Analysis on Affecting Factors of Helium Mass Spectrometer Vacuum Leak Detection for Spent Fuel Transport Casks

ZHANG Liansheng; WEI Zhiguo; HE Xingbo; HUANG Dong; LI Chuansheng

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.15.033

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (15) : 326-331. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.15.033

Equipment Protection

Analysis on Affecting Factors of Helium Mass Spectrometer Vacuum Leak Detection for Spent Fuel Transport Casks

ZHANG Liansheng^*, WEI Zhiguo, HE Xingbo, HUANG Dong, LI Chuansheng

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Abstract

The sealing performance of spent fuel transport casks is directly related to the operation safety of nuclear facilities and environmental protection. Helium mass spectrometer leak detection is widely applied for container tightness inspection due to its high sensitivity. However, helium's strong diffusivity and gas permeation through sealing materials easily trigger helium interference and false leakage rate results. It is urgent to clarify the formation mechanism of helium interference and optimize the detection process to accurately measure the real leakage rate of sealing rings. With NAC-STC spent fuel transport cask as the research object, field comparative tests and theoretical calculations were performed. Leakage data under two pre-drainage processes (helium drainage and air drainage) were compared, and helium permeation behaviors of silicone rubber, fluororubber and sealing rings with various dimensions were tested. The interference mechanism was systematically analyzed from external ambient factors and internal sealing material properties. In confined and poorly ventilated workplaces, helium drainage caused residual helium contamination on site and led to excessively high measured leakage rates, and most test pieces failed to meet the leakage limit for high-burnup spent fuel casks. The helium permeation speed of silicone rubber was far higher than that of fluororubber: silicone rubber reached the specified leakage threshold in only 5 min versus roughly 40 min for fluororubber. Larger sealing ring diameter extended the time required for permeation to hit the standard leakage rate of 1.0×10^-8 Pa·m³/s, which took approximately 13 min for a 4 mm-diameter ring and 83 min for a 10 mm-diameter ring. An optimized helium leak detection scheme for spent fuel transport casks is proposed in this work. The research results can provide engineering references for sealing detection of nuclear-grade spent fuel transport casks.

Key words

spent fuel transport cask / helium mass spectrometer leak detection / helium interference / permeation effect

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ZHANG Liansheng, WEI Zhiguo, HE Xingbo, HUANG Dong, LI Chuansheng. Analysis on Affecting Factors of Helium Mass Spectrometer Vacuum Leak Detection for Spent Fuel Transport Casks[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2026, 47(15): 326-331 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2026.15.033

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