System design description for SY-101 hydrogen mitigation test project data acquisition and control system (DACS-1)

Abstract

This document describes the hardware subsystems of the data acquisition and control system (DACS) used in mitigation tests conducted on waste tank SY-101 at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The system was designed and implemented by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and supplied to Westinghouse Hanford Company (WHC). The mitigation testing uses a pump immersed in the waste tank, directed at certain angles and operated at different speeds and time durations. The SY-101 tank has experienced recurrent periodic gas releases of hydrogen, nitrous oxide, ammonia, and (recently discovered) methane. The hydrogen gas represents a danger, as some of the releases are in amounts above the lower flammability limit (LFL). These large gas releases must be mitigated. Several instruments have been added to the tank to monitor the gas compositions, the tank level, the tank temperature, and other parameters. A mixer pump has been developed to stir the tank waste to cause the gases to be released at a slow rate. It is the function of the DACS to monitor those instruments and to control the mixer pump in a safe manner. During FY93 and FY94 the mixer pump was installed with associated testing operations support equipment and a mitigation test projectmore » plan was implemented. These activities successfully demonstrated the mixer pump`s ability to mitigate the SY-101 tank hydrogen gas hazard.« less