Year
2015
Abstract
The H1616 shipping package is used within the DOE complex for shipping tritium reservoirs. The annual recertification frequency can create logistical difficulties with other constraints on the timing of shipments, thus a longer re-certification period is desirable. The ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) O-rings used in the H1616 shipping package are being aged and tested at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) to provide a technical basis for extending the annual maintenance of the H1616 shipping package. H1616 EPDM O-rings are being aged at elevated temperature, and tested for degradation in mechanical properties, compression stress relaxation (CSR) behavior, and leak performance. Mechanical properties of aged O-rings show significant degradation can occur, but an inert atmosphere (argon backfill) greatly reduces the rate of degradation. The CSR behavior of O- rings was evaluated in air at 79 to 177 °C. These collective data were used to develop a predictive model for extrapolation of CSR behavior to relevant service temperatures (