Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Incompatibility of the sealant...specifically the glycol in the sealant...and the o-ring. The o-ring swells and won't fit in anymore. See it all the time in valves on reactors when the wrong o-ring is used.
I'm a chemical engineer, cycco. Pretty familiar with a lot of different reactors (including nuclear). Interesting: PTFE (of which Teflon(R) is one brand) doesn't do well with gamma radiation. Lots of stories about trace components destroying seals in chemical reactors as well.
What kind of reactors do you deal with?