Investigation wettability of carbon components with the polyurethane binder of resistive composites

The research paper deals with influence wettability of carbon components with the polyurethane binder of resistive composites. We have revealed that the polyurethane lacquer wets up to 25 wt. % of C-1 and GE-3 particles, which results in their uniform distribution over the entire volume of the binder and homogeneity of RCMs. Zero wetting of the same weight percentage is observed in the case of K-163 carbon black, which gives rise to caking and distortion of homogeneity of the composite coating after its formation and its further cracking after heat treatment. The wetting capacity of K-163 carbon black in the polyurethane lacquer is improved using a DISPERBYK-2155 dispersing agent in the amount of 10 wt. % with respect to the binder. The resulting experimental data indicate that C-1 particles exhibit the best wettability, hence their adhesion strength with the binder would be higher than that of GE-3 graphite element and K-163 carbon black

Evaluation of a radon-in-water pilot-proficiency test

A pilot proficiency test (PT) on measurements of the massic activity of 222Rn in drinking water was organised by JRC-Geel. Fourteen expert environmental radioactivity monitoring laboratories were invited to participate. The key aim of the study was to test, optimise and stream-line the complete process for conducting such a PT in order to perform a large scale Europe-wide PT in a robust manner. The process involved using all state-of-the art knowledge on sampling, transporting and measuring 222Rn in water. It was found that the majority of the participants’ results (92%) were within the +/- 15 % reference range. The pilot-PT showed that the applied process was suitable and can be used for the large scale European PT planned for the third quarter of 2018.JRC.G.2-Standards for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard