Concrete in Engineered Barriers for Radioactive Waste Disposal Facilities: Phenomenological Study and Assessment of Long Term Performance

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diederik Jacques ◽  
Norbert Maes ◽  
Janez Perko ◽  
Suresh C. Seetharam ◽  
Quoc Tri Phung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Effective Diffusivity ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Chemical Degradation ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Pore Scale

The paper aims to highlight recent developments at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN in experimental and numerical study of the coupled physical-chemical behaviour of concrete subject to chemical degradation. The discussion mainly focusses on three interlinked research projects covering novel experimental methods to study the alteration of hydraulic and transport properties during carbonation and calcium leaching, a pore scale numerical model to capture microstructural changes due to the above degradation processes and a generic multiscale model aimed at determining evolution of the properties of a macrostructure over the long term. The paper also describes supplementary continuum scale numerical studies concerning concrete-clay interactions and geochemical impact on the physical structure of concrete. Preliminary findings from these studies show encouraging results such as the development of novel leaching, water permeability and diffusion apparatus, a robust pore scale model based on Lattice-Boltzmann method and a mesoscale study focused on the importance of interfacial transition zones on the effective diffusivity for linear and nonlinear diffusion problems.

Active control of fan noise from high-bypass ratio aeroengines: a numerical study

2001 ◽  
Vol 105 (1053) ◽  
pp. 627-631
Author(s):  
P. Traub ◽  
F. Kennepohl ◽  
K. Heinig
Keyword(s):  
Active Control ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Active Noise Control ◽  
Sound Field ◽  
Primary Objective ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Infinite Length ◽  
Circular Duct ◽  
Bypass Ratio

Abstract Under the national research project, dubbed Turbotech II, in which MTU Aero Engines, DLR Institute of Propulsion Technology and EADS Corporate Research Centre participate, active noise control (ANC) has been tested with a scale model fan of one metre diameter for a high bypass ratio aeroengine. MTU’s task in this project was to develop a computer code to predict the sound field in the intake duct of the fan-rig by the use of active control. The primary objective of the numerical study was to specify numbers of actuators (loudspeakers) and error sensors (microphones) and their positioning to control the harmonic sound power, radiated upstream to the duct intake. The computer model is based on the geometry of an annular or circular duct of rigid walls and infinite length, containing a subsonic axial uniform flow. The modal amplitudes of the primary sound field are input data. The actuators are modelled by acoustic monopoles. Two control algorithms have been used for achieving the control objective. The first consists simply in the reduction of the in-duct mean squared pressures. The second, so called modal control, is designed to cancel dominant modes selectively. Numerical results are presented using a typical configuration of wall mounted actuators and error sensors in the form of a number of rings uniformly distributed along the length of the intake duct. Guidelines have also been derived to design a favourable configuration of actuators and sensors. The findings of the numerical study are compared with the results of the ANC tests.

The osmosis-induced swelling and NaNO3 leaching of radioactive and artificially aged Eurobitum bituminized waste

2012 ◽  
Vol 1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
An Mariën ◽  
Elie Valcke ◽  
Nele Bleyen ◽  
Steven Smets
Keyword(s):  
Water Uptake ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Permeable Membrane ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
First Results ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Kinetics Of ◽  
Term Management

ABSTRACTThe behavior of Eurobitum bituminized radioactive waste under geological disposal conditions is studied in water uptake tests at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK•CEN to assess the feasibility of geological disposal for the long-term management of this waste. The hydro-mechanical behavior of this waste is affected by the continuous evolution of the rheological properties of bitumen due to radio-oxidation (i.e. ageing).The effect of the bitumen ageing degree on the kinetics of the water uptake, swelling and NaNO3 leaching is investigated in water uptake tests with ∼30 years old radioactive samples and inactive samples that were artificially aged. The first results of swelling and NaNO3 leaching of (i) radioactive samples that have been hydrated for more than 2 years at a constant total stress of 2.2 MPa, and (ii) a thermally aged sample that has been hydrated for ∼1.5 years under nearly zero effective stress conditions, revealed lower swelling and higher leach rates for these samples compared to non-aged samples. The effect of ageing on the osmotic efficiency of bitumen as a semi-permeable membrane is less pronounced when swelling of the samples is limited, and changes in time, probably because of the formation of low porosity layers, which seems to mask the difference in bitumen membrane efficiency of aged and non-aged bituminized waste.

scholarly journals A numerical study on oxygen adsorption in porous media of coal rock based on fractal geometry

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 191337
Author(s):  
Xianzhe Lv ◽  
Xiaoyu Liang ◽  
Peng Xu ◽  
Linya Chen
Keyword(s):  
Porous Media ◽  
Scaling Laws ◽  
Spontaneous Combustion ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Nitrogen Adsorption ◽  
Oxygen Adsorption ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Pore Scale ◽  
Coal Rock ◽  
Pore Scale Model

In order to explore the factors affecting coal spontaneous combustion, the fractal characteristics of coal samples are tested, and a pore-scale model for oxygen adsorption in coal porous media is developed based on self-similar fractal model. The liquid nitrogen adsorption experiments show that the coal samples indicate evident fractal scaling laws at both low-pressure and high-pressure sections, and the fractal dimensions, respectively, represent surface morphology and pore structure of coal rock. The pore-scale model has been validated by comparing with available experimental data and numerical simulation. The present numerical results indicate that the oxygen adsorption depends on both the pore structures and temperature of coal rock. The oxygen adsorption increases with increased porosity, fractal dimension and ratio of minimum to maximum pore sizes. The edge effect can be clearly seen near the cavity/pore, where the oxygen concentration is low. The correlation between the oxygen adsorption and temperature is found to obey Langmuir adsorption theory, and a new formula for oxygen adsorption and porosity is proposed. This study may help understanding the mechanisms of oxygen adsorption and accordingly provide guidelines to lower the risk of spontaneous combustion of coal.

CASTOR® BR3: Design of a Transport and Storage Cask for Spent Fuel From a Belgian Nuclear Power Plant

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrich Knopp
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Storage Period ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Ductile Cast Iron ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Interim Storage ◽  
And Storage

Abstract The CASTOR® BR3 cask has been designed and manufactured to accomodate irradiated fuel (U and MOX) from the BR3 test reactor at the nuclear research centre SCK/CEN in Dessel near Mol, Belgium, which is currently being dismantled. The CASTOR® BR3 is designed as a Type B(U)F package for transport and will be licensed in Belgium. In addition, the CASTOR® BR3 needs a license as a storage cask to be operated in an interim cask storage facility. To obtain these licenses, the cask design has to observe the international regulations for the safe transport of radioactive material as well as the special requirements for the cask storage. The CASTOR® BR3 is a member of the CASTOR® family of spent fuel casks, delivered by the German company GNB. In this way, the cask has such typical features as the following: • monolithic cask body made of ductile cast iron; • double-lid system consisting of primary and secondary lid for long-term interim storage of the fuel. This family of casks has been used for over 20 years for transport and storage of spent fuel. In this paper, the IAEA regulatory requirements for transport casks are summarized and it is shown by selected examples how these requirements have been converted into the cask design and the analyses performed for the cask. Finally, the cask features for an interim storage period of up to 50 years will be spotlighted. Main topics are the evaluation of the long term behaviour of selected cask components and the cask monitoring system for the surveillance of the leak tightness of the cask during the storage period.

Numerical Study of the Mean and Filtered Characteristics of Turbulent Jets Impinging on Convex and Flat Surfaces Using LES

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adra Benhacine ◽  
Zoubir Nemouchi ◽  
Lyes Khezzar ◽  
Nabil Kharoua
Keyword(s):  
Convex Surface ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Turbulent Jets ◽  
Scale Model ◽  
Wall Jet ◽  
Potential Core ◽  
Flat Surfaces ◽  
Free Jet ◽  
Eddy Simulation

A numerical study of a turbulent plane jet impinging on a convex surface and on a flat surface is presented, using the large eddy simulation approach and the Smagorinski-Lilly sub-grid-scale model. The effects of the wall curvature on the unsteady filtered, and the steady mean, parameters characterizing the dynamics of the wall jet are addressed in particular. In the free jet upstream of the impingement region, significant and fairly ordered velocity fluctuations, that are not turbulent in nature, are observed inside the potential core. Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the shear layer between the jet and the surrounding air are detected in the form of wavy sheets of vorticity. Rolled up vortices are detached from these sheets in a more or less periodic manner, evolving into distorted three dimensional structures. Along the wall jet the Coanda effect causes a marked suction along the convex surface compared with the flat one. As a result, relatively important tangential velocities and a stretching of sporadic streamwise vortices are observed, leading to friction coefficient values on the curved wall higher than those on the flat wall.

scholarly journals Using Fission-Track Radiography Coupled with Scanning Electron Microscopy for Efficient Identification of Solid-Phase Uranium Mineralogy at a Former Uranium Pilot Mill (Grand Junction, Colorado)

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Raymond H. Johnson ◽  
Susan M. Hall ◽  
Aaron D. Tigar
Keyword(s):  
Fission Track ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Nuclear Research ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Nuclear Research Reactor ◽  
Elemental Data ◽  
Individual Grains ◽  
Scanning Electron ◽  
Section Sample

At a former uranium pilot mill in Grand Junction, Colorado, mine tailings and some subpile sediments were excavated to various depths to meet surface radiological standards, but residual solid-phase uranium below these excavation depths still occurs at concentrations above background. The combination of fission-track radiography and scanning electron microscope energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) provides a uniquely efficient and quantitative way of determining mineralogic associations of uranium that can influence uranium mobility. After the creation of sample thin sections, a mica sheet is placed on those thin sections and irradiated in a nuclear research reactor. Decay of the irradiated uranium creates fission tracks that can be viewed with a microscope. The fission-track radiography images indicate thin section sample areas with elevated uranium that are focus areas for SEM-EDS work. EDS spectra provide quantitative elemental data that indicate the mineralogy of individual grains or grain coatings associated with the fission-track identification of elevated uranium. For the site in this study, the results indicated that uranium occurred (1) with coatings of aluminum–silicon (Al/Si) gel and gypsum, (2) dispersed in the unsaturated zone associated with evaporite-type salts, and (3) sorbed onto organic carbon. The Al/Si gel likely formed when low-pH waters were precipitated during calcite buffering, which in turn retained or precipitated trace amounts of Fe, As, U, V, Ca, and S. Understanding these mechanisms can help guide future laboratory and field-scale efforts in determining long-term uranium release rates to groundwater.

Developing twinning cattle for commercial production

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (7) ◽  
pp. 930 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. Cummins ◽  
C. A. Morris ◽  
B. W. Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
Term Selection ◽  
Calf Survival ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Meat Animal

Long-term selection programs in the United States and New Zealand have developed twinning herds. In Nebraska, the United States Meat Animal Research Centre population had a calving rate of 1.56 per parturition in 2004. They have shown that the location of ovulation has an important effect on the success of pregnancy and that ovulations ≥3 are probably undesirable. These cattle have issues associated with calving difficulty and calf survival, which present challenges for commercial application. Intensive management using existing technology and/or future genetic improvement to address these traits are required to realise the potential benefits to beef production systems.

Experimental and numerical study of size effect on long-term drying behavior of concrete: influence of drying depth

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 4029-4048 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Samouh ◽  
A. Soive ◽  
E. Rozière ◽  
A. Loukili
Keyword(s):  
Size Effect ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Drying Behavior
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