The Waste Package Materials Field Test in S.E. New Mexico Salt

1983 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Molecke ◽  
Teresa M. Torres
Keyword(s):  
New Mexico ◽  
Field Test ◽  
High Density ◽  
Silica Sand ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Backfill Materials ◽  
Package Materials

ABSTRACTA six-part, waste package materials field test was conducted in a halite horizon of a potash mine in southeastern New Mexico. The primary purposes of this test were to evaluate the thermophysical and geochemical performance of candidate HLW-package backfill materials emplaced in rock salt and the corrosion behavior of candidate waste canister or overpack alloys. This field test series also served as a precursor to forthcoming Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in situ waste package performance experiments on simulated defense high-level waste packages, serving to develop applicable testing, instrumentation, and sampling techniques. The backfill materials tested (individually, in one- to five-month tests) were: low-density bentonite clay; low-density bentonite (70 wt.%)-silica sand (30 wt.%) mixtures, both dry and brine-injected; high-density bentonite-sand annular compacts; trapped air; and finely-crushed WIPP salt. The in situ measured thermal conductivities (at a maximum canister-heater surface temperature of 150° or 250°C) for the backfills ranged from 0.25 W/mK for pure bentonite to about 1.25 W/mK for the high-density bentonite-sand. No significant backfill material degradation products were detected in post-test analyses. No appreciable corrosion of the titanium-, nickel-, or iron-based alloys embedded in the hot backfill was found; potentially significant pitting corrosion of 2 1/4 Cr-1 Mo steel and copper was detected.

Retrieval and Analysis of Simulated Defense HLW Package Experiments at the WIPP

1988 ◽  
Vol 127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Molecke ◽  
N. Rob Sorensen
Keyword(s):  
Rock Salt ◽  
Waste Form ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
General Corrosion ◽  
Uniform Corrosion ◽  
Geochemical Environment ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Barrier Materials ◽  
Backfill Materials

ABSTRACTIn situ waste package performance experiments involving simulated (non-radioactive) defense high-level waste (DHLW) containers have been in progress since late 1984 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. These experiments involve full-size, simulated DHLW containers of several metals and designs emplaced in the WIPP bedded rock salt. These test containers are surrounded by granular backfill (packing) materials, have in many cases been intentionally injected with brines, and are heavily instrumented. A majority of the test packages also contain nonradioactive DHLW borosilicate glass waste form, either within the container and/or outside of it. The primary purpose of these WIPP simulated DHLW experiments is to evaluate the in situ durability and performance of all waste package engineered barrier materials, and to perform package concept validation testing.Twelve of the test DHLW containers, emplaced in WIPP test Room B, have been in heated operation since 1985 and had a maximum surface temperature of about 190°C. These containers were recently retrieved, after about 3 years of heated exposure, for detailed posttest laboratory analyses of: general corrosion and metallurgical degradation, waste form and backfill materials alterations, and other rock salt-brine-barrier materials near-field interactions with the “repository” geochemical environment. Test canisters and overpacks made of ASTM Grade-12 titanium showed essentially no visible degradation in either the base metal or welds; cast mild steel A216/WCA over-packs have suffered some uniform corrosion. Significant degradation of the removed instruments and associated test apparatus has been found: pieces of stainless steel (both 304L and 316) apparatus have undergone extensive stress-corrosion cracking failure and non-uniform attack; Inconel 600-sheathed instruments have undergone both extensive uniform and localized (pitting) attack. Granular backfill materials have been significantly compacted by creep closure to about a density of 2 kg/m. Laboratory analyses are still in progress. Further details on these materials results plus instrumentation data and other in situ WIPP waste package test observations are discussed.

Leaching and migration of Np, Pu, and Am from α-doped SON68 HLW glass in contact with dense clay

2006 ◽  
Vol 932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elie Valcke ◽  
Mireille Gysemans ◽  
Hugo Moors ◽  
Pierre Van Iseghem ◽  
Nicole Godon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glass Frit ◽  
High Density ◽  
Radionuclide Migration ◽  
Colloidal Transport ◽  
Boom Clay ◽  
Backfill Materials ◽  
Powdered Glass ◽  
And Migration ◽  
Radionuclide Leaching

ABSTRACTIn the frame of an integrated in situ test on the alteration of the SON68 reference glass in realistic disposal conditions, the leaching of Np, Pu, and Am from α-doped SON68 glass samples and their migration in three clay-based backfill materials at high density was measured. The addition of powdered glass frit to a Ca-bentonite decreased the glass alteration by two orders of magnitude, and resulted in a concomitant decrease of the radionuclide leaching in comparison with dried Boom Clay, which is the more agressive backfill. All actinides were selectively retained in the alteration layer, but the retention degree was lower for Np than for Pu and Am. All backfill materials proved to be efficient barriers against radionuclide migration. For nearly all radionuclides and backfill materials, the migration profile showed a contribution of colloidal transport.

scholarly journals Results from Simulated Remote-Handled Transuranic Waste Experiments at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin A. Molecke
Keyword(s):  
Rock Salt ◽  
Pilot Plant ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Silica Sand ◽  
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Test Operation ◽  
Transuranic Waste ◽  
Package Materials

ABSTRACTMulti-year, simulated remote-handled transuranic waste (RH TRU, nonradioactive) experiments are being conducted underground in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. These experiments involve the near-reference (thermal and geometrical) testing of eight full-size RH TRU test containers emplaced into horizontal, unlined rock salt boreholes. Half of the test emplacements are partially filled with bentonite/silica-sand backfill material. All test containers were electrically heated at about 115 W/each for three years, then raised to about 300 W/each for the remaining time. Each test borehole was instrumented with a selection of remote-reading thermocouples, pressure gages, borehole vertical-closure gages, and vertical and horizontal borehole-diameter closure gages. Each test emplacements was also periodically opened for visual inspections of brine intrusions and any interactions with waste package materials, materials sampling, manual closure measurements, and observations of borehole changes. Effects of heat on borehole closure rates and near-field materials (metals, backfill, rock salt, and intruding brine) interactions were closely monitored as a function of time. This paper summarizes results for the first five years of in situ test operation with supporting instrumentation and laboratory data and interpretations. Some details of RH TRU waste package materials, designs, and assorted underground test observations are also discussed. Based on the results, the tested RH TRU waste packages, materials, and emplacement geometry in unlined salt boreholes appear to be quite adequate for initial WIPP repository-phase operations.

Quantitative defect studies in semiconductor TEM samples prepared by low angle ion milling

1995 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 512-513
Author(s):  
L. Mulestagno ◽  
J.C. Holzer ◽  
P. Fraundorf
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Milling Time ◽  
High Density ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Variable Angle ◽  
Major Disadvantage ◽  
Induced Defects

Due to the wealth of information, both analytical and structural that can be obtained from it TEM always has been a favorite tool for the analysis of process-induced defects in semiconductor wafers. The only major disadvantage has always been, that the volume under study in the TEM is relatively small, making it difficult to locate low density defects, and sample preparation is a somewhat lengthy procedure. This problem has been somewhat alleviated by the availability of efficient low angle milling.Using a PIPS® variable angle ion -mill, manufactured by Gatan, we have been consistently obtaining planar specimens with a high quality thin area in excess of 5 × 104 μm2 in about half an hour (milling time), which has made it possible to locate defects at lower densities, or, for defects of relatively high density, obtain information which is statistically more significant (table 1).

Scanning Electron Microscopic and Electrophoretic Observations on Barium Sulphate Used to Adsorb Clotting Factors

1975 ◽  
Vol 33 (02) ◽  
pp. 256-270
Author(s):  
R. M Howell ◽  
S. L. M Deacon
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Factor Xa ◽  
Barium Sulphate ◽  
High Density ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Factor X ◽  
Clotting Factors ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Complementary Techniques ◽  
Scanning Electron

SummaryElectron microscopy and particle electrophoresis were found to be complementary techniques with which to complete the physical data from an earlier study on barium sulphates used to adsorb clotting factors from serum. The differences revealed by scanning electron microscopy (S. E. M.) in the physical shape of low and high density grades of barium sulphate particles appear to be of greater significance than charge as expressed by electrophoretic mobility, in determining whether or not precursor or preformed factor Xa is eluted.This conclusion was based on the finding that at pH values close to 7, where the adsorption from serum occurs, all samples with the exception of natural barytes were uncharged. However as the high-density, or soil-grade, was found by S. E. M. to consist of large solid crystals it was suggested that this shape might induce activation of factor X as a result of partial denaturation and consequent unfolding of the adsorbed protein. In contrast, uptake of protein into the centre of the porous aggregates revealed by S. E. M. pictures of low-density or X-ray grade barium sulphate may afford protection against denaturation and exposure of the enzyme site.The porous nature of particles of low-density barium sulphate compared with the solid crystalline forms of other grades accounts not only for its lower bulk density but also for its greater surface/gram ratio which is reflected by an ability to adsorb more protein from serum.Neither technique produced evidence from any of the samples to indicate the presence of stabilising agents sometimes used to coat particles in barium meals.

scholarly journals Millisecond lattice gasification for high-density CO2- and O2-sieving nanopores in single-layer graphene

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. eabf0116
Author(s):  
Shiqi Huang ◽  
Shaoxian Li ◽  
Luis Francisco Villalobos ◽  
Mostapha Dakhchoune ◽  
Marina Micari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Layer ◽  
High Density ◽  
Single Layer Graphene ◽  
Pore Density ◽  
Vacancy Defects ◽  
Carbon Gasification ◽  
Layer Graphene ◽  
Gas Molecules ◽  
Good Agreement

Etching single-layer graphene to incorporate a high pore density with sub-angstrom precision in molecular differentiation is critical to realize the promising high-flux separation of similar-sized gas molecules, e.g., CO2 from N2. However, rapid etching kinetics needed to achieve the high pore density is challenging to control for such precision. Here, we report a millisecond carbon gasification chemistry incorporating high density (>1012 cm−2) of functional oxygen clusters that then evolve in CO2-sieving vacancy defects under controlled and predictable gasification conditions. A statistical distribution of nanopore lattice isomers is observed, in good agreement with the theoretical solution to the isomer cataloging problem. The gasification technique is scalable, and a centimeter-scale membrane is demonstrated. Last, molecular cutoff could be adjusted by 0.1 Å by in situ expansion of the vacancy defects in an O2 atmosphere. Large CO2 and O2 permeances (>10,000 and 1000 GPU, respectively) are demonstrated accompanying attractive CO2/N2 and O2/N2 selectivities.

scholarly journals Low-Temperature Mechanical Properties of High-Density and Low-Density Polyethylene and Their Blends

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1821
Author(s):  
Ildar I. Salakhov ◽  
Nadim M. Shaidullin ◽  
Anatoly E. Chalykh ◽  
Mikhail A. Matsko ◽  
Alexey V. Shapagin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Low Temperature ◽  
Impact Strength ◽  
Relative Elongation ◽  
High Density ◽  
Low Density Polyethylene ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Elongation At Break ◽  
Subzero Temperatures ◽  
Izod Impact

Low-temperature properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), and their blends were studied. The analyzed low-temperature mechanical properties involve the deformation resistance and impact strength characteristics. HDPE is a bimodal ethylene/1-hexene copolymer; LDPE is a branched ethylene homopolymer containing short-chain branches of different length; LLDPE is a binary ethylene/1-butene copolymer and an ethylene/1-butene/1-hexene terpolymer. The samples of copolymers and their blends were studied by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), 13С NMR spectroscopy, and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) using testing machines equipped with a cryochamber. It is proposed that such parameters as “relative elongation at break at −45 °C” and “Izod impact strength at −40 °C” are used instead of the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature to assess frost resistance properties because these parameters are more sensitive to deformation and impact at subzero temperatures for HDPE. LLDPE is shown to exhibit higher relative elongation at break at −45 °C and Izod impact strength at −20 ÷ 60 °C compared to those of LDPE. LLDPE terpolymer added to HDPE (at a content ≥ 25 wt.%) simultaneously increases flow properties and improves tensile properties of the blend at −45 °C. Changes in low-temperature properties as a function of molecular weight, MWD, crystallinity, and branch content were determined for HDPE, LLDPE, and their blends. The DMA data prove the resulting dependences. The reported findings allow one to understand and predict mechanical properties in the HDPE–LLDPE systems at subzero temperatures.

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