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Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (19)
To achieve the required tightness levels of Containers for low and intermediate level radioactive wastes rubbers are widely applied as main sealing materials. The save encapsulation of the radioactive Container contents has to be guaranteed according to legislation and appropriate guidelines for long storage periods as well as down to temperatures of-40 °C during transportation.
Therefore the understanding of failure mechanisms that lead to leakage at low temperatures is of high importance.
It is known that the material properties of rubbers are strongly influenced by temperature. At low temperatures this is caused by the rubber-glass transition (abbr. glass transition). During continuous cooling the material changes from rubber-like entropy-elastic to stiff energy-elastic behaviour, that allows nearly no strain or retraction. Therefore, rubbers are normally used above their glass transition but the minimum working temperature limit is not defrned precisely, what can cause problems during application. The temperature ränge where full functionality is possible is strongly dependent on the application conditions and the material.
For this investigation mainly ethylene propylene diene (EPDM) and fluorocarbon rubbers (FKM) were selected as they are often used for radioactive waste Containers.
Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) are typically used for the determination of the temperature ränge of the glass transition process. The standardized compression set measurement according to ISO 815 is common for investigation of rubber sealing materials as the test simulates the seal behaviour after release. To reduce the test time of the Standard tests a faster technique giving the same information was developed.
Additionally, the breakdown temperature of the sealing function of complete O-ring seals is measured in a component test Setup to compare it with the results of the other tests. The experimental Setup is capable of measuring the leakage rate at low temperatures by the pressure rise method.
A model was developed that allows calculating the minimum working temperature limit of a seal by combining the results of the applied methods.
Elastomer seals are mounted as barrier seals in lid systems of containers designed for transport and disposal of negligible heat generating radioactive waste and as auxiliary seals in spent fuel storage and transportation casks (dual purpose casks (DPC)). When the behavior of mounted seals under normal and hypothetical accident conditions of disposal and transport is to be simulated, a comprehensive knowledge of their complex mechanical properties at every state of aging is necessary. In previous works, BAM’s efforts in experimental investigations on specimen artificially aged at different temperatures and times and the implementation of the found results in finite element material models were presented. Additionally, our approaches to reproduce the aging process itself and to extrapolate the results of artificially accelerated aging to longer times were presented. Numerical simulations have shown that the behavior of the seal during mounting and one-sided pressurizing and the resulting performance values such as leakage rate strongly depend on the coefficient of friction (COF) between flange and seal. The friction coefficient, in turn, depends on the aging state of the elastomer material as several publications suggest (see below).
Dynamic COF between an exemplary ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) material and a stainless steel ball were determined by using a self-designed linear oscillation tribometer. Unaged and artificially aged EPDM specimen stored for 30 days and 100 days at a temperature of 150 °C were tested. A stainless steel ball (d=10 mm) is brought in contact with the specimen’s surface und loaded by normal forces of 2.5 N, 5 N, 10 N and 20 N. During a reciprocating movement of the EPDM sheet, the horizontal force/friction force is continuously measured, and the COF can be derived.
It is well known that friction is a complex phenomenon especially in soft materials. It cannot be excluded that the measured friction force is influenced by additional force components, resulting from the ball’s grooving through the elastomer’s surface. This force depends on the penetration depth of the ball and on the resistance of the elastomer in its different states of aging. The latter results from microstructural changes i.e., chain scission and additional crosslinking that occur during aging which in turn influence the softening or hardening of the material.
A finite element (FE) ABAQUS® model was developed to reproduce the measurement process. It should help to better understand the physical mechanisms and to quantify the percentage of measured forces resulting from real friction on the one hand and forces resulting from unintended side effects that could falsify the result on the other hand. The behavior of the elastomer in its different states of aging is reproduced by a FE material model already presented in previous works of BAM.
Rubber is widely used as sealing material in various applications. In many fields the function of seal materials at low temperatures is necessary. Therefore, the understanding of failure mechanisms that lead to leakage at low temperatures is of high importance.
It is known that the material properties of rubbers are strongly temperature dependent. At low temperatures this is caused by the rubber-glass transition (abbr. glass transition). During continuous cooling, due to the glass transition the material changes from rubber-like entropy-elastic behaviour to stiff energy-elastic behaviour, that allows nearly no strain or retraction. Hence, rubbers are normally used above their glass transition. But as the minimum working temperature limit of elastomers cannot be defined globally and precisely, the lower operation temperature limit of rubber seals should be determined in dependence of the application conditions and the most relevant material properties.
In this paper, wesummarize results of our temperature dependent investigation of seal material properties by classical thermal analysis as Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA), combined with measurements of standardized tests as compression set and the seal performance determined in component tests. To reduce the test time of compression set tests a faster technique was developed and applied.
To study the influence of dynamic events on the seal performance and to enhance the understanding of occurring seal failure, a setup for a fast partial seal release was designed.
Polymer Testing - Editorial
(2016)
As a Federal institute for materials research and testing it is part of our tasks to evaluate the safety of casks designed for transport and/or storage of radioactive material. This includes the investigation of elastomeric seals and polymeric neutron shielding materials used in the containers.
In this contribution we would like to present our research focused on the long term performance and associated changes of material properties of elastomeric seals (e.g. EPDM, FKM) and neutron shielding materials ((Ultra) High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) employed in storage casks. Our approach comprises accelerated ageing investigations at elevated temperatures and to some extent investigations of irradiated materials.
As the requirements for the extended use of cables in nuclear power plants and for the long term use of cask components are to a certain extent similar, our work might be of interest for the workshop on “Cables ageing in nuclear power plants; R&D current status and forecast”.
Today rubber is due to its unique property profile one of the most important materials for the production of bearings, dampers or also tires and tubes. In the production of rubber goods a chemical cross-linking reaction (vulcanisation) generates the final material properties. This process takes place during the shape giving of the rubber compound in the mould and can proceed for several minutes. The cross-linking process is influenced by the mixture of the basic polymer, the cross-linking agent, the influence of catalysts and inhibitors and especially the processing conditions. The quality of every ingredient, the reproducibility of the mixing ratio, the homogeneity of the mixture and the accurateness in temperature control can have a direct influence on the cross linking reaction. To control the quality of a rubber compound and verify the processing conditions in industry moving die rheometers, named curemeter, are involved in the production process. Starting from our experience in cure monitoring of thermosetting materials by measuring ultrasound velocity in the mould we extended the measuring principle to rubber vulcanisation monitoring. After first investigations using a compression mould we dealt here with on-line monitoring of vulcanisation in an injection moulding process which is one of the most used techniques in rubber industry.