Assembly conductance measurements: halthane vent path testing

The purpose of this test was to characterize the conductance of different configurations of vent paths put into weapons assemblies through application of Halthane 88-3 precoats onto the parts. Conductance is a measure of the ease of gas flow in an assembly. It is the inverse of resistance which may be more familiar to most readers. It is defined as the resultant of the gas flow (torr-1/sec) divided by the pressure drop (torr) in the assembly. Its dimensions are thus liters per second. The conductance paths are put into the precoats to allow pumpdown of weapon assemblies and communication during stockpile life. They are put into the precoats by applying tape of the desired width onto the part prior to coating. The Halthane 88-3 is then rolled onto the part and when the tape is removed the vent paths are left. To keep this report unclassified some of the description of the situation has been abbreviated. For a more complete description of the device configuration and conductance issue, see the final report on WDW 9009-A and -B (CODT 98-0809).