Plug Removal Inspection and Measurement Equipment (PRIME) Performance Criteria for Simulated Pipeline Plugs for WTP Process Piping: A Focused Survey of Literature and Knowledgeable Personnel.

摘要

Bechtel National, Incorporated (BNI) asked that Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) survey past test programs that simulated plugging of process and transfer pipelines, particularly as these relate to Hanford applications. The objective of the survey is to provide recommendations for performance criteria for simulants used to emulate a plug in Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) process piping containing waste process liquors. BNI will use the information in a procurement activity to support design and testing of remotely operated Plug Removal, Inspection, and Measurement Equipment (PRIME). The author recommends use of the hydrostatic pressure needed to dislodge the simulated plug material (e.g., 300 psi) as the primary performance criteria for determining adequacy of candidate simulants. This report does not specify the physical configurations for study. BNI should define the different plugging scenarios from a review of the piping design and include such areas as piping dead-end lines, lines with constrictions, bends, or other geometries as deemed at risk for collecting solids.1 In addition, the author recommends using previously developed simulant recipes to the maximum extent practical. In particular, the author recommends use of the Na-Al-Si simulant developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and tested by FIU as the best available chemical simulant. Similarly, the author endorses the use of bentonite clay (or kaolin clay) simulants as tested by FIU as adequately representing physical properties of plugs from deposited sludge. Herting developed a recipe for phosphate solutions that precipitate as a solid mass when cooled below 50-55DG C and this recipe is a credible initial formulation for chemically representative plugs from phosphate materials. Unfortunately, the hydraulic pressure required to purge such solids from prototypic size pipes has not been studied and, therefore, this formulation may require additional study or testing before fully assessing its adequacy for this application. The text of the report and an appendix provides details for the specific recipes with further information available in the cited source documents.