Analysis of Underground Storage Tank Waste Simulants by Fourier Transform Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Underground storage tank waste sludge from nuclear fuel processes is difficult to analyze because of the extreme heterogeneity, chemical reactivity, and radioactivity of the waste. Conventional methods of analysis typically require extensive sample handling procedures either to thin the sample or to separate components prior to analysis. These procedures are time consuming, require radiation containment cells, and increase the risk of radiation exposure to lab personnel as a result of the extensive handling. In this paper a method utilizing Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy to analyze hazardous underground storage tank waste with a minimal amount of sample and sample handling is discussed. The method was developed with the use of waste tank simulants that were obtained from the Westinghouse Hanford Company. Emphasis was placed on the determination of disodium nickel ferrocyanide, sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite because of the concern for the potential of exothermic reactions occurring between oxidizers and ferrocyanide-containing compounds. This method also allows for the analysis of other ions of interest in waste processes such as sodium sulfate. A simple sample preparation method is also discussed which uses freeze drying to remove water from the simulants while maintaining a uniform sample for analysis

Practical analysis of polymers with depth varying compositions using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (plenary)

Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy can be used as a nondestructive method to probe the molecular composition of materials as a function of depth into the sample. This is done by varying the thickness of the surface layer being analyzed, which can be as great as some tens of micrometers, depending on optical and thermal properties.Computational methods are described to process photoacoustic amplitude and phase spectra for both semiquantitative and quantitative depth analyses. These methods are demonstrated on layered and gradient samples

Applications of Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy For Wood Samples

Various infrared (IR) spectroscopic techniques for the analysis of wood samples are briefly discussed. Theories and instrumentation of the newly developed photoacoustic spectroscopic (PAS) technique for measuring absorbance spectra of solids are presented. Some important applications of the PAS technique in wood science research are discussed. The application of the Fourier transform infrared-photoacoustic spectroscopic (FTIR-PAS) technique is demonstrated by three preliminary studies of different forms of wood samples

Practical Analysis of materials with depth varying compositions using FT-IR photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS)

FT-IR photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) is discussed as a nondestructive method to probe the molecular composition of materials versus depth on the basis of the analysis of layers of experimentally controllable thickness, which are measured from the sample surface to depths of some tens of micrometers, depending on optical and thermal properties. Computational methods are described to process photoacoustic amplitude and phase spectra for both semi-quantitative and quantitative depth analyses. These methods are demonstrated on layered and gradient samples

Practical analysis of polymers with depth varying compositions using Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy (plenary)

Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy can be used as a nondestructive method to probe the molecular composition of materials as a function of depth into the sample. This is done by varying the thickness of the surface layer being analyzed, which can be as great as some tens of micrometers, depending on optical and thermal properties.Computational methods are described to process photoacoustic amplitude and phase spectra for both semiquantitative and quantitative depth analyses. These methods are demonstrated on layered and gradient samples.The following article appeared in Review of Scientific Instruments 74 (2003): 285 and may be found at doi:10.1063/1.1516244.</p

Analysis of Underground Storage Tank Waste Simulants by Fourier Transform Infrared Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

Underground storage tank waste sludge from nuclear fuel processes is difficult to analyze because of the extreme heterogeneity, chemical reactivity, and radioactivity of the waste. Conventional methods of analysis typically require extensive sample handling procedures either to thin the sample or to separate components prior to analysis. These procedures are time consuming, require radiation containment cells, and increase the risk of radiation exposure to lab personnel as a result of the extensive handling. In this paper a method utilizing Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy to analyze hazardous underground storage tank waste with a minimal amount of sample and sample handling is discussed. The method was developed with the use of waste tank simulants that were obtained from the Westinghouse Hanford Company. Emphasis was placed on the determination of disodium nickel ferrocyanide, sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite because of the concern for the potential of exothermic reactions occurring between oxidizers and ferrocyanide-containing compounds. This method also allows for the analysis of other ions of interest in waste processes such as sodium sulfate. A simple sample preparation method is also discussed which uses freeze drying to remove water from the simulants while maintaining a uniform sample for analysis.This paper was published in Applied Spectroscopy 49 (1995): 1000 and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: doi:10.1366/0003702953964642.</p

Simulation and Optimization of Connection-Strength Performance of Axial Extrusion Joint

Axial extrusion-connection technology is one of the important connection technologies for hydraulic piping systems, with high sealing performance and mechanical strength. In this paper, the finite-element-modeling method is used to simulate the experimental process of the connection strength of the axial extrusion joint. The generation mechanism and calculation method of the connection strength are analyzed. To optimize the joint strength, orthogonal testing and grey correlation analysis are used to analyze the influencing factors of joint strength. The key factors affecting joint strength are obtained as the friction coefficient &mu;1, &mu;2 between joint components and the groove angle &theta;1 of the fittings body. The back-propagation (BP) neural-network algorithm is used to establish the connection-strength model of the joint and the genetic algorithm is used to optimize it. The optimal connection strength is 8.237 kN and the optimal combination of influencing factors is 0.2, 0.4 and 76.8&deg;. Compared with the prediction results of the neural-network genetic algorithm, the relative error of the finite-element results is 3.9%, indicating that the method has high accuracy. The results show that the extrusion-based joining process offers significant advantages in the manufacture of high-strength titanium tubular joints