated range, they do not includespecifications for expected effects outside of this range. In this paper, we discuss our test setup andpreliminary results of testing load cells representative of those that may be used in UF6 feed andwithdrawal stations.