EFFECT OF FILTER TEMPERATURE ON TRAPPING ZINC VAPOR

To address the {sup 65}Zn contamination issue in the TEF, a multi-task experimental program was initiated. The first experimental task was completed and is reported in Ref. 1. The results of the second experimental task are reported here. This task examined the effect of filter temperature on trapping efficiency and deposit morphology. Based on the first experimental tasks that examined filter pore size and trapping efficiency, stainless steel filter media with a 20 {micro}m pore size was selected. A series of experiments using these filters was conducted during this second task to determine the effect of filter temperature on zinc vapor trapping efficiency, adhesion and morphology. The tests were conducted with the filters heated to 60, 120, and 200 C; the zinc source material was heated to 400 C for all the experiments to provide a consistent zinc source. The samples were evaluated for mass change, deposit adhesion and morphology. As expected from the physical vapor deposition literature, a difference in deposit morphology and appearance was observed between the three filter temperatures. The filter held at 60 C had the largest average mass gain while the 120 and 200 C filters exhibited similar but lower weight gains. The standard deviations were large and suggest that all three temperatures exhibited comparable gains. No zinc was detected on the backside surface of the filters indicating high efficiency for front and internal trapping. A zinc rich deposit was formed on the surface of the 60 C filter. Based on a simple tape adhesion test, the surface zinc was readily removed from the 60 C filter while less zinc deposit was removed from the 120 and 200 C filter samples. It is surmised that the higher temperatures enable the zinc to deposit within the filter media rather than on the surface. Based on the findings that all three statistically trapped the same quantity of zinc vapor and that the higher temperatures resulted in a more adherent/better trapped product, operating the filters at 120 to 200 C is recommended