Estimation of Gas Leak Rates

Through Very Small Orifices

and Channels

by
Herbert J.Bomelburg

February 1977

Prepared for the

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

-..-
Pacific Northwest Laboratories
 Th% report was preparrd is an accceullt r.84 work spoi.wr~d by the Un~tedStates Governmect. Kettker t > ~
United States nor the L'nited states 'rl:clczr 1tcgl;l;:cry Cornmiszion. :or ally c! their e m p i o y e ~ ,nor any of chcrr
contractors, subcontraao~r,a . tlveir rrn~invct?t-,r.~aiesany H r r l a tty, cxpreji o r implied, or ?.;+~nicsany !egA
liability or rcrpocsibility for iirc accuracy. zcm:lc.~cn~ss01 ~rscf.~!ccss -,f an). i?fzrxat-on, 3Poar.i:b4. prodiict cr
I.m)cess disclosed, or repreen:.; :hi.: i;s i43? wott:rl n.;\ irlfringe pr ivzrc:i*l u w x o :ig.~ts.
\

Piin:r?i if: : x Un.re3 5:11$$ . ) f arrrirr

. \ v ~ ~ i ~ cf ..>rr
le
Na.icrni: :a:hnic;.l Irf:~i~~.+:ic~~i
!.or;iio
--1'65
J.5. C~?;;,.i~r.+r.r
%r*
c ( c:ct-r~rtce
P.=);i K=ad
i.pr:nltir?f~.V I I ~ ~ 2. 7; ,5 1
fricr: Pr!nt~!r C
:! .. L--*:nl.crc:ichi S3.M
 ESTIMATION OF GAS LEAK RATES THROUGH
VERY SllALL ORIFICES AND CHANNELS

by
H e r b e r t J. Bomelburg

F e b r u a r y 1977

Abstract

A s a r e s u l t o f a l i t e r a t u r e s e a r c h , e q u a t i o n s have
been compiled f o r e s t i m a t i n g t h e f l o w r a t e s o f p u r e
g a s e s t h r o u g h v e r y s m a l l o r i f i c e s and c a p i l l a r i e s .
Such e q u a t i o n s might b e u s e f u l i n e s t a b l i s h i n g u p p e r
L i m i t s o f l e a k r a t e s from s e a l e d Pu02 c o n t a i n e r s
under a c c i d e n t c o n d i t i o n s .

BATTELLE
P a c i f i c Northiiest ~ a b o r a t o r i e s
R i c h l a n d , PJashington 99352
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Nomenclature ......................
A. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B. L i t e r a t u r e s u r v e y on l e a k a g e f l o w s . . . . . . . . . . .
a) Vacuum l e a k s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b) Leaks t h r o u g h m e c h a n i c a l s e a l s . . . . . . . . . . .
c) Flows i n c a p i l l a r y t u b e s f o r f l u i d i c r e s i s t o r s . . .
d) Leakage o f s e a l e d c o n t a i n e r s f o r e l e c t r o n i c c i r c u i t s

C. G e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f o r i f i c e and c a p i l l a r y f l o w a s
described i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a) O r i f i c e flow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b) Capillaryflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. B a s i c a n a l y t i c a l t r e a t m e n t of leakage flows . . . . . . .
a) D i s c u s s i o n of b a s i c problems . . . . . . . . . . . .
5) Flowthroughorifices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c) Flow t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s . . . . . . . . . . . .
1) Laminar i n c o m p r e s s i b l e f l o w t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y
tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2) Turbulent incompressible flow through c a p i l l a r y
tubes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3) Compressible f l o w t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s . . .

E. ~ p p l i c a t i o nt o Pu02 l e a k problems . . . . . . . . . . . .

F. References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

G. Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m e . . . e . . .
 Nomenclature

A = area
c = v e l o c i t y o f sound
c = s p e c i f i c heat a t const. pressure
P
cv = s p e c i f i c h e a t a t c o n s t . volume

d = diameter
f = friction factor

g = gravity constant
i = enthalpy
R = length
L = f l o w r a t e i n a t m cm3/sec
M = Mach number
m = molecular weight
n = p o l y t r o p i c exponent
P = pressure
Q = m a s s flow
cm a t m
R = g a s c o n s t a n t = 82.1
mol O
Re = Reynolds number
r = radius
T = temperature (absolute
v = velocity
CY = area correction factor
Y = r a t i o o f s p e c i f i c h e a t s c /cv
P
P = density
$ = e x i t f l o w f u n c t i o n a s d e f i n e d by eq. (9)
X = mean f r e e p a t h
E = roughness i n c a p i l l a r y tubes
IJ = absolute viscosity
v = kinematic v i s c o s i t y (v = p/p)
 Subscripts

o refers t o s t a g n a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s
e refers t o e x i t conditions
i refers t o i n l e t conditions
a refers to ambient c o n d i t i o n s
c refers to c r i t i c a l conditions
u refers to upstream c o n d i t i o n s
d refers to downstream c o n d i t i o n s
 ESTIMATION OF GAS LEAK RATES THROUGH
VERY SMALL ORIFICES ATJD CHANNELS.

A. Introduction

Plutonium-oxide (PuO,) i s s h i p p e d w i t h g r e a t p r e c a u t i o n s t o

e n s u r e , t h a t even under s e v e r e a c c i d e n t c o n d i t i o n s , no harmful

q u a n t i t i e s o f t h i s powdery m a t e r i a l can e s c a p e i n t o t h e e n v i r o n - '

ment. The s h i p p i n g c o n t a i n e r i s a heavy, t i g h t l y s e a l e d s t e e l

c y l i n d e r , which i s d e s i g n e d t o w i t h s t a n d h i g h impact l o a d s , which

might be g e n e r a t e d i n an a i r p l a n e c r a s h .

S i n c e , s t r i c t l y s p e a k i n g a s e a l i s seldom p e r f e c t l y t i g h t ,
t h e r e i s always t h e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t m i n u t e c r a c k s may e x i s t .

Normally any l e a k a g e r e s u l t i n g from s u c h c r a c k s can be n e g l e c t e d

( a s long as the t o t a l leak r a t e i s smaller than lo-' s t cm3/sec),

b e c a u s e under normal c o n d i t i o n s t h e p r e s s u r e i n s i d e t h e c o n t a i n e r

i s atmospheric. However, i f t h e s e a l e d c o n t a i n e r i s h e a t e d up i n

a f i r e (which e.g. c o u l d r e s u l t from an a i r p l a n e c r a s h ) t h e temp-

e r a t u r e and p r e s s u r e i n s i d e t h e c o n t a i n e r would r i s e and t h u s a

n e t l e a k a g e o u t o f t h e c o n t a i n e r would r e s u l t .
I t would be o f v i t a l i n t e r e s t t o know what t h e r e s u l t i n g l e a k

r a t e would be under such f i r e a c c i d e n t c o n d i t i o n s . I f t h e con-

t a i n e r ' s l e a k r a t e n e a r ambient c o n d i t i o n s had been d e t e r m i n e d

b e f o r e h a n d i n a s t a t i c t e s t , it a p p e a r s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e a c c i d e n t

l e a k r a t e c o u l d a t l e a s t be c o n s e r v a t i v e l y e s t i m a t e d , i f t h e

i n t e r n a l t e m p e r a t u r e and p r e s s u r e r e s u l t i n g from t h e a c c i d e n t

would b e known.
 However, i n o r d e r t o a r r i v e a t such an e s t i m a t e , t h e b a s i c
two-phase flow phenomena ( g a s flow w i t h suspended s o l i d PuO, p a r -
t i c l e s ) t h r o u g h v a r i o u s t y p e s o f l e a k h o l e s must be u n d e r s t o o d

and be d e s c r i b a b l e i n a q u a n t i t a t i v e form. Unfortunately t h e

r e l e v a n t f i e l d o f f l u i d mechanics i s l a r g e l y unknown and o n l y

l i t t l e , i f a n y , s y s t e m a t i c r e s e a r c h h a s been done i n it. There-

f o r e , i n i t i a l l y a thorough l i t e r a t u r e s e a r c h must be done i n o r d e r

t o uncover any p r e v i o u s r e l a t e d work i n t h i s f i e l d . Then, a s a

f u r t h e r s t e p towards an a n a l y t i c a l t r e a t m e n t o f t h e two-phase

l e a k a g e flow o f PuO, powder, a thorough u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e one-

p h a s e ( i .e . p u r e l y g a s e o u s ) flow t h r o u g h narrow passageways o f

s i m p l e geometry i s r e q u i r e d . The most s i m p l e examples o f t h i s

t y p e o f flow would be t h e flow o f an i d e a l g a s t h r o u g h s m a l l o r i -

f i c e s and c h a n n e l s .

S i n c e t h e s i z e o f t h e l e a k h o l e can v a r y s u b s t a n t i a l l y and

s i n c e t h e p r e s s u r e and t e m p e r a t u r e c o n d i t i o n s u p s t r e a m and down-

stream o f t h e l e a k c a n a l s o v a r y o v e r a wide r a n g e , it must be

e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e flow r a t e s f o r t h e c a s e s under c o n s i d e r a t i o n h e r e
c o u l d w e l l e x t e n d o v e r 10 o r d e r s o f magnitude. The c h a r a c t e r o f
t h e f l o w u n d e r such c o n d i t i o n c o u l d change from m o l e c u l a r and t r a n -
s i t i o n t y p e flow f o r t h e v e r y low flow r a t e s t h r o u g h e x t r e m e l y

s m a l l l e a k s t o t u r b u l e n t choked flow f o r t h e h i g h e r f l o w r a t e s

through l a r g e r l e a k s . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , it must t h e r e f o r e b e e x p e c t e d

t h a t any a n a l y t i c a l d e s c r i p t i o n of l e a k a g e flows would n o t be

s i m p l e enough t h a t it c o u l d be e x p r e s s e d by a s i n g l e formula.

W i t h i n t h e o v e r a l l scope of t h e above d e s c r i b e d l e a k a g e
problem t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e p r e s e n t r e p o r t w i l l t h u s be l i m i t e d

to:

1) Screening t h e e x i s t i n g l i t e r a t u r e f o r a n a l y t i c a l
t r e a t m e n t and e x p e r i m e n t a l t e s t s on g a s flow t h r o u g h
v a r i o u s t y p e s o f n a r r o w o p e n i n g s and passageways o f
w e l l d e f i n e d d i m e n s i o n s , which would b e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e
of a n a c t u a l l e a k .

2) Deriving c o r r e l a t i o n s f o r e s t i m a t i n g gas flow through

s m a l l o r i f i c e s and c h a n n e l s and d e f i n i n g t h e l i m i t s
of applicability f o r these correlations.

B. L i t e r a t u r e Survey on Leakage Flows

H i s t o r i c a l l y , l e a k s have m o s t l y been i n v e s t i g a t e d i n connec-

t i o n w i t h vacuum p r o j e c t s , s i n c e even a s m a l l l e a k i s i n t o l e r a b l e

f o r m a i n t a i n i n g a h a r d vacuum. An e x t e n s i v e l i t e r a t u r e d e a l i n g

w i t h vacuum l e a k p r o b l e m s - h a s t h e r e f o r e been accumulated o v e r t h e

years. R e f e r e n c e s 1, 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 r e p r e s e n t a s m a l l sample

of t h i s l i t e r a t u r e . I t d e a l s p r i m a r i l y w i t h l e a k d e t e c t i o n methods

( R e f e r e n c e s 8 , 9 , 1 0 , 11, 1 2 , 1 3 , 1 4 , 1 5 ) and methods o f e s t i m a t i n g

and s e a l i n g l e a k f l o w s f o r v a r i o u s t y p e s o f g a s e s .

Leaks from p r e s s u r i z e d v e s s e l s ( e . g . due t o bad w e l d s ) have

been i n v e s t i g a t e d t o a much lesser d e g r e e ( e . g . Ref. 15).

R e f e r e n c e 5 p r e s e n t s a g e n e r a l o v e r v i e w of t h e v a r i o u s pheno-
mena o f l e a k i n g g a s e s and l i q u i d s f o r a wide v a r i e t y o f t e c h n i c a l
applications. I t p o i n t s o u t t h a t l e a k r a t e s , w i t h i n t h e range o f

p r a c t i c a l i n t e r e s t , can r a n g e o v e r e l e v e n o r d e r s o f magnitude ( s e e

The d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e r a t e a t which t h e g a s e s c a p e s t h r o u g h

a l e a k i s p r i m a r i l y a f l u i d mechanics problem, which h a s been

approached a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s o f s o p h i s t i c a t i o n , b o t h e x p e r i m e n t a l l y
(e.g. Refs. 2 , 1 6 ) and t h e o r e t i c a l l y ( e . g . Refs. 1 7 , 1 8 , 1 9 ) .

B a s i c a l l y , t h e flow r a t e h a s t o be d e t e r m i n e d a s a f u n c t i o n o f

t h e 1) p r e v a i l i n g upstream c o n d i t i o n ( c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a t l e a s t

2 parameters) 2 ) p r e v a i l i n g downstream c o n d i t i o n ( c h a r a c t e r i z e d

by a t l e a s t 1 p a r a m e t e r ) 3 ) geometry and c o n d i t i o n s a l o n g t h e

l e a k p a t h (number o f p a r a m e t e r s c o u l d go t o 8 ) 4 ) t y p e of t h e

l e a k i n g g a s ( c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a t l e a s t 3 p a r a m e t e r s ) . Because
o f t h e many p o s s i b l e p a r a m e t e r c o m b i n a t i o n s a g e n e r a l t r e a t m e n t ,

c o v e r i n g a l l c o n c e i v e a b l e c a s e s , p r o v e s t o b e p r a c t i c a l l y impos-

sible. T h i s i s mainly due t o t h e f a c t , t h a t t h e l e a k p a t h can

assume an a l m o s t i n f i n i t e v a r i e t y o f s h a p e s . To make m a t t e r s

even w o r s e , t h e g e o m e t r i c s h a p e p a r a m e t e r s a r e o f o v e r r i d i n g impor- -
t a n c e , a s w i l l b e shown below. Therefore i n v e s t i g a t i o n s reported
i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e have mainly d e a l t w i t h i d e a l i z e d l e a k p a t h s , i n

which t h e geometry and c o n d i t i o n s a l o n g t h e l e a k p a t h s c a n be

d e s c r i b e d by v e r y few ( s a y 3 o r l e s s . ) p a r a m e t e r s .
I n p a r t i c u l a r t h e following groups of i n v e s t i g a t i o n s , r e p o r t e d

i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e on p r a c t i c a l l e a k problems, w i l l b e d i s c u s s e d

h e r e i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l , s i n c e t h e y c o u l d b e of some i n t e r e s t t o
t h e p r e s e n t problem.

a) vacuum l e a k s

b) l e a k s t h r o u g h mechanical s e a l s

C) flow i n c a p i l l a r y t u b e s f o r f l u i d i c r e s i s t o r s

d) leakage o f sealed containers f o r e l e c t r o n i c c i r c u i t s

a) Vacuum Leaks

I n vacuum l e a k s t h e u p s t r e a m p r e s s u r e i s u s u a l l y ambient,
 whereas t h e downstream p r e s s u r e i s v e r y low, u s u a l l y < 1 t o r r ,

but quite often t o r r o r even l e s s . S i n c e a h a r d vacuum can

r a p i d l y be d e s t r o y e d by even a v e r y s m a l l l e a k , one u s u a l l y h a s

t o d e a l w i t h g e o m e t r i c a l l y v e r y s m a l l l e a k h o l e dimensions. For

s u c h r e a s o n s t h e mean f r e e p a t h o f t h e m o l e c u l e s i n t h e l e a k i n g

g a s i s q u i t e o f t e n l a r g e r t h a n t h e l e a k d i a m e t e r * , when assuming

a s i n g l e c y l i n d r i c a l h o l e shape. This, t h e r e f o r e , leads t o a type

o f f l o w , which i s d e s c r i b e d a s m o l e c u l a r o r t r a n s i t i o n t y p e f l o w
and which must b e d i s t i n g u i s h e d from t h e more c o n v e n t i o n a l t y p e

o f c o n t i n u o u s f l o w , which i s l a m i n a r a t t h e l o w e r v e l o c i t i e s o r

turbulent a t t h e higher velocities. For s m a l l volumetric l e a k s

t h e f l o w n o r m a l l y r e m a i n s l a m i n a r , b e c a u s e i t s Reynolds number

e ) i s n o r m a l l y < l o 0 0 f o r s u c h l e a k s i n which b o t h v e l o c i t y v
and h o l e d i a m e t e r d a r e s m a l l .

The f o r m u l a , which i s m o s t l y q u o t e d f o r t h e d e t e r m i n a t i o n of

f l o w r a t e s i n t o vacuum t h r o u g h t u b u l a r l e a k s , c o n t a i n s t h e r e f o r e

two terms. One t e r m a c c o u n t s f o r t h e l a m i n a r ( v i s c o u s ) f l o w and

t h e s e c o n d term f o r t h e m o l e c u l a r flow. ( s e e e.g. Ref. 20) . This

f o r m u l a c a n n o t be e x t e n d e d beyond t h e a r e a o f a p p l i c a t i o n f o r
which it was o r i g i n a l l y d e r i v e d (Ref. 1 7 ) , s i n c e o t h e r phenomena

s u c h a s c h o k i n g may have t o b e c o n s i d e r e d a l s o . This p a r t i c u l a r

f e a t u r e w i l l be d i s c u s s e d a t g r e a t e r l e n g t h i n S e c t i o n D o f t h i s
report .

*The Knudsen number ( d e f i n e d a s t h e r a t i o of mean f r e e p a t h t o t h e

h o l e d i a m e t e r ) f o r such a c a s e i s >1.
b) Leaks Throuah Mechanical S e a l s

F o r o b v i o u s r e a s o n s t h e l e a k a g e of f l u i d s ( l i q u i d s a s w e l l

a s g a s e s ) t h r o u g h v a r i o u s t y p e s o f s e a l s , e.g. on r o t a t i n g s h a f t s ,

must b e k e p t a s low a s p o s s i b l e . Therefore s e a l s of t h i s kind

*
have been i n v e s t i g a t e d by e x p e r i m e n t a l a s w e l l a s t h e o r e t i c a l means.

Of p a r t i c u l a r importance i n t h i s c o n t e x t a r e t h e l a b y r i n t h s e a l s ,

which have one of t h e l o w e s t l e a k r a t e s among t h e n o n c o n t a c t i n g ,

r o t a t i n g s e a l s ( R e f s . 21-26). T h e i r b e h a v i o r c l e a r l y shows how

t h e l e a k a g e r a t e i s changed v e r y s i g n i f i c a n t l y by j u d i c i o u s changes

i n t h e geometry of t h e l e a k p a t h s . G e n e r a l l y , by making t h e p a t h
n a r r o w e r a n d / o r more t o r t u o u s t h e l e a k r a t e can b e r e d u c e d d r a s t i -

cally. I n t h e l a b y r i n t h s e a l t h e cross-sectional a r e a along t h e

l e a k p a t h i s changed r e p e a t e d l y by a l a r g e f a c t o r . Thereby p r e s -

s u r e d r o p s ( o r flow r e s i s t a n c e s ) a r e g e n e r a t e d by momentum l o s s e s

(sometimes c a l l e d "Borda" l o s s e s ) , which a r e u s u a l l y much l a r g e r

t h a n t h e p u r e v i s c o u s l o s s e s which a r e due t o w a l l f r i c t i o n . How-

e v e r , s i n c e t h e p r e s e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i l l be r e s t r i c t e d t o flow

t h r o u g h s m a l l c i r c u l a r o r i f i c e s and s t r a i g h t c a p i l l a r i e s o n l y ,

t h e r e w i l l b e no d i r e c t a p p l i c a t i o n o f t h e v a r i o u s a n a l y t i c a l
a p p r o a c h e s t o l a b y r i n t h s e a l l e a k a g e , which h a s been t r e a t e d i n

the literature.

c) Leakaqe From S e a l e d C o n t a i n e r s f o r E l e c t r o n i c C i r c u i t s
( R e f s . 27-29)

On t h e s u r f a c e it might a p p e a r , t h a t t h e l e a k a g e from herme-

t i c a l l y sealed containers of highly s e n s i t i v e e l e c t r o n i c c i r c u i t s

might have a b e a r i n g on t h e l e a k problem under c o n s i d e r a t i o n h e r e .

 However t h e p r e s s u r e d i f f e r e n c e f o r t h e c o n t a i n e r s between t h e

i n s i d e ( u s u a l l y an i n e r t g a s a t -1atm and ambient t e m p e r a t u r e )

and t h e o u t s i d e ( a i r a t ambient c o n d i t i o n s ) i s n o r m a l l y q u i t e

s m a l l , s o t h a t c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y e f f e c t s need n o t be c o n s i d e r e d .

F o r t h e s e and o t h e r r e a s o n s t h e l e a k r a t e s a r e e x t r e m e l y low

(2 low9 atm cm3/sec) *, which o b v i o u s l y i s o f l i t t l e i n t e r e s t i n

t h e p r e s e n t problem. The f o r m u l a s c i t e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e ( R e f s .

27, 28) a r e b a s i c a l l y t h o s e which a r e b e i n g used f o r vacuum work;

b u t t h e y have been amended by c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f s e l f d i f f u s i o n

e f f e c t s (Ref. 3 0 ) , which a r e t o t a l l y u n i m p o r t a n t i n t h e p r e s e n t

problem. The s u g g e s t i o n , p u t forward i n Refs. 27 and 28, t h a t i n

a l e a k p a t h o f v a r y i n g d i a m e t e r o n l y t h e n a r r o w e r s e c t i o n s need t o

be c o n s i d e r e d , w i l l g i v e wrong r e s u l t s f o r l a r g e r l e a k r a t e s ,

s i n c e i t i g n o r e s t h e Borda l o s s e s ( d i s c u s s e d a b o v e ) , which o r i g i -

n a t e a t any sudden e n l a r g e m e n t o f t h e l e a k a g e p a t h s .

d) Flow i n C a p i l l a r y Tubes i n F l u i d i c R e s i s t o r s . ( R e f s . 31, 32)

I n f l u i d i c c o n t r o l d e v i c e s l i n e a r r e s i s t a n c e s a r e o f t e n gene-

r a t e d by l a m i n a r flow t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s . For such r e a s o n s ,

f l o w phenomena i n c a p i l l a r i e s have been i n v e s t i g a t e d r e c e n t l y i n

g r e a t e r d e t a i l than before. T h e o r e t i c a l l y , i f t h e flow r e s i s t a n c e
f o r s m a l l p r e s s u r e d i f f e r e n t i a l s i n a c a p i l l a r y i s c a u s e d by lami-

n a r w a l l f r i c t i o n o n l y ( a c c o r d i n g t o t h e H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e Law),

t h e n t h e flow r e s i s t a n c e s h o u l d be l i n e a r , i . e . t h e flow r a t e s h o u l d

*See Appendix f o r d i s c u s s i o n o f l e a k r a t e u n i t s .
i n c r e a s e l i n e a r l y w i t h t h e p r e s s u r e drop. However, c l o s e r examina-

t i o n s have r e v e a l e d , t h a t c e r t a i n d e v i a t i o n s from t h e e x p e c t e d

l i n e a r b e h a v i o r a r e e n c o u n t e r e d , which a r e m a i n l y due t o e n t r a n c e
l o s s e s and c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y e f f e c t s . F o r t h e problem under c o n s i -
f

d e r a t i o n here t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n s i n t h i s f i e l d of f l u i d i c s a r e

-r u
o n l y o f minor i m p o r t a n c e , s i n c e t h e y a r e r e s t r i c t e d t o s m a l l p r e s - a

sure r a t i o s (generally -< Q

2 ) , whereas o u r problem i s c o n c e r n e d
Pd P.-
w i t h l a r g e p r e s s u r e r a t i o s (- u > > I ) .
pd

C. G e n e r a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f O r i f i c e and P i p e Flow a s D e s c r i b e d
i n the Literature.

Since t h e search f o r references, d i r e c t l y applicable t o the

PuO, l e a k a g e problem, h a s t u r n e d o u t t o b e r a t h e r d i s a p p o i n t i n g ,

t h e s e a r c h was e x t e n d e d t o t h e more g e n e r a l c a t e g o r y o f f l o w ' t h r o u g h

r e g u l a r o r i f i c e s and t u b e s ( o r p i p e s ) . Here i n d e e d a l a r g e body

o f p u b l i s h e d l i t e r a t u r e d o e s e x i s t , which might be p e r t i n e n t and

useful. But s i n c e it i s q u i t e i m p o s s i b l e t o r e v i e w a l l p a p e r s

which might have some d i r e c t o r i n d i r e c t b e a r i n g on t h e l e a k a g e

problem, o n l y a number o f t h e more i m p o r t a n t and v a l u a b l e p a p e r s
w e r e studied.

The main d i f f e r e n c e between t h e work r e p o r t e d i n t h e l i t e r a -

t u r e and t h e p r e s e n t l e a k a g e problem l i e s i n t h e d i a m e t e r r a n g e

o f t h e o r i f i c e s and t u b e s . A s f a r a s it c o u l d b e d e t e r m i n e d , none

o f t h e p a s t s y s t e m a t i c flow t e s t s w e r e e x t e n d e d t o d i a m e t e r s o f l e s s .
t h a n ~ 0 . 1i n c h . However, it may b e e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e b a s i c c o r r e l a -

t i o n s , p r e s e n t e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e f o r s t a n d a r d o r i f i c e and p i p e f l o w ,

c a n b e e x t r a p o l a t e d w i t h r e a s o n a b l e c o n f i d e n c e t o s m a l l e r dimensions.. I
 a) O r i f i c e Flow.

F o r t h e p r a c t i c a l c a s e s o f g a s l e a k a g e from a PuO, c o n t a i n e r

which a r e t h e s u b j e c t of t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , t h e o v e r a l l p r e s s u r e

-
r a t i o s Pu a r e p r a c t i c a l l y a l w a y s * l a r g e
d
Therefore it.
i s necessary t h a t compressibility e f f e c t s a r e f u l l y taken i n t o

account. Such e f f e c t s become i m p o r t a n t a s soon a s -

Pu
Pd
exceeds

about 1.5. When - exceeds a v a l u e of about 2 , t h e flow a l r e a d y

Pd
becomes choked
t . T h e r e f o r e , p a p e r s as e . g . R e f s . 33 and 34 w i l l

be o f s i g n i f i c a n t v a l u e t o t h i s p r o j e c t . The t e s t s r e p o r t e d i n
Ref. 33 c o v e r sharp-edged o r i f i c e s i n t h e d i a m e t e r r a n g e between

0.15" and 0.25" w i t h u p s t r e a m p r e s s u r e s a s h i g h a s 1 0 0 p s i . Temp-

e r a t u r e a r e ambient f o r a l l t e s t c o n d i t i o n s . The t e s t s r e p o r t e d

i n Ref. 34 c o v e r a s i m i l a r p a r a m e t e r r a n g e . The p u r p o s e of t h e s e

t e s t s was t o compare t h e o r e t i c a l l y p r e d i c t e d f l o w r a t e s w i t h

a c t u a l l y measured f l o w r a t e s . Agreement was found t o be w e l l

w i t h i n a few p e r c e n t o r e v e n b e t t e r f o r c e r t a i n cas-es. Such r e s u l t s

l e n d support t o t h e widely used p r a c t i c e o f using o r i f i c e p l a t e s

a s flow measuring devices.

I n t h i s c o n t e x t i t must be remarked, t h a t t h e aSove mentioned

c l o s e agreement between e x p e r i m e n t and a n a l y s i s f o r o r i f i c e f l o w
i s g e n e r a l l y found o n l y i n t h e sharp-edged o r i f i c e s , f o r which t h e

*Those c o n d i t i o n s , f o r which t h e p r e s s u r e r a t i o s a r e 2 2 , would n o t

c o n t r i b u t e much t o t h e t o t a l l e a k a g e o u t o f t h e s e a l e d PuO, con-
t a i n e r , and t h e r e f o r e need n o t be c o n s i d e r e d h e r e . For t h i s reason
Ref. 35 and s i m i l a r r e f e r e n c e s a r e o f l i t t l e p r a c t i c a l v a l u e f o r
t h i s investigation.
t ~ h ephenomenon o f c h o k i n g i s e x p l a i n e d on pp 18-21.
t h i c k n e s s i s s m a l l compared t o t h e d i a m e t e r . For t h i c k o r i f i c e s

c e r t a i n d e v i a t i o n s must be e x p e c t e d , which a r e i n t h e o r d e r o f

a b o u t 1 0 % f o r t h e tests r e p o r t e d i n Ref. 3 4 . The PuO, c o n t a i n e r

l e a k problem would e n t a i l t e s t d i a m e t e r s , which a r e v e r y much

d i f f e r e n t from any p r e v i o u s l y t e s t e d c o n d i t i o n s . They c o u l d b e

a s s m a l l a s a few micrometers ( l p m = 0.0001 c m = 3.9 x 1 0 - ' i n ) ,

w i t h p r e s s u r e s a s h i g h a s 1000 p s i and t e m p e r a t u r e s a s h i g h a s

1800°F. F o r s u c h c o n d i t i o n s no p u b l i s h e d t e s t d a t a c o u l d be found

i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e , which would even come c l o s e .

E x t r a p o l a t i o n o v e r s e v e r a l o r d e r s o f magnitude i s u s u a l l y
considered t e n t a t i v e . T h e r e f o r e , even though no s i g n i f i c a n t d e v i -

a t i o n s a r e e x p e c t e d on t h e o r e t i c a l g r o u n d s , t e s t s s h o u l d be p e r -

formed t o v e r i f y t h e a n a l y t i c a l l y d e r i v e d l e a k a g e r a t e s f o r o r i f i c e s ,

o f v e r y s m a l l d i a m e t e r ( a r o u n d 100pm).

b) C a p i l l a r y Flow.

A s i n t h e c a s e o f o r i f i c e flow, t h e p r e v a i l i n g p r e s s u r e r a t i o

-
Pu
Pa
f o r c a p i l l a r y flow i s p r a c t i c a l l y always > > I ,when t h e g a s
u
l e a k a g e o u t o f a PuO, c o n t a i n e r i s c o n s i d e r e d . T h e r e f o r e compres-
s i b i l i t y e f f e c t s must be t a k e n f u l l y i n t o a c c o u n t h e r e a l s o .
B a s i c a l l y , a c a p i l l a r y i s a smooth t u b e o r p i p e o f s m a l l i n s i d e
diameter ( i n t h i s case i n t h e order of . 0 0 l W ) . I t i s therefore
most l i k e l y , t h a t t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s which have been d e r i v e d f o r
o r d i n a r y p i p e f l o w , a r e g e n e r a l l y v a l i d a l s o f o r c a p i l l a r y flow.

~ h e s ec o r r e l a t i o n s c a n n o t t o t a l l y b e d e r i v e d from b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s

however, s i n c e t h e y c o n t a i n an e m p i r i c a l ( o r s e m i - e m p i r i c a l ) e l e -

ment, r e f l e c t i n g t h e f r i c t i o n which t h e f l o w e n c o u n t e r s on t h e t u b e 1
walls.
 For i n c o m p r e s s i b l e p i p e flow numerous t e s t s have been p e r -

formed t o d e t e r m i n e t h e f r i c t i o n f a c t o r f o r v a r i o u s f l u i d s and

flow c o n d i t i o n s . The s u b j e c t h a s now been t h o r o u g h l y r e s e a r c h e d

f o r p i p e d i a m e t e r s which a r e of p r a c t i c a l importance (Refs. 36,

37). The main r e s u l t s a r e t h e e x i s t e n c e of two b a s i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t

flow regimes ( l a m i n a r and t u r b u l e n t ) and t h e f a c t t h a t t h e f r i c t i o n

f a c t o r i n b o t h regimes i s a f u n c t i o n of o n l y t h e Reynolds number

and t h e roughness of t h e p i p e s ' i n t e r i o r w a l l s . A s e x p e c t e d , no

s y s t e m a t i c a t t e m p t s were d i s c o v e r e d i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e s e a r c h d e a l i n g

w i t h c a p i l l a r y flow under c o n d i t i o n s t h a t would be of i n t e r e s t f o r

t h i s project. I t can be assumed, however, t h a t t h e g e n e r a l r e l a -

t i o n s f o r p i p e flow can be e x t r a p o l a t e d t o smooth c a p i l l a r y t u b e s .

For c o m p r e s s i b l e flow t h r o u g h p i p e s t h e number o f i n v e s t i g a -

t i o n s - i s much s m a l l e r t h a n f o r t h e i n c o m p r e s s i b l e c a s e . The t h e o r e -

t i c a l d e r i v a t i o n o f flow c o r r e l a t i o n s becomes much more i n v o l v e d ,

and t h e flow r a t e u s u a l l y c a n n o t be e x p r e s s e d any more i n e x p l i c i t

terms. A s i n t h e c a s e of i n c o m p r e s s i b l e p i p e flow, a f r i c t i o n

f a c t o r must be determined e m p i r i c a l l y . However, a s shown i n Ref. 4 0 ,

t h e f r i c t i o n f a c t o r s f o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e and c o m p r e s s i b l e p i p e flow
a r e e s s e n t i a l l y t h e same, f o r t u n a t e l y .

The most s t r i k i n g p r o p e r t y o f c o m p r e s s i b l e flow i s i t s capa-

b i l i t y of becoming choked, i f a c r i t i c a l p r e s s u r e r a t i o tjcrit.
- is

exceeded. T h i s g e n e r a l phenomenon can be p r e d i c t e d on s t r i c t l y

t h e o r e t i c a l grounds and h a s i n f a c t been demonstrated experimen-

t a l l y many t i m e s . I t must be e x p e c t e d , t h a t t h e same choking

 phenomenon w i l l a l s o p r e v a i l i n c a p i l l a r y flow even though no

s p e c i f i c t e s t r e p o r t s towards t h i s end were found i n t h e l i t e r a -

t u r e search. *
The e x a c t v a l u e o f ( 2 ) c r i t a t . which t h e f l o w t h r o u g h t u b e s

becomes choked i s n o t a s e a s i l y determined a s i t i s i n t h e c a s e

of o r i f i c e flow, because i n c a p i l l a r y flow t h e p r e s s u r e d r o p , caused

by f l u i d f r i c t i o n a l o n g t h e t u b e w a l l s , has t o be t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t .

Such p r e s s u r e d r o p i s p r a c t i c a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t f o r flow t h r o u g h a

sharp-edged o r i f i c e . I n s e c t i o n D,c t h e flow r e l a t i o n s f o r compres-

s i b l e c a p i l l a r y flow w i l l be d e r i v e d .

D. B a s i c A n a l y t i c a l Treatment of Leakaue Flows.

I n t h e f o l l o w i n g t h e c o r r e l a t i o n s f o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e and com-

p r e s s i b l e flow o u t of a c o n t a i n e r t h r o u g h v a r i o u s t y p e s of l e a k s

w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d .

A s a f i r s t s t e p , t h e e q u a t i o n s f o r f r i c t i o n l e s s flow t h r o u g h

c i r c u l a r o r i f i c e s w i l l be d e r i v e d from b a s i c p r i n c i p l e s . Then a

c o r r e l a t i o n f o r flow i n p i p e s w i t h f r i c t i o n w i l l be developed. In

p a r t i c u l a r t h e e x p r e s s i o n s f o r choked c o n d i t i o n s w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d

and d i s c u s s e d . The r e s u l t s w i l l e n a b l e u s t o b e t t e r judge u n d e r

what c o n d i t i o n s and w i t h what a c c u r a c y t h e d e r i v e d formulas can be

*Refs. 1 6 , 3 8 and 39 a r e examples o f t h e t y p e of p a p e r s which a r e

available. They normally t r e a t l e a k a g e flows from a t m o s p h e r i c
c o n d i t i o n s i n t o vacuum, b o t h t h e o r e t i c a l l y and e x p e r i m e n t a l l y .
Although t h e y may p r o v i d e v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n on e x p e r i m e n t a l
techniques, p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r very small l e a k s , t h e i r r e s u l t s a r e
n o t d i r e c t l y a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e p r e s e n t problem.
extended t o t h e c a s e s o f l e a k flow t h r o u g h s m a l l openings.
For t h e most common l e a k problems, i n which a t m o s p h e r i c a i r
l e a k s i n t o an e v a c u a t e d c o n t a i n e r , t h e l e a k s a r e u s u a l l y i n a s i z e

range where t h e flow i s l a m i n a r , o r where it may even r e a c h i n t o

t h e m o l e c u l a r range. This g e n e r a l l y s i m p l i f i e s t h e t h e o r e t i c a l

treatment. However, i n t h e problems c o n s i d e r e d h e r e , t h e g a s i s

l e a k i n g from a p r e s s u r i z e d c o n t a i n e r i n t o a t m o s p h e r i c a i r . This
means an i n c r e a s e d d e n s i t y ( p ) of t h e flow and a l s o a h i g h e x i t
wed
v e l o c i t y ve. T h e r e f o r e t h e Re number ( R e = -) f o r t h e leakage
1-I
flow w i l l be much l a r g e r and may i n f a c t r e a c h i n t o t h e t u r b u l e n t

regime f o r many a c t u a l l e a k c o n d i t i o n s . T h i s c o u l d be one of t h e

r e a s o n s why t h e l e a k flows which a r e under s t u d y h e r e , have h a r d l y

been t r e a t e d s o f a r i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e .

Sometimes t h e word " v i s c o u s " flow i s used i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h

l e a k a g e problems. T h i s i s meant t o b e a flow i n which any c o n t r i -

b u t i o n s due t o d i f f u s i o n , m o l e c u l a r , o r t r a n s i t i o n phenomena can

be d i s r e g a r d e d , because t h e y a r e i n s i g n i f i c a n t l y s m a l l i n compari-

son w i t h t h e v i s c o u s f r i c t i o n phenomena. ~ o t hl a m i n a r and t u r b u -

l e n t flows f a l l i n t o t h e c a t e g o r y of v i s c o u s flows.
These remarks p e r t a i n g e n e r a l l y more t o l e a k p a t h s which
resemble l o n g c a p i l l a r y t u b e s r a t h e r t h a n a b r u p t , sharp-edged o r i -
fices. But because of t h e s i m p l i c i t y o f t h e i r t h e o r e t i c a l a s w e l l
a s e x p e r i m e n t a l t r e a t m e n t , o r i f i c e flows w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d h e r e

nevertheless. They w i l l s e r v e a s a g u i d e t o t h e more complex

c a p i l l a r y flows.
a) D i s c u s s i o n o f t h e B a s i c Problem

I n i t s most s i m p l e form t h e l e a k problem c a n b e d e s c r i b e d a s

follows :

A c l o s e d c o n t a i n e r ( F i g u r e 1) i s f i l l e d w i t h a p e r f e c t g a s

a t a p r e s s u r e and t e m p e r a t u r e p and To. The c o n t a i n e r w a l l o f

0

t h e t h i c k n e s s R h a s a s i n g l e smooth c y l i n d r i c a l h o l e o f d i a m e t e r d ,

c o n n e c t i n g t o t h e o u t s i d e , which i s assumed t o b e u n d e r a m b i e n t

conditions, and Ta < To.

Pa < '0

F i g u r e 1. I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f Flow C o n d i t i o n s by S u b s c r i p t s .
( I f t h e upstream c o n d i t i o n (u) i s a t zero v e l o c i t y ,
it i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by s u b s c r i p t ( 0 ) ; i f t h e down-
stream c o n d i t i o n ( d ) i s a t a m b i e n t temp. and p r e s -
.
s u r e it i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by s u b s c r i p t ( a ) )

The v a r i a b l e p a r a m e t e r s i n t h i s c a s e a r e 2 , d , po and To If

R < < d , t h e l e a k c a n be c o n s i d e r e d an o r i f i c e l e a k . I f R >> d , t h e .

l e a k can be c o n s i d e r e d a t u b u l a r l e a k . I f R i s o f t h e same o r d e r

o f m a g n i t u d e a s d (R=d) t h e o p e n i n g i s a " t h i c k o r i f i c e " ( R e f . 3 4 )

which w i l l d e v i a t e i n i t s b e h a v i o r f r o m t h a t o f a t r u e o r i f i c e

( R < < d ) . The a b s o l u t e v a l u e o f d w i l l a l w a y s b e c o n s i d e r e d l a r g e

compared t o t h e mean f r e e p a t h A o f t h e g a s . T h i s means t h a t mole-

c u l a r a n d t r a n s i t i o n f l o w c a n b e e x c l u d e d from t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s .

The p r e s s u r e r a t i o po/pa w i l l p r i m a r i l y d e t e r m i n e t h e f l o w

character, e.g. whether t h e flow can be considered laminar o r t u r -

b u l e n t , c o m p r e s s i b l e o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e , choked o r non-choked etc.

The t e m p e r a t u r e r a t i o T ~ / T , w i l l p r i m a r i l y d e t e r m i n e t h e v i s c o s i t y

o f t h e gas. I t i s assumed t h a t t h e c o n t a i n e r w a l l s a r e a l w a y s i n

thermal equilibrium with t h e gas i n s i d e t h e container, i.e., the

w a l l s a r e a l w a y s a t To.

F o r t h e p u r p o s e o f t h e p r e s e n t r e p o r t , t h e i n t e r n a l volume o f

t h e v e s s e l may c o n v e n i e n t l y b e c o n s i d e r e d i n f i n i t e , s i n c e o n l y

s t a t i o n a r y e v e n t s w i l l be t r e a t e d i n i t i a l l y .

I t i s a l s o assumed t h a t t h e c r o s s s e c t i o n a l s h a p e o f t h e l e a k s

i s always c i r c u l a r and does n o t change i n s i z e a l o n g t h e l e a k p a t h .

The w a l l s o f t h e l e a k p a t h a r e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e smooth. These a.re,

o f c o u r s e , q u i t e r e s t r i c t i v e a s s u m p t i o n s which may h a r d l y e v e r h o l d

t r u e f o r a r e a l leak path. But i n o r d e r t o k e e p t h e p r o b l e m t h e o r e -

t i c a l l y t r a c t a b l e , t h e y h a v e t o b e imposed.

b) Flow ~ h r o u a hO r i f i c e s

I t i s assumed t h a t a c l o s e d c o n t a i n e r i s f i l l e d w i t h an i d e a l

gas a t a pressure p
0
, a d e n s i t y P o and a t e m p e r a t u r e To. The c c n -

t a i n e r i s l a r g e enough s o t h a t t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s c a n b e c o n s i d e r e 2

steady ( o r a t l e a s t quasi-steady) e v e n t h c u g h some g a s f l o w s o u t

 through a c i r c u l a r o r i f i c e . The o u t s i d e c o n d i t i o n s ( p a , p a , Ta)

a r e ambient. S i n c e it c a n n o t be e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e c o n d i t i o n s i n
t h e e x i t p l a n e a r e i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e ambient c o n d i t i o n s , t h e

e x i t c o n d i t i o n s w i l l be i d e n t i f i e d a s p e t pe and Te. The f l o w

a r e a s i n t h e e x i t p l a n e i s Ae and t h e v e l o c i t y ve.

I n o r d e r t o d e t e r m i n e ve, t h e e n e r g y e q u a t i o n f o r an i d e a l

g a s w i t h c o n s t a n t s p e c i f i c h e a t s w i l l be u t i l i z e d . The e n t h a l p y
difference i
o
- i i s r e l a t e d t o ve i n t h e f o l l o w i n g way:
e

I f t h e flow t h r o u g h t h e o r i f i c e i s a d i a b a t i c and w i t h o u t f r i c t i o n
t h e i s e n t r o p i c gas r e l a t i o n holds*:

C
i n which y i s t h e r a t i o of s p e c i f i c h e a t s &. CI
v
F o r an i d e a l gas: To - -
Po C
and -P- - Y
poR R

W e therefore obtain

For s m a l l p r e s s u r e d i f f e r e n c e s a c r o s s t h e o r i f i c e ( i . e . 1 - - <<I)
Pe
the e x i t pressure p i s p r a c t i c a l l y e q u a l t o t h e ambient p r e s s u r e
e
( pe
t p a ) and t h e e q u a t i o n f o r ve w i l l reduce t o t h e w e l l known

formula f o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e o r i f i c e flow

*For f l o w t h r o u g h an o r i f i c e f r i c t i o n and h e a t t r a n s f e r can u s u a l l y

be n e g l e c t e d (which h a s been e x p e r i m e n t a l l y v e r i f i e d ) . , T h i s i s n o t
t r u e , however, f o r c a p i l l a r y flow. See below.
 O r i f t h e mass flow Q = Aevepe i s e x p r e s s e d , we o b t a i n . b y . d r o p p i n g

t h e s u b s c r i p t s and i n t r o d u c i n g a c o r r e c t i o n f a c t o r a :

The f a c t o r a i s i n t h e o r d e r of one and w i l l t a k e c a r e of two d i f -

f e r e n t approximations: 1) t h e r e a l flow i s n e v e r c o m p l e t e l y f r e e

o f f r i c t i o n and 2 ) t h e g e o m e t r i c a r e a i s u s u a l l y l a r g e r t h a n t h e

e f f e c t i v e flow a r e a ( b e c a u s e of boundary l a y e r e f f e c t s ) . There-

f o r e t h e f a c t o r a i s u s u a l l y s m a l l e r t h a n 1 and must g e n e r a l l y be

determined e m p i r i c a l l y . I t forms p a r t o f b o t h t h e i n c o m p r e s s i b l e

and c o m p r e s s i b l e o r i f i c e flow e q u a t i o n .

E q u a t i o n ( 3 ) must t h e r e f o r e be w r i t t e n :

(6) e

By u s i n g t h e a d i a b a t i c r e l a t i o n -- t h e mass flow i s t h e n
Po
e x p r e s s e d by

This equation has general v a l i d i t y not only i n t h e cross-section

a t t h e e x i t ( i d e n t i f i e d by s u b s c r i p t 3 ) , b u t a t any c r o s s s e c t i o n a l

a r e a w i t h i n t h e flow ( a s 10115 a s t h e v e l o c i t y v e c t o r i s normal t o

* T h i s e q u a t i o n f o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e o r i f i c e flow h a s l i t t l e s i g n i f i -
c a n c e f o r t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n and w i l l t h e r e f o r e n o t be used any
further.
this area). B y d r o p p i n g s u b s c r i p t e we can w r i t e i n a b b r e v i a t e d

form:

(8)

I n t h i s form $ c o n t a i n s t h e dependence of t h e flow on y and on t h e

p r e s s u r e r a t i o , whereas t h e r e s t of t h e e q u a t i o n depends on t h e

conditions inside the container. I f $ i s drawn up a s f u n c t i o n o f

p/po f o r a g i v e n y ( s e e F i g u r e 2 ) , a curve w i t h a d i s t i n c t maxi-

mum r e s u l t s . T h i s maximum o c c u r s f o r

F i g u r e 2.
and has t h e value of

T h i s means t h a t f o r t h e same p r e s s u r e r a t i o ( i . e . t h e same $ ) t h e

o u t f l o w o f a c e r t a i n g a s depends o n l y on t h e s t a g n a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s

i n the vessel. With p/p = RT ( f o r i d e a l g a s e s ) t h e mass f l o w Q i s

and w i t h t h e same po t h e m a s s f l o w d e c r e a s e s w i t h t e m p e r a t u r e

p r o p o r t i o n a l t o 1/
G
T

S i n c e f o r s t e a d y f l o w A$ = c o n s t a n t w i l l h o l d f o r a l l c r o s s

sectional areas, the function must i n c r e a s e as t h e f l o w a p p r o a c h e s

t h e e x i t o r o r i f i c e o f t h e c o n t a i n e r (see F i g u r e 1 ) . But a c c o r d i n g

t o F i g u r e 2 , $ w i l l i n c r e a s e w i t h d e c r e a s i n g p (po i s assumed t o

b e c o n s t a n t ) o n l y u n t i l i t r e a c h e s i t s maximum $
max
, no m a t t e r how
f a r t h e p r e s s u r e p i s l o w e r e d beyond t h i s p o i n t .

F o r a i r w i t h a y = 1 . 4 t h e maximum v a l u e of $ i s qmax = 0.484

a t a c r i t i c a l p r e s s u r e r a t i o o f pc/po = 0.53. I f p/po i s decreased

below t h i s v a l u e , $ w i l l remain c o n s t a n t a t i t s maximum v a l u e , and

t h e p r e s s u r e a t t h e e x i t w i l l s t a r t t o r i s e above t h e ambient p r e s -

s u r e pa i n s u c h a way, t h a t t h e pe/p, r a t i o remains a t i t s c r i t i c a l

v a l u e pc/p0.
T h i s means a s l o n g as pa 2 pc, t h e e x i t p r e s s u r e pe e s s e n t i a l l y
e q u a l s pa and e q u a t i o n ( 6 ) becomes
and e q u a t i o n ( 7 ) becomes

If Pa = PC, t h e c r i t i c a l e x i t v e l o c i t y v becomes
C

Or, i f w e assume a d i a b a t i c f l o w w i t h 20/p: Y

= pc/pc, t h i s equation

becomes

This p a r t i c u l a r v e l o c i t y t u r n s o u t t o be equal t o t h e s o n i c v e l o c i t y

i n t h e s x i t flow. ~ h u si t i s shown t h a t , when t h e f l o w r e a c h e s

c r i t i c a l conditions a t the e x i t , its e x i t velocity equals the sonic

v e l o c i t y ; o r i n o t h e r words: f o r c r i t i c a l o r choked f l o w s t h e

Mach number e q u a l s one.

I f pa < pc, t h e e x i t v e l o c i t y w i t h i n t h e o r i f i c e ( o r t h r o a t )

k r i l l remain s o n i c ( v = v c ) . The mass f l o w f o r s u c h c o n d i t i o n s

e
w i l l be

(17)

F o r o n e p a r t i c u l a r case o f l e a k a g e o u t o f t h e - p r e s s u r i z e d v e s s e l

( p o & 1000 p s i ) t h e m a s s f l o w r a t e c a n be computed w i t h t h i s l a s t

e q u a t i o n , s i n c e p r a c t i c a l l y always p The f l o w r a t e d e p e n d s
a < pc.
on t h e t y p e o f g a s s i n c e y and t h u s +max may be d i f f e r e n t f o r d i f -

f e r e n t gases. F o r a i r (y= 1 . 4 ) Qmax i s 0.484 and f o r h e l i u m (y=1.66)

i s 0.515.
+,ax
Numerical example:

Compute t h e l e a k a g e flow t h r o u g h a 1 0 0 pm diam. o r i f i c e o u t o f

a l a r g e v e s s e l , c o n t a i n i n g helium a t po = 1 0 0 0 p s i (r 70 atm) and

To = 1030°F z 810 K , i n t o ambient a i r . The p r e s s u r e r a t i o po/pa > > 2,

t h e r e f o r e a c c o r d i n g t o e q u a t i o n ( 1 7 ) t h e mass flow Q i s

$,ax = 0.515 f o r h e l i u m

IT
A =, x 1o-%I2

F o r l a c k o f a c c u r a t e e m p i r i c a l d a t a on a , i t i s assumed t h a t a = 1.

Po = 70 a t n = 70 kg/cm2

g = 1 0 m/sec2

Po must be d e r i v e d from To = 810 K w i t h t h e a i d o f t h e i d e a l g a s

e q u a t i o n po = po/RTo. The-individual gas constant R f o r helium i s

0.0205 !?, a t m / g r a m O ~ . Thus

7 0 atm g r a F o o = 4 . 2 1 gram/!?,
Po
-
. R atm 8 0

Since t h e helium d e n s i t y a t s t a n d a r d atmospheric c o n d i t i o n s i s

pa = 0.178 gram/R, t h e above f l o w r a t e c a n a l s o be e x p r e s s e d i n

s t a n d a r d cm3/sec.

Q = 0.031 gram/sec = 1 7 3 s t . cm3/sec

I f a l e a k r a t e of lo-' s t cm3/sec i s c o n s i d e r e d n e g l i g i b l e ( i . e .
w i t h such a low l e a k r a t e t h e v e s s e l i s c o n s i d e r e d l e a k t i g h t f o r
a l l p r a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s ) , it means t h a t t h e j u s t computed l e a k r a t e

i s 9 o r d e r s o f magnitude l a r g e r t h a n t h e a l l o w a b l e l i m i t .
c) Flow i n C a ~ i l l a r vTubes

A s mentioned b e f o r e , t h e g a s p r e s s u r e s i n t h e PuO, l e a k prob-

l e m a r e u s u a l l y s o h i g h t h a t any c o n t r i b u t i o n s due t o m o l e c u l a r
flow c a n be e n t i r e l y d i s r e g a r d e d . For c a p i l l a r y f l o w , t h e r e f o r e ,
o n l y v i s c o u s ( i . e . l a m i n a r and t u r b u l e n t ) c o m p r e s s i b l e and incom-
p r e s s i b l e f l o w s need t o be c o n s i d e r e d . Among t h e s e t h e l a m i n a r

i n c o m p r e s s i b l e f l o w i s t h e most s i m p l e t o t r e a t a n a l y t i c a l l y , f o l -
lowed by t h e t u r b u l e n t i n c o m p r e s s i b l e flow. These two c a s e s w i l l

t h e r e f o r e be t r e a t e d f i r s t .
1) Laminar i n c o m p r e s s i b l e f l o w t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s .

The H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e flow e q u a t i o n d e t e r m i n e s t h e l a m i n a r flow

v e l o c i t y v a s f u n c t i o n o f t h e p r e v a i l i n g p r e s s u r e d i f f e r e n c e Ap.

where r = r a d i u s o f t h e c a p i l l a r y t u b e

R = length of the c a p i l l a r y tube

p = v i s c o s i t y of t h e f l u i d .

v i s c o n s i d e r e d an a v e r a g e v e l o c i t y o v e r t h e c r o s s - s e c t i o n a l area
Tr2 of t h e c i r c u l a r tube. The mass Q f l o w t h r o u g h t h e t u b e i s

therefore

where d = d i a m e t e r o f t h e t u b e

pu = p r e s s u r e a t u p s t r e a m end of t u b e
pd = p r e s s u r e a t downstream end of t u b e
Since f o r gases t h e density is proportional t o t h e pressure, t h e

d e n s i t y a t t h e t u b e i n l e t would be l a r g e r t h a n a t t h e t u b e o u t l e t .

T h e r e f o r e a medium d e n s i t y i s u s u a l l y u s e d i n t h e H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e

flow e q u a t i o n f o r g a s e s .

T h i s medium d e n s i t y i s d e r i v e d from t h e i s o t h e r m a l g a s equa-

t i o n p = p/RT, where T i s t h e a b s o l u t e t e m p e r a t u r e and R t h e u n i -

v e r s a l gas constant. With l/P.T = c o n s t a n t , t h e medium d e n s i t y p

is therefore

By s u b s t i t u t i n g i n t o e q u a t i o n ( 1 9 ) w e a r r i v e a t

For O°C w i t h t h e mass flow Q r a t e i n g r a m / s e c , t h e p r e s s u r e s i n atmo-

p h e r e s , t h e d i a m e t e r d and l e n g t h R of t h e c a p i l l a r y t u b e i n cm

and t h e v i s c o s i t y )-I o f t h e g a s i n c e n t i p o i s e t h e e q u a t i o n becomes

where m i s t h e m o l e c u l a r weight o f t h e g a s i n grams.

S i n c e 1 mol ( m gram) o f any i d e a l g a s a t ambient c o n d i t i o n s

t a k e s up a volume of 22400 cm3, t h e v o l u m e t r i c flow r a t e i n s t a n d a r d

cm3/sec can be o b t a i n e d by m u l t i p l y i n g t h i s e q u a t i o n by 22400 cm3/

m gram. I n such a form it i s q u o t e d i n Ref. (20) a s

 w i t h L i n atm cm3/sec
p i n centipoise

d and R i n cm

p i n atm
The H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e e q u a t i o n f o r l a m i n a r flow t h r o u g h p i p e s

h a s been v e r i f i e d t o b e c o r r e c t a s l o n g a s t h e v e l o c i t y p r o f i l e i n

t h e p i p e i s p a r a b o l i c and t h e v e l o c i t y i t s e l f r e m a i n s s m a l l ( s a y
l e s s t h a n 3 0 % ) o f t h e l o c a l sound v e l o c i t y . T h i s means t h a t e n t r a n c e
e f f e c t s must be n e g l i g i b l e and t h e p r e s s u r e r a t i o must n o t

be l a r g e r t h a n a b o u t 1 . 5 . For l a r g e r p r e s s u r e r a t i o s * compressibi-
l i t y e f f e c t s must be t a k e n f u l l y i n t o a c c o u n t . The f a c t t h a t i n
t h e above H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e e q u a t i o n f o r g a s f l o w s a medium d e n s i t y .
i s i n t r o d u c e d , merely r e p r e s e n t s a l i n e a r a p p r o x i m a t i o n o f t h e
c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y e f f e c t which i s s u f f i - c i e n t f o r s m a l l Mach number

flows ( s a y f o r l1 < 0 . 3 ) o n l y . It i s unfortunate t h a t hardly ever

a warning i s a t t a c h e d t o t h e H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e flow e q u a t i o n t h a t
it becomes less and l e s s a c c u r a t e w i t h i n c r e a s i n g flow v e l o c i t i e s ,
even i f t h e flow remains l a m i n a r , a s i t would e . g . i n narrow c a p i -

llaries.
2) T u r b u l e n t i n c o m p r e s s i b l e flow t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s
I f t h e Reynolds number R e = v d p / ~ o f t h e f l o w t h r o u g h a p i p e
( t h a t i n c l u d e s a l s o c a p i l l a r y t u b e s ) becomes l a r g e r t h a n a b o u t 2000

t h e l a m i n a r flow b r e a k s up i n t o t u r b u l e n t f l o w and t h e H a g e n - P o i s e u i l l e

* I n t h e p r e s e n t i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f t h e PuO, l e a k problem t h e p r e s s u r e .
r a t i o s a r e p r a c t i c a l l y always l a r g e r t h a n 1.5.
e q u a t i o n can no l o n g e r b e a p p l i e d . For such c a s e s e q u a t i o n s w i t h

e m p i r i c a l c o n s t a n t s i n t h e form o f d i m e n s i o n l e s s f r i c t i o n f a c t o r s f

must be u s e d i n s t e a d (see F i g u r e 3 ) . I n numerous t e s t s i t h a s been

shown t h a t t h e p r e s s u r e d r o p f o r f l o w of t h e medium v e l o c i t y v

t h r o u g h a p i p e ( d i a m e t e r d and l e n g t h R ) c a n c o v e n i e n t l y be e x p r e s s e d

a s follows:

The mass f l o w Q = pvA c a n t h e n b e d e t e r m i n e d w i t h t h e a i d o f t h i s

e x p r e s s i o n by

With f = -
64
Re
for l a m i n a r f l o w t h i s e q u a t i o n c o n v e r t s t o t h e Hagen-

Poiseuille equation (19).

A s i n t h e c a s e f o r l a m i n a r f l o w (see a b o v e ) t h e medium d e n s i t y

c o u l d a g a i n b e e x p r e s s e d by

m f o r O°C
w i t h c o n s t = 1/RT =
22.4 R a t m

Thus w e a r r i v e a t

If d and R a r e g i v e n i n c m a n d p i n atm, Q w i l l be o S t a i n e d a t O°C

i n gram/sec by t h e f o l l o w i n g e q u a t i o n :
T 1
(27) Q ( g r a m / s e c ) = 5,254- m = mol. w e i g h t o f g a s
i n grams
I 1

This is t h e equivalent t u r b u l e n t version of equation ( 2 2 ) .

By m u l t i p l y i n g t h i s e q u a t i o n w i t h 22400 cm3/mol w e a r r i v e a t
 5
(28) Q ( s t cm3/sec) = . I 1 8 x 106\j& (p: - pi)

with:

d and R i n cm
p i n atm

m i n gram
U n f o r t u n a t e l y it must be e x p e c t e d t h a t i n most c a s e s o f l e a k f l o w

o u t of h i g h l y p r e s s u r i z e d c o n t a i n e r t h e r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e e q u a t i o n s

( 2 3 ) and ( 2 8 ) f o r i n c o m p r e s s i b l e l a m i n a r and t u r b u l e n t f l o w a r e
seldom a p p l i c a b l e . Rather t h e r e l a t i o n s f o r compressible flow, t o

be t r e a t e d i n t h e n e x t s e c t i o n , a r e more a p p r o p r i a t e .

3) Compressible f l o w t h r o u g h c a p i l l a r y t u b e s
G e n e r a l l y c o m p r e s s i b i l i t y e f f e c t s become i m p o r t a n t ( d e n s i t y
changes become g r e a t e r t h a n lo%), i f t h e gas v e l o c i t y approaches

about 1 / 2 of i t s s o n i c v e l o c i t y , i . e . i f t h e f l o w Mach number

approaches 0.5. F o r s u c h c a s e s g a s dynamics e q u a t i o n s must be sub-

s t i t u t e d f o r t h e more s i m p l e e q u a t i o n s o f o r d i n a r y i n c o m p r e s s i b l e
f l u i d mechanics.

Figure 4.

The e q u a t i o n f o r t h e p r e s s u r e d r o p f o r c o m p r e s s i b l e g a s f l o w

t h r o u g h a t u b e can b e d e r i v e d a s f o l l o w s :

Under t h e assumption t h a t t h e flow i s s t e a d y and Newtonian

i n c h a r a c t e r and t h a t g r a v i t a t i o n a l f o r c e s a r e n e g l i g i b l e , t h e p r e s -
s u r e d r o p dp t h r o u g h a flow e l e m e n t o f t h e l e n g t h dx i s g i v e n by

an a c c e l e r a t i o n and by a f r i c t i o n term ( F i g u r e 4 ) .

The a c c e l e r a t i o n term c a n be d e t e r m i n e d by t h e e n e r g y equa-

t i o n (usually c a l l e d Bernoulli l s e q u a t i o n i n f l u i d dynamics) which

states that

o r i n d i f f e r e n t i a l form:

T h e r e f o r e t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n term i n e q u a t i o n ( 2 9 ) can be sub-

s t i t u t e d by:

The p r e s s u r e l o s s due t o f r i c t i o n c a n n o t be d e r i v e d from a

s i m i l a r l y fundamental e q u a t i o n , b u t must be e x p r e s s e d w i t h t h e a i d
of an e m p i r i c a l l y found r e l a t i o n .
When it i s assumed t h a t dpf i s p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e dynamic
p r e s s u r e p v 2 of t h e f l o w , t o t h e l e n g t h of t h e t u b e s e c t i o n dx and,
T .

i n v e r s e l y proportional t o i t s diameter d , then a p r o p o r t i o n a l i t y

f a c t o r f c a n be d e f i n e d by

f i s t h e common f r i c t i o n f a c t o r f o r p i p e s , which i s u s u a l l y

c i t e d i n e n g i n e e r i n g handbooks.

F i g u r e 3 shows f a s f u n c t i o n of R e (Ref. 3 6 ) .
 Thus t h e e q u a t i o n f o r t h e p r e s s u r e l o s s i n p i p e f l o w c a n be
w r i t t e n i n t h e f o l l o w i n g form

(34) -Q --
P
v
v
2 + ~f -
v2
2d
d~

O t h e r b a s i c a l l y e q u i v a l e n t f o r m s o f t h i s e q u a t i o n c a n be f o u n d i n

the literature.
I n o r d e r t o make t h e e q u a t i o n more a d a p t a b l e t o t h e l e a k a g e

p r o b l e m it c a n b e m o d i f i e d i n t h e f o l l o w i n g way:

Because o f t h e s m a l l c r o s s - s e c t i o n o f a c a p i l l a r y l e a k h o l e ,
it c a n b e assumed t h a t t h e f l o w i s e s s e n t i a l l y i s o t h e r m a l , i . e .

it i s a l w a y s i n t h e r m a l e q u i l i b r i u m w i t h t h e w a l l s o f t h e t u b e .

For such isothermal flow t h e c o n t i n u i t y e q u a t i o n is a p p l i c a b l e a t

a n y p o i n t a l o n g t h e c o n s t a n t area t u b e . With p v = c o n s t o r

P
+
v
= 0 it c a n b e w r i t t e n as:

A t t h i s p o i n t it i s c o n v e n i e n t t o i n t r o d u c e t h e Mach number M , since

t h e flow i s considered t o be compressible. F o r isothermal f l o w M

i s d e f i n e d as (Refs. 1 8 , 1 9 ) :

Hence

I t i s g e n e r a l l y assumed (see Ref. 40) t h a t t h e f r i c t i o n f a c t o r

d e p e n d s on t h e R e y n o l d s number o n l y , a n d t h a t it i s e s s e n t i a l l y

i n d e p e n d e n t o f Mach number. S i n c e i n t h e case o f i s o t h e r m a l f l o w ,

c o n s i d e r e d h e r e , R e i s c o n s t a n t , t h e e q u a t i o n ( 3 4 ) can be i n t e -
grated,

A f t e r d i v i s i o n by v 2

-- -
S i n c e dv
v
dM
M
( s e e above)

After carrying out the integration:

A s it can be assumed t h a t f o r most p r a c t i c a l c a s e s t h e f l o w w i l l

be choked a t t h e e x i t ( i . e . Mn = 1) one o b t a i n s :

I t h a s t o b e remembered t h a t t h i s e q u a t i o n i s v a l i d o n l y f o r i s o -

t h e r m a l flow. I f t h e flow i s p o l y t r o p i c t h e r i g h t s i d e o f t h e
2
e q u a t i o n must be m u l t i p l i e d by m, where n i s t h e p o l y t r o p i c
e x p o n e n t which c a n v a r y between 1 and y . For n = y t h e f l o w i s
adiabatic.
Since t h e f r i c t i o n f a c t o r f is not a constant but a function
o f v e l o c i t y , an a d d i t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p i s r e q u i r e d b e f o r e e q u a t i o n -
(42) can be solved. For l a m i n a r f l o w f can be e x p r e s s e d e x p l i c i t e l y

a s a f u n c t i o n o f R e number: f = R e'
-
6 4 but f o r t u r b u l e n t flow empirical

r e l a t i o n s h i p s ( a s shown i n F i g u r e 3 ) must b e u s e d . In e i t h e r case,

 e q u a t i o n ( 4 2 ) remains a t r a n s c e d e n t a l e q u a t i o n which must be s o l v e d

n u m e r i c a l l y e . g . g r a p h i c a l l y * , by i t e r a t i o n o r computer.

The s o l u t i o n o f e q u a t i o n ( 4 2 ) i s o b t a i n e d most c o n v e n i e n t l y

by g r a p h i c a l means.

For given c o n d i t i o n s of p
0
, To, d , R and t y p e of g a s t h e r e l a -

t i o n s h i p £(Mi), a s e x p r e s s e d by e q u a t i o n ( 4 2 ) , c a n be drawn a s a

s i n g l e c u r v e (1) i n F i g u r e 5. I n s t e a d of u s i n g Mi directly i n the

M, c 2d
I 1
abscissa, t h e variable Rei =
v
i s chosen. Drawn i n t o t h e same

f i g u r e i s a second s e t o f c u r v e s ( 2 ) which r e p r e s e n t t h e e m p i r i c a l

r e l a t i o n s h i p s £ ( R e ) a s t a k e n from F i g u r e 3. The i n t e r s e c t i n g .
p o i n t s of t h e c u r v e s r e p r e s e n t s o l u t i o n s o f e q u a t i o n ( 4 2 ) f o r t h e

s e l e c t e d c o n d i t i o n s ( H e l i u m a t po = 70 atm, To = 1 0 0 0 ~( 5~3 8 O ~ ) ,
E
d = 1 0 0 pm, 3 -- .05, R = 1 cm). I n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r c a s e it amounts

to: f = .077 and R e a 4300 w i t h t h e Mach number Mi at the inlet

of t h e c a p i l l a r y b e i n g 0.30. The i n l e t v e l o c i t y vi would be

387 m/sec. The mass flow Q ( g / s e c ) c o u l d be computed from

d2
Q = PiVi 4 n. F o r t h e g i v e n c o n d i t i o n s one o b t a i n s : (pi = po,
Q = .0128 gram/sec o r 71 s t cm3/sec.
w i t h i n 1%)

These f i g u r e s a r e based on t h e assumption t h a t t h e i n t e r n a l

r e l a t i v e roughness aE o f t h e c a p i l l a r y i s a b o u t 0.05, i.e. irregu-

l a r i t i e s o f t h e w a l l amount t o 5 pm i n t h e 1 0 0 pm d i a m e t e r

capillary. With a p e r f e c t l y smooth c a p i l l a r y ( f 2 0.036 and

Re 2 5600) t h e flow r a t e would b e a b o u t 30% l a r g e r , i . e . a b o u t

93 s t cm3/sec. T h i s would be an upper l i m i t f o r t h e flow. It

*Examples o f g r a p h i c a l s o l u t i o n s f o r c o m p r e s s i b l e p i p e flow a r e g i v e n
i n Refs. 4 1 and 4 2 . However, s i n c e t h e g r a p h s a r e i n t e n d e d t o be
v e r y g e n e r a l , it t a k e s c o n s i d e r a b l e e f f o r t t o become s u f f i c i e n t l y
f a m i l i a r w i t h them, b e f o r e t h e y can be used w i t h c o n f i d e n c e .
is more likely, however, that the flow would be even smaller than
the 71 st cm3/sec computed above, since it would be rather diffi-
cult in praxis to produce an internal smoothness as good as 5 pm.
Quite apart from a manufacturing viewpoint it might be even harder
to ascertain by measurements what the actual smoothness really is.
Thus it must be expected that the reliability of any numerical
flow rate predictions for capillaries is usually affected by a
rather high error margin. This situation is further aggravated
by the fact that it is even quite difficult to fabricate or
accurately measure capillary tubes of a specified constant diameter.
But since the diameter enters in the above equation with its
fourth power, a small uncertainty in the diameter (say of 15%),
would cause a rather significant uncertainty (75%) in the computed
flow rate.
Therefore a much larger discrepancy between measured experi-
mental values and their theoretical predictions must be expected
for capillary flows than for flow through small orifices of the
same diameter. An uncertainty factor in the neighborhood of 2
appears not to be unreasonable at all.

E. Application to Pu02 Leak Problems.

This report has derived various equations for leak flow through
small passageways. Which of these equations is applicable for
determining the gas leak rate of the Pu02 container in a fire,
depends mainly on:
a) the internal conditions in the container (type of gas,
its pressure and temperature)
b) the geometry (size and shape) of the leak.
 The internal conditions, which develop during a fire can best
A

be determined by tests. Presumably this has been done, since it

has been established that peak pressures are expected to be around
1000 psi and peak temperatures around 1700°F. The composition of
the gas is known to be a mixture of helium and water vapor.
The geometry of the leak has a decisive influence on the leak
rate since the flow may increase under certain conditions with the
fourth power of the diameter. A direct measurement of the size and
shape of the leak hole is practically impossible. Therefore it
must be determined indirectly by the following procedure: If the
leak rate is measured under well known internal and external con-
ditions, the diameter of the leak hole could be computed with equa-
tion (17), if it is assumed that the leak hole is a sharp-edged
circular orifice. Or, if it is assumed that leak were a straight,
smooth capillary tube of a certain length, then the diameter of
the tube could be determined with the aid of equations (22) or (27).
Which of these equations is applicable in a particular case, depends
on the Mach and Reynolds numbers of the flow. E-g. if the incom-

pressible flow equation is used first and yields an exit flow velo-
city with M > 0.5, the compressible flow equation should be used
instead.
Since by such an approach under certain arbitrary assumptions .
the diameter of the leak hole becomes known, it is then possible
to determine analytically, what the leak rate would be under the
assumed fire conditions, provided the leak hole size and shape does
not change with temperature.
 Admittedly, the arbitrariness of the assumptions in regards
to the leak hole geometry is a serious drawback in this approach.
The only definitive assertion, which can be made, is a statement
on the maximum possible leak rate, which would result if the leak
were assumed to be an orifice. One could then state: Under no
circumstances will the leakage from the container be larger than
the rate computed for an orifice leak. (For the same internal
conditions, the leak rate through an orifice is always larger than
the leak rate through a capillary of the same diameter, since the
capillary generates frictional losses, which are not present in
strict orifice flow).
This kind of approach may not be entirely satisfactory, how-
ever, since it could easily overestimate the actual leakage flow,
possibly by one or two orders of magnitude. In order to improve
on the approach, it appears possible to take flow measurements at
various conditions (e.g. by changing the Ap across the leak hole),
so that a whole series of test points could be generated through
which a curve could then be drawn. This would allow to make a more
reliable extrapolation of the leak flow rate to the anticipated
fire conditions.
 LIST OF REFERENCES

A. G u t h r i e , R. K. Wakerling; Vacuum Equipment and T e c h n i q u e s .

M c G r a w - H i l l , N e w York (1949) .
R. N. Bloomer, Leaks, Vacuum -
1 3 , pp 231-238 (1973).

N. O c h e r t , W. S t e c k e l m a c h e r ; The Flow C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f
C a p i l l a r y Leaks. B r i t . J. o f Appl. Phys. 2, pp 332-333 ( 1 9 5 1 ) .

G. Burrows; Flow Through and Blockage o f C a p i l l a r y Leaks.

-
T r a n s . I n s t n . Chem. Engrs. 39, pp 55-63 ( 1 9 6 1 ) .

J. R. M i l l e r , R. W. P e t e r s o n ; C a l i b r a t i o n o f S t a n d a r d L e a k s ,
Instr. and C o n t r o l Systems 42, pp 127-129 (May 1 9 6 9 ) .

J. R. M i l l e r ; A Thermally S h i e l d e d Atmospheric P r e s s u r e
S t a n d a r d Leak C a l i b r a t o r .
(1973).
-
J. V a c . S c i . Technol. 1 0 , pp 882-889

J. W. Graham; G a s Leakage i n S e a l e d Systems. Chem. Engr -

71,
pp 169-174 (May 11, 1964) .
C. A. Mann; Leak T e s t i n g , Non-destr.
(1968).
-
T e s t i n g 1, pp 237-241

D. A. Howl, C. A. Mann; The B a c k - p r e s s u r i n g ~ e c h n i ~ uo fe

Leak-Testing. -
Vacuum 1 5 , pp 347-352 (1965) .
J . L. Murgatroyd; Leak-Rate D e t e r m i n a t i o n Using Krypton 85.
~ E E ET r a n s . on I n s t r . and Meas. I M 21, pp 41-48 ( 1 9 7 2 ) .

11. J. B i r a m , G. Burrows; Bubble T e s t s f o r Gas T i g h t n e s s , Vacuum -

14,
pp 221-226 ( 1 9 6 4 ) .

12. W. W. H u l t z e n a n , L. N . Krause; Porous Leak E v a l u a t i o n and

A p p l i c a t i o n t o C a l i b r a t i o n o f a High P r e s s u r e I o n Gage. J.
-
V a c . S c i . Technol. 11, pp 889-891 ( 1 9 7 4 ) .

13. P. F. B e r r y , J. F. Cameron; Measurement o f Leaks i n H e r m e t i -

c a l l y S e a l e d C o n t a i n e r s u s i n g 85 K r . AERE-R3704 ( 1 9 6 2 ) .

14. R. T. R a t c l i f f e ; The L o c a t i o n , Measurement and Assessment of

Shape o f Leaks by Bubble mission. B r i t . J. Appl. Phys. - 15,
pp 79-83 ( 1 9 6 4 ) .

15. R. J. Roehrs; Leak T e s t i n g o f Welded V e s s e l s . P r o c . 1967

Symp. on N o n - d e s t r u c t i v e T e s t i n g o f Welds. pp 318-369.

16. A. Nerken; E x p e r i m e n t s on Flow o f Gases ~ h r o u g h~ e a k s ,pp 1 - 4 ,

T r a n s . o f 1956 Nat. Symp; on Vacuum Tech., Pergamon P r e s s ,
N e w York 1956.
S. Dushman; S c i e n t i f i c Foundations o f Vacuum Techniques.
J. Wiley, N e w York ( 1 9 6 2 ) .

T. C. C h i v e r s , L . A. M i t c h e l l ; On t h e L i m i t i n q V e l o c i t y
Through p a r a l l e l Bore Tubes. - J . Phys. D. 4 , - pp 1069-1076
(1971).

T. C. C h i v e r s e t a l ; Compressible Gas Flow Through I d e a l i z e d

Cracks o f Large Aspect R a t i o . RD/B/N 3345 ( 1 9 7 5 ) .

ANSI S t a n d a r d N14.5, S t a n d a r d f o r Leakage T e s t s on Packages

f o r Shipment o f R a d i o a c t i v e M a t e r i a l s . (1974) .
W. J. K e a r t o n , T. Keh; Leakage o f A i r Through L a b y r i n t h
H.
Glands o f S t a g g e r e d Type, Proc. I n s t . Mech. Engrs. -
166,
pp 180-195 ( 1 9 5 2 ) .

H. J. Sneck; L a b y r i n t h S e a l L i t e r a t u r e Survey, J. Lubr.

-
T e c h n o l . , T r a n s . ASME, S e r i e s F, 9 4 , pp 579-581 ( 1 9 7 4 ) .

G. V e r m e s ; A F l u i d Mechanics Approach t o t h e L a b y r i n t h S e a l
Leakage Problem, J. Eng. Power, T r a n s . ASME S e r i e s 83, -
pp 1 6 1 - 1 6 9 ( 1 9 6 1 ) .

A. E g l i ; The Leakage of Steam Through L a b y r i n t h S e a l s , T r a n s .

ASME 57, pp 115-122 ( 1 9 3 5 ) .

W. Z a b r i s k i e , B. S t e r n l i c h t ; L a b y r i n t h S e a l Leakage A n a l y s i s ,
J. B a s i c Eng., T r a n s . ASME, S e r i e s D 81, pp 332-340 ( 1 9 5 9 ) .

C. A. Meyer, J. A. Lowrie; The Leakage Through S t r a i g h t and

S l a n t L a b y r i n t h s and Honeycomb S e a l s . ASME p a p e r 74 WA/PTC-2
(1974).

J. G. Davy; C a l c u l a t i o n s f o r Leak R a t e s o f Hermetic Packages.

I E E E Trans. on P a r t s , Hybrids and Packaging, PHP 11, pp 177-
189 ( 1 9 7 5 ) .

J. Gordon Davy; Model C a l c u l a t i o n s f o r Maximum Allowable

Leak R a t e s of Hermetic Packages. J . Vac. S c i . Technol. -
12,
pp 423-429 ( 1 9 7 5 ) .

V. U. Gunkel; Gas F i l l e d E l e c t r o n i c E n c l o s u r e s . J. Envir. Sci.,

pp 25-28, Aug. 1 9 6 6 .

L. M. Lund, A. S. Bennan; Flow and Self- iffu us ion o f Gases i n

Capillaries. J. Appl. Phys. 37, pp 2489-2508 ( 1 9 6 6 ) .

C. K. Kwok, e t a l ; The P r e d i c t i o n o f F l u i d i c R e s i s t a n c e f o r
Laminar Compressible Flow i n C a p i l l a r y Tubes, ISA Trans. - 13,
pp 167-171 ( 1 9 7 4 ) .
P. H. Sorenson, N. T. Schmitz; F l u i d i c R e s i s t o r s . Fluidics
Q u a r t e r l y Vol. 1, No. 3 , pp 62-81 ( 1 9 6 8 ) .

J. A. P e r r y ; C r i t i c a l Flow Through Sharp-Edged O r i f i c e s ,

-
T r a n s . ASME 71, pp 757-764 ( 1 9 4 9 ) .

B. E. L. Deckker, Y . F. Chang; An I n v e s t i g a t i o n of S t e a d y
Compressible Flow Through Thick O r i f i c e s . Proc. I n s t . Mech. 4

Engrs. -
180 p t 111, pp 312, (1965-1966).

H. R. Linden, D. F. Otnmer; A i r Flow Through Small O r i f i c e s

i n t h e Viscous Region. ASME Trans. - 71, pp 765-772 ( 1 9 4 9 ) .

L. F. Moody; F r i c t i o n F a c t o r s i n P i p e Flow. T r a n s . ASME

pp 671-684 ( 1 9 4 4 ) .

W. ~ r 8 s s e l ;str8mung i n g l a t t e n , g e r a d e n Rohren m i t Ober und

Unterschallgeschwindigkeit. Forsch. 7,2 pp 75-84 ( 1 9 3 6 ) .

G. M. F r y e r ; A Theory o f Gas Flow Through C a p i l l a r y Tubes,

Proc. Roy. Soc. A, Vol. 293, pp 329-341 ( 1 9 6 6 ) .

S. A. Gordon; C o n s t r u c t j o n of Small F i x e d Leaks o f P r e d i c t a b l e

Throughput. -
Rev. S c i . I n s t r . 29, pp 501-504 ( 1 9 5 8 ) .

H. S c h l i c h t i n g ; Boundary Layer Theory, 6 t h e d . , McGraw-Hill

Book Co., N e w York 1968.

J. K e s t i n , A.K . Oppenheim; The C a l c u l a t i o n of C o m p r e s s i b l e

F l u i d Flow by t h e U s e o f a G e n e r a l i z e d Entropy C h a r t , P r o c .
-
I n s t r . Mech. Engrs. 1 5 9 , pp 313-334 ( 1 9 4 8 ) .

J. Lukasiewicz; A d i a b a t i c Flow i n P i p e s . -
A i r c r a f t Eng. 1 9 ,
pp 55-92 (1947).
 APPENDIX

The g e n e r a l t o p i c o f l e a k s and l e a k t e s t i n g i s c l u t t e r e d w i t h

d i f f e r e n t nomenclature and sets of u n i t s . The most i m p o r t a n t t e r m

i n v o l v e d i s l e a k a g e , o r mass f l o w r a t e , and h a s t h e d i m e n s i o n s o f
d e n s i t y t i m e s volume d i v i d e d by t i m e . U s u a l l y t h e u n i t s o f atmo-

s p h e r i c c m 3 p e r second (atm cm3/sec) a r e b e i n g used. Note, t h a t

t h i s i s n o t a v o l u m e t r i c flow. The v o l u m e t r i c f l o w p a s t a p o i n t

i s sometimes c a l l e d t h e s p e e d and i t s u n i t s a r e volume d i v i d e d by

t i m e ( c m 3/sec) . The f o l l o w i n g t a b l e c o n t a i n s c o n v e r s i o n f a c t o r s
f o r l e a k a g e o r flow r a t e s .

Table 1. L E A K A C E R A T E (FLU;;) C0';'lERSIOi: FACTORS

TO C O N V E R T F R O M T0 R U L T I P L Y 8Y
A t m cc/sec Micron l i t e r s / s e c 7.60 x 102
Micron cu f t / h r 9.66 x 104
Torr l i t e r s / s e c 7.60 x 10-I

Xicron 1 i t e r s / s e c R t m cc/sec 1.32 x 10-3

Ricron cu f t / h r 1.27 x lo2
Torr 1 i t e r s / s e c 1-00 x 10-3

Micron cu f t / h r A t m cc/sec 1.04 x' 10-5

Micron 1 i : e r s / s e c 7.87 x 10-3
Torr 1 i t e r s / s e c 7.87 x 10-6

Torr 1 i t e r s l s e c A t m cc/sec 1.32

Micron l i t e r s / s e c 1 .OO x 103
Micron cu f t / h r 1.27 x 105

I n o r d e r t o provide a b e t t e r i n s i g h t i n t o t h e q u a n t i t i e s

i n v o l v e d when l e a k a g e r a t e s a r e e x p r e s s e d i n atm cm3/sec, T a b l e 2

i s p r e s e n t e d below. The t a b l e g i v e s a v i v i d i m p r e s s i o n o f t h e

wide r a n g e ( i n t h i s c a s e 1 3 o r d e r s o f m a g n i t u d e ) o v e r which l e a k
r a t e s - m a y have s i g n i f i c a n c e . For t h e p a r t i c u l a r a p p l i c a t i o n d i s -
c u s s e d i n t h i s report, it h a s been d e c i d e d t h a t any l e a k a g e below

lo-' a t m cm3/sec c a n be d i s r e g a r d e d .

~ Air

one H i cron
3-12 a t Standard C o n d i t i o n s .
Time f o r one
lb to leak
Cu. In/day CU. in. cu. f t / h r O z l y e a r (yrs j
53.000 1.63 sec. 9.66 x lo5 60,000 .0003
26,500 3.26 sec. 4.83 x 105 33,000 -0006
5.300 b16.3 sec. 9.66 x lo4 6.000 -0029
2,650 32.6 sec. 4.83 x lo4 3,300 .0058
530 163 sec. 9660 600 .a288
265 326 see. 4830 3 30 .058
100 14.4 min. 1720 100 0.16
53 23.83 min. 966 60 -288
26.5 54.33 m i n . 483 33 .58
10 144 min. 172 10 1.6
5.3 2 3 8 . 3 min. 96.6 6 2.88
2.65 543.3 min. 48.3 3.3 5.8
1 1 day 17.2 1 16
-53 39.7 h r s 9.66 0.6 28.8
0.5 2 days 8.6 0.5 32
.26 3 . 7 7 days 4.83 .33 5a
0.1 10 days 1.72 0.1 160
-053 1 6 . 5 4 days -966 - 0.06 288
-026 3 7 . 7 days -083 0.033 580
0.01 I 0 0 days 0.17 0.01 1600
5 . 3 x 10-3 165 days .097 6x10-3 2880
2.6 x 10-3 377 days .048 3.3 x 10-3 5800
5 . 3 x 10-4 4.517 y r s .010 6 x 10-4 2.88 x 104
2.6 x 10-4 10.32 y r s .005 3.3 x 5 . 8 x 104
5.3 x 10-5 45.17 y r s 0.001 6 x lo-5 2.88 x l o 5
2.6 x 1 0 ' ~ 103.2 y r s 5 x 10-4 3.3 x 10-5 5.8 x l o 5
5.3 x $51.7 y r s 1 x 10-4 6 x 10-6 2.88 x 106
2.6 x 1032 y r s 5 x 3.3 x l o e 6 5.8 x l o 6
5.3 x l o e 7 4517 y r s Y x lo-s 6 x 10-7 2 . 8 8 x 107 -.
2.6 x l o - T 10320 y r s 5 x lo-6 3.3 x 5 . 8 x 107
5 . 3 x 10-8 45170 y r s 1 x 10-6 6 x 10-8 2.88 x 1 0 8
2.6 x 10-8 103200 y r s 5 x 10-7 3.3 x 10-8 -5.8 x 108 -
5.3 x 451700 yrs 1 x 10-7 6 x 10-9 2.88 x 109 I

* R e f r i g e r a n t 12 (Freon 1 2 )
 DISTRIBUTION

No. o f No. o f
Copies Copies
OFF-SITE ON -S ITE
1 ERDA Chicago Patent Group 2 ERDA, Rich1and Operations
9500 S. Cass Ave. Office
Argonne , I 1 1 .
60439 Richland, Washington 99352
H.E. Ransom (2
12 NRC D i v i s i o n o f Research
Washington, D.C. 20555
J.J. Davis
W. Lahs (10) .
H. J Bomel burg ( 5 )
Frank Swan berg, J r . R.L. Conley
J. Mishirna
NRC O f f i c e o f IVucl e a r M a t e r i a l s L.C. Schwendiman (10)
S a f e t y & Safeguards, Trans- C.L. Simpson
p o r t a t i o n Branch A.M. Sutey
Washington , D. C. 20555 A. J . H a v e r f i e l d
L. T. Pedersen
Charles E. McDonald
S.L. S u t t e r
C. Ross Chappel 1
W i l l i a m H. Lake Technical L i b r a r y ( 5 )
Technical Pub1 i c a t i o n s
NRC Central Mail and F i l e s TJ Bander
Washington, D.C. 20555
Mary J i n k s ( 3 )

Sandia L a b o r a t o r i e s
Albuquerque, 1V.M. 87115
John A. Andersen
J.K. Cole

B a t t e l l e Memori a1 I n s t i t u t e
505 Kina Ave.
~ ournbu;
l , Ohio 43201
M. Pobereskin ( 3 )
W.J. Madia
E.W. Schmidt

ERDA Technical I n f o r m a t i o n Center

Washington, D.C. 20555