Change Service Requested:American Glovebox Society526 So. E Street Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Winter 2014
Info and Registration form on pages 16/17
Article by: David Lemonds, M.E., P.E., SRNL on page 8
Portable Breech Lockin Push-Through Glove Ports
Mark Your Calendar!
3
In This Issue...
Portable Breech Lock in
Push-Through Glove Ports
By: David Lemonds, M.E., P.E., SRNL . . . . .8
Departments President’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6AGS Sustaining Members . . . . . . . . . .6AGS Conference 2013 Review . . . . . .7AGS 2014 Conference Info . . . . . 16/17AGS Publication order form . . . . . . . .20
AdvertisersControlled Environments Magazine . . .5
Germfree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Innovative Technology . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Intetgrated Containment Systems . . .19
Jenessco Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .7
Kemutech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
LDS Vacuum Products, Inc . . . . . .11/18
Leak Testing Specialists, Inc. . . . . . . .18
MBraun, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Merrick & Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Powder Systems Limited . . . . . . . . . .19
Premier Technology, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .20
Spring Fab Adv. Technology Group . .3
Vacuum Atmospheres Company . . . . .2
Cover:Portable Breech Lock on Glove Box Line
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The EnclosureEditors
Rodney B. Smith – [email protected] Hinds
Advertising ManagerCrissy Willson
Design and ProductionTony Monaco
PublisherAmerican Glovebox Society
The Enclosure is published for the benefitof the glovebox engineering professionserving nuclear, biomed, pharmaceutical,semi-conductor, aerospace technology, andother industries.
Circulation: Our continually increasingcirculation is now at 3,100 copies. We havesubscribers throughout the United States,Canada and around the world.
Readership: Glovebox designers, users,engineers, fabricators, manufacturers,suppliers, contractors, libraries, and univer-sities.
Advertising: Deadlines for display ads are:March 1st & September 1st.
All rights reserved: Material may bereproduced or republished with credit tosource and author (when indicated).
Submittals: All letters, articles andphotographs are welcome and should bedirected to the editor's attention. Materialwill not be returned unless accompanied bya self-addressed, stamped envelope.
Disclaimer: The information containedherein is correct to the best of ourknowledge. Recommendations and sugges-tions are made without guarantee orrepresentation as to the result sinceconditions of use are beyond our control.The contents are intended as a source ofinformation.
The Enclosure is published by: American Glovebox Society
526 So. E StreetSanta Rosa, CA 95404
Tel.: (800) 530-1022 or (707) 527-0444 Fax: (707) 578-4406 E-mail: [email protected]: www.gloveboxsociety.org
Postmaster: Send address changes to:American Glovebox Society
526 So. E StreetSanta Rosa, CA 95404
OfficersPresidentPaul ContrerasLos Alamos National SecurityBus: (505) [email protected]
President-ElectScott HindsEngineering/ ManagementConsultantPhone: (505) [email protected]
Secretary/ TreasurerJustin DexterMBraun, IncPhone: (603) 773-9333 [email protected]
Immediate Past PresidentNathan LeveneMerrick & CompanyBus: (303) [email protected]
LiaisonsIke Dimayuga, Canadian LiaisonAtomic Energy of Canada, Ltd.Bus: (613) [email protected]
Martyn Page, UK LiaisonAWE, plcBus: 44 [email protected]
Board MembersSteve ChungloBus: (928) [email protected]
Carl FinkCTL Corp.Bus: (860) [email protected]
Lyle FreemanPremier Technology, Inc.Bus: (208) [email protected]
Tony HeinzLeak Test SpecialistsPhone: (407) [email protected]
Rick HinckleyLos Alamos National Laboratory Phone: (505) [email protected]
Bradley Hodges B&W Y-12Bus: (865) 576-5850 [email protected]
Russ KrainiakIntegrated Containment SystemBus: (252) [email protected]
Ron SmithBus: (803) [email protected]
James SpolyarAseptic Barrier Systems LLC9500 W. Flamingo, Ste. #202Las Vegas, NV 89147Bus: (702) 363-0086Fax: (702) [email protected]
Greg WunderlichURS (303) [email protected]
Moving ?Please let the AGS Central Office know of any changes
in address. Send your name, address, city, state andzip code information to:
American Glovebox Society526 So. E Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404Bus: (800) 530-1022 or (707) 527-0444
Fax: (707) 578-4406
2013/14 Board of Directors
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The mission of the American Glovebox Society (AGS) is
to promote safety and quality of glovebox systems;
promote communication; disseminate knowledge in the field
of glovebox technology; and recommend standards and
guidelines for glovebox technology.
I am a research technician at Los Alamos National
Laboratory and since being introduced to AGS in 1996, I can
honestly say that I have a better understanding of both the
nuclear and pharmaceutical glovebox industries. My involve-
ment in AGS has expanded my knowledge regarding safety
designs and aspects of a glovebox.
The positive impact AGS has had on my professional
development has led me accept the position of AGS
President. It is my goal to maintain the forward momentum
and tradition within the Society during my term in office. In
order to continue the advancement, we need your participa-
tion. I hope you consider attending the annual AGS
Conference which continues to provide a valuable resource to
containment professionals by offering a wide array of techni-
cal sessions, workshops, and case studies. The knowledge
base that is offered during the annual Conference is
enormously rich.
This brings me to announce the theme for this year’s
Conference which will be held July 7-9 in Miami, Florida -
“SAFETY.” Safety is a common thread amongst all contain-
ment industries and although we have all faced budget
constraints, safety is one thing that is never sacrificed.
Another way to get involved with AGS is through our
Standards Development Committee (SDC). The SDC meets
throughout the year to develop and revise standards and
guidelines, providing resources to the containment industry. I
offer a sincere thank you to SDC members, both past and
present, for volunteering their time, knowledge, and expert-
ise. If you are interested in joining the SDC, please contact
the AGS Executive Office at [email protected]. AGS
is fortunate to have a diverse membership with participation
from users and vendors. Involved in the AGS are a wide range
of vendors that include consultants, design and fabrication
engineers, installation experts, as well as providers of parts
and accessories. These vendors support the Society and the
industry with the products/services they offer. I encourage
you to visit the Products & Service page on the AGS website
– GloveboxSociety.org – and utilize those vendors that play
an active role in the AGS.
Lastly, stay connected with AGS through social media.
Immediate Past President Nate Levene has done a great job in
increasing the AGS presence on social media outlets such as
LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If you have industry-
related news to add to our sites, let us know by emailing
A BIG thank you for your continued participation with the
Society. See you in Miami!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Paul Contreras, AGS President
LA-UR-13-29407
President’s MessageBy: Paul Contreras
KoreaKiyon Co., Ltd.Seoul, [email protected]
Oregon Iron Works, Inc.9400 SE Lawnfield Rd.Clackamas, OR 97015Bus: (503) 653-6300
ABW Technologies, Inc.6720 191st Pl NEArlington, WA 98223-4666Bus: (360) 618-4400Fax: (360) [email protected]
Byers Precision Fabricators, Inc.675 Dana RoadHendersonville, NC 28792Bus: (828) 693-4088Fax: (828) [email protected]
AGS Sustaining Members
Become a Sustaining Member! contact the AGS Central Office (800)530-1022 or [email protected]
7
Given the challenging funding situations from many ofthe participants - this year’s annual conference in Lake
Tahoe was still a success. Lead by the expertise of NateLevene, the conference boldly jumped into a new formatthat was well accepted by the membership. Over 24 vendorsdisplayed their company know-how in the convention hall.Opening ceremonies were performed on Monday morning,followed by a keynote address by Dr. Michael Voegele whodiscussed a very well presented talk on Yucca Mountain inNevada. The remainder of the morning and afternoon pickedup with the training classes – now known as GloveboxFocused-Topic and Glovebox Fundamentals Training. LosAlamos National Laboratory presented their “Hands-On”training demonstration to finish out the day.
Tuesday began the Technical Sessions. All session materi-al should be available on the AGS website. Unique to thisyear was a vendor demonstration session that highlightedand described notable company applications. Participatingwere Fabrice Durand of Souriau, Craig Johnson of WalkerBarrier Systems, Ted Hutton of Fisher Company and amemorable speech by the first president of the AGS, MikeMayr. Carl Fink of CTL, Gary Partington of Walker BarrierSystems and Keith Gementz of Central ResearchLaboratories participated in the Wednesday vendordemonstrations. The Panel Discussion was on Gloveboxleak detection techniques and safety. Wednesday roundedout additional technical papers and the always popular –interactive competition case study. Closing ceremoniesturned the presidency over to Paul Contreras – who will leadthe conference in 2014 at Miami, Florida. See you there!!
2013 Annual Conference in Lake Tahoe a Success
President Paul Contreras and Immediate Past President Nathan Levene
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HistoryThe world is constantly evolving which causes the original mission
of any industry to constantly change. The Savannah River Site (SRS)is a great example. It was constructed during the early 1950s. Thenduring the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s additional large scale facilitieswere added. However, in the 1990s SRS started to change to new smallscale short term type missions. In the 1990s locating an emptyglovebox that had an active exhaust system, floor space and otherneeded utilities was easy. When the 2000s started the vacant glovebox-es with the needed utilities were becoming hard to locate and most ofthe gloveboxes that were available did not have a breech lock (airlock). Initially different facilities started to introduce items into theglovebox by replacing the oldest glove with a new glove. The procure-ment and waste disposal cost of gloves started to become extremelyexpensive, which is when the first concept of a basic sloped pipe wasintroduced in one of the facilities (See Figure 1). This concept waseasy to fabricate and install, however, it had no ergonomics incorpo-rated in the design. Since it was hard to remove and reinstall the innercap the operators stopped using the sloped piped version after a fewmonths.
Figure 1: Sloped Pipe Concept
The second concept was to replace a complete glove port panelwith a steel panel, which had an air lock mounted to the center ofthe panel. Since the ergonomic issues could never be resolved thisconcept was never fabricated or implemented (See Figure 2 and 3).
The third concept was the portable breech lock which will beexplained in the next sections.
Concept:Gloveboxes are used for the manipulation of hazardous or potential-
ly hazardous substances within a controlled environment. Typicallythe glovebox will include glass walls or windows through which anoperator can view the interior from a safe position exterior to theglovebox. One or more pairs of glove ports or gloved openings areprovided with gloves attached. These gloves are connected to the wallin a manner that maintains a seal. Challenges exist with effectivelyutilizing a glovebox while transferring an item into the glove box foruse within. A portable breech lock is a great tool to effectively utilizethe glove box.
A portable breech lock may be used to transfer one or more itemsinto a glovebox. It consists of a sealed cylinder with a door on eachend and fits inside the existing glove port. The inside door is offset toallow for ease of removing items inside the glovebox by a glovedoperator. A vacuum is maintained inside the glovebox so that openingthe door does not introduce contaminants to the outside environment.Latching mechanisms are used to secure the doors closed. Theportable breech lock can be used interchangeably, installed in place ofa glove, a plug, or other devices in a port opening and can be reused.
By: David Lemonds, M.E., P.E., SRNL
Portable Breech Lockin Push-Through Glove Ports
continued on page 10
Figure 2: Air Lock Panel Side View Figure 3: Air Lock Panel Front View
Design Features:The portable breech lock can be fabricated into a Central Research
Laboratories (CRL) or La Calhene plug. There is an O-ring face sealon the outer door (See Figure 4 and 5.)
Figure 4: Breech Lock Side View
Figure 5: Breech Lock Outer Door
The outer door is fabricated out of aluminum to reduce the weightload on the glass panel. All of the other components are fabricated outof stainless steel. The outer door has adjustment slots on the center ofthe door, the hinge side and the latching side to allow needed adjust-ments to obtain a 360 degree sealed door (See Figure 6 and 7). Evenwith the outer door latch in the open position, during testing the outerdoor remained closed and sealed as the glove box pressure ranged from0.0 to -3.0 inWC.
Figure 6: Breech Lock Outer Door Hinge
Figure 7: Breech Lock Outer Door Latch
The spring loaded latch and large grip handles on the inner doorimprove the ergonomics of the inner door configuration (See Figure 8).The inner door slide on hinge connection design allows the operator toeasily remove and reinstall the inner door. The inner door has a total ofeight button head screws located on the top surface, which can beremoved as needed to adjust the air flow inside the breech lock. Theinner door has a top hat style design with an offset lower radius section.This allows the item being transferred through the breech lock toextend out 1 1/2” past the end of the cylindrical face, which was asignificant ergonomics improvement (See Figure 9.)
Figure 8: Breech Lock Inner Door
Figure 9: Breech Lock Inner Door Interior
10
continued from page 8
continued on page 12
Portable Breech Lock in Push-Through Glove Ports
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continued from page 10
The breech lock was designed to fit into either a shielded orunshielded glass glove port panel. See Figure 10 for an illustration of ashielded panel installation.
Figure 10: Installation in a Shielded Panel
Installing and Removing the Portable Breech Lock into aGloveBox:
The installation of the Breech Lock is simple. It consists of removingthe outer door (See Figure 11). Then installing the unit, utilizing thesame method used to install a glove with the ejection tool (See Figure12). After the ejection tool is removed, the outer door is reinstalled (SeeFigure 13). During the removal process, remove the outer door, thenslide a new glove over the Breech Lock (See Figure 14). The new gloveis installed using the ejection tool (See Figure 15). After the glove hasbeen installed, the operator removes the Breech Lock Assembly theremaining distance into the glove box and slides the unit out of the way.After the removal actions are complete the glove box will be back tothe original design (See Figure 16). The photos illustrate the BreechLock Assembly on a CRL plug. The process is the same when theBreech Lock Assembly is performed on a La Calhene plug.
Figure 11: Remove Outer Door
Right side top to bottom:Figure 12: Install with the Ejection ToolFigure 13: Reinstall Outer Door Figure 14: Slide a glove over the Breech LockFigure 15: Install with the Ejection Tool Figure 16: Glove Installed
continued on page 14
Portable Breech Lock in Push-Through Glove Ports
Operational History:One of the Portable Breech Lock Assemblies has been in operation
at the Savannah River Site for over two years in a plutonium oxiderepackaging glove box line. In a normal shift 5 to 6 containers areintroduced into the glove box through the Breech Lock Assembly. Theglove port panel to the left of the Breech Lock Assembly is the locationwhere each of the containers are filled with material. This activity isbeing performed approximately 3 feet from the inner door of theBreech Lock Assembly. The Breech Lock Assembly is checked dailyduring the daily glove inspection for radiological contaminationleakage. There has been no evidence of contamination leakage at theBreech Lock Assembly. Structurally the Breech Lock Assembly isintact. After two years of operation it is constantly receiving positivecomments from the operators (See Figure 17 and 18.)
Figure 17: Glove Box Line
Figure 18: Installed Portable Breech Lock
Technical Information:The load on the glass panel created by the CRL ejection tool was
determined to be the maximum safe load limit for the Breech LockAssembly. The center of gravity point on the ejection tool wasdetermined by suspending the ejection tool on a single contact pointand shifting the ejection tool in various directions until the weight ofthe ejection tool was equally balanced. In the calculation the load fromthe ejection tool was assumed to be a cantilever beam with a concen-trated load at the center of gravity point. Based on the calculation, theejection tool applies a 221 in-lb load (moment) to the glass panel.
To be conservative in calculating the load that the Breech LockAssembly applied to the glass panel it was assumed that the center ofgravity point was at the outer flange face and that the load was concen-trated at this point. Then when an object is being introduced into theBreech Lock it was assumed that it created a concentrated load at theouter flange face. Everything was treated as a cantilever beam in thecalculation. See Table 1 for the results on an unshielded panel and Table2 for the results on a shielded panel. Even with a conservative calcula-tion the weight limit on the object to be introduced through the BreechLock was set to ensure the total load did not reach 221 in-lb. loadcreated by the ejection tool.
14
continued from page 12
continued on page 18
Portable Breech Lock in Push-Through Glove Ports
Registration Form
REGISTER NOW at www.GloveboxSociety.org
18
The air flow velocity at the outer flange face of the Breech Lock was taken using an Air-DataMultimeter model ADM-870 with an airflow velocity probe positioned at the center of the outerflange face with the inner door closed. The inner door was designed to have a 360 degree unsealedsurface when it is in the closed position, which allows the negative pressure in the glovebox toflow air into the glovebox when the outer door is opened. Then the velocity pressure was calculat-ed using flow velocity equation:
V (ft/min = 4005 (Velocity pressure (inWC) )1/2. See Table 3 and 4 on page 14 forthe results. In all cases the flow velocity exceeded the required 125 ft/min that is listed inthe AGS Guideline G-001.
The negative pressure in the test glove box was increased to -4.0 inWC and a leak foam testperformed on three independent CRL glove assemblies, two unmodified CRL Plugs and theBreech Lock Assembly. There were no detectable leaks in any of the test cases. See Table 5 onpage 14.
Summary:The characteristics of the Breech Lock are the following:• It is easy to install, remove, operate and it does not alter the original glovebox design. • The ergonomic designs are the recessed inner door and large handles. • It has a successful two year operating history in a radioactive material glovebox line. • It fits into a shielded or unshielded glove port panel.• It fits onto a Central Research Laboratories or La Calhene plug. • It does not break containment.
The Breech Lock should be considered for use on a glovebox that does not have an air lock andthe activity being performed inside the glovebox needs items transferred into the glovebox.
Link to an additional Technical Brief and Video:• Go to www.savannahrivernuclearsolutions.com• Click on the SRNL icon at the top of the page• On the right side under “Recent Publications” click on “Technologies Available Licensing” • Then scroll to “Portable Breech Lock for Gloveboxes” there are two links titled “More” in
bold blue lettering. One is the Technical Brief the other is the Video
Additional Technical Information Contact:David Lemonds, SRNL, (803) 725-2232, david.lemonds@ srs.govPatrick Westover, SRNL, (803) 725-1941, patrick.westover@ srr.govTechnical Transfer Information Contact:Dale Haas, SRNL, (803) 725-4185, [email protected] �
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SNT-TC-1A, CP189, AAR Appendix T,ANSI-N 14.5Standards and hands-on glove box training.
TESTING: Certified technicians on-site field and in-house.
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AUDITS / QANQA-1, NUPIC, NIAC, DOE & MOX
continued from page 14
Portable Breech Lock in Push-Through Glove Ports
