Technical basis for the reduction of the maximum temperature TGA-MS analysis of oxide samples from the 3013 destructive examination program

Abstract

The author would like to acknowledge Fernando Fondeur and Minnie Hightower for their work in producing the TGA-MS data used in this report. The author would also like to thank the Materials Identification and Selection Working Group for their comment during the preparation of this report.

Factors influencing moisture analysis in the 3013 destructive examination surveillance program

“…An earlier report documented volatile halide salt deposition as a major contributor to the increase in instrument downtime and proposed lowering the final TGA temperature to lessen that problem. 3 That modification was implemented and the downtime due to instrument maintenance has been significantly reduced. Some maintenance delays still occur due to the age and condition of the instruments, as certain spare parts are no longer readily available.…”