HAZARDOUS ENERGY-RELATED SUBSTANCES

THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF A MAN-PORTABLE GAS CHROMATOGRAPH MASS SPECTROMETER (GCMS) IS OUTLINED, TOGETHER WITH ITS APPLICATION AS A DETECTOR OF A BROAD RANGE OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY-RELATED SUBSTANCES. THE PRINCIPAL BENEFITS OF SUCH AN INSTRUMENT ARE ITS PORTABILITY WHICH ALLOWS MEASUREMENTS TO BE MADE ON-SITE, ITS RUGGED, SIMPLE OPERATION, AND ITS SENSITIVITY AND ABILITY TO GIVE UNAMBIGUOUS IDENTIFICATION OF UNKNOWN COMPOUNDS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DEVELOP A PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR SUCH AN INSTRUMENT, DETERMINE ITS TECHNICAL AND ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY FOR MEASUREMENT OF HAZARDOUS ENERGY-RELATED SUBSTANCES, AND PERFORM LIMITED TESTING OF A SAMPLING OF MINIATURIZED GCMS DEVELOPED FOR THE VIKING MARS LANDER. AMONG THE SPECIFIC TECHNICAL CHALLENGES ARE TO EXTEND THE MASS RANGE OF THIS INSTRUMENT, REDUCE THE SCAN RATE, MODIFY AND IMPROVE THE SAMPLE SEPARATOR, DESIGN TERRESTRIAL SAMPLE INLET SUBSYSTEM, AND DEVELOP AN INTERFACE WITH A MICROPROCESSOR FOR OPERATION AND DATA ANALYSIS.