scholarly journals Selection of Barrier Metals for a Waste Package in Tuff

1983 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. W. yyRussell ◽  
R. D. McCright ◽  
W. C. O'Neal

ABSTRACTThe Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) project under the Civilian Radioactive Waste Management Program is planning a repository at Yucca Mountain at the Nevada Test Site for isolation of high-level nuclear waste. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is developing designs for an engineered barrier system containing several barriers such as the waste form, a canister and/or an overpack, packing, and near field host rock. In this paper we address the selection of metal containment barriers.

1987 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel B. Bullen ◽  
Gregory E. Gdowski ◽  
R. Daniel McCright

AbstractThe Nuclear Waste Management Program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is responsible for the development of the waste package design to meet the Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing requirements for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Project. The metallic container component of the waste package is required to assist in providing substantially complete containment of the waste for a period of up to 1000 years. Long term phase stability of the austenitic candidate materials (304L and 316L stainless steels and alloy 825) over this time period at moderate temperatures (100–250°C) can impact the mechanical and corrosion behavior of the metal barrier.A review of the technical literature with respect to phase stability of 304L, 316L and 825 is presented. The impact of martensitic transformations, carbide precipitation and intermediate (σ. χ, and η) phase formation on the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of these alloys at repository relevant conditions is discussed. The effect of sensitization on intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IGSCC) of each alloy is also addressed. A summary of the impact of phase stability on the degradation of each alloy in the proposed repository environment is included.


1994 ◽  
Vol 353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wunan Lin ◽  
D. G. Wilder ◽  
J. A. Blink ◽  
S. C. Blair ◽  
T. A. Buscheck ◽  
...  

AbstractThe radioactive decay heat from nuclear waste packages may, depending on the thermal load, create coupled thermal-mechanical-hydrological-chemical (TMHC) processes in the near-field environment of a repository. A group of tests on a large block (LBT) are planned to provide a timely opportunity to test and calibrate some of the TMHC model concepts. The LBT is advantageous for testing and verifying model concepts because the boundary conditions are controlled, and the block can be characterized before and after the experiment. A block of Topopah Spring tuff of about 3 × 3 × 4.5 m was sawed and isolated at Fran Ridge, Nevada Test Site. Small blocks of the rock adjacent to the large block were collected for laboratory testing of some individual thermal-mechanical, hydrological, and chemical processes. A constant load of about 4 MPa will be applied to the top and sides of the large block. The sides will be sealed with moisture and thermal barriers. The large block will be heated by heaters within and guard heaters on the sides so that a dry-out zone and a condensate zone will exist simultaneously. Temperature, moisture content, pore pressure, chemical composition, stress, and displacement will be measured throughout the block during the heating and cool-down phases. The results from the experiments on small blocks and the tests on the large block will provide a better understanding of some concepts of the coupled TMHC processes. The progress of the project is presented in this paper.


1983 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Morrow ◽  
D. E. Moore ◽  
J. D. Byerlee

ABSTRACTThe Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff from the Nevada Test Site is being investigated by the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations project (NNWSI) as a possible nuclear waste repository host rock. Changes with time of the permeability and fluid chemistry of the Topopah Spring Member have been measured in samples subjected to a temperature gradient. Maximum temperatures of the imposed gradients ranged from 90° to 250°C; minimum temperatures were 36° to 83°C. Confining and pore pressures simulated a depth of about 1.2 km, which is greater than the proposed repository depth, but chosen for comparison with previous studies at these pressures. Pore fluid used in the experiments was groundwater from the Nevada Test Site; the direction of pore-fluid flow was from the high- to the low-temperature side of the tuffs.Initial permeabilities of the tuff samples ranged from 3 to 65 μdarcys, the wide range in values resulting from differences in the void and fracture geometries of the samples. Heating the tuffs produced no change in permeability in tne lowest temperature experiment and only small changes at higher temperatures. The fluids discharged from the tuffs were dilute waters of nearneutral pH that differed only slightly from the original groundwater composition.Since proposed burial in the Topopah Spring Member would be in the unsaturated zone, the high initial permeabilities and the absence of permeability change with heating may be desirable, because downward-percolating waters would be able to drain into deeper formations and not collect at the repository level. in addition, any fluids that may come in contact with waste canisters wlll not have acquired any potentially corrosive characteristics through interaction with the tuff.


1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda Little ◽  
Patricia Wagner

Microbiologically influenced corrosion has been documented for all metals and alloys currently in use or proposed for packaging nuclear wastes, with the possible exception of titanium. Selection of a material that will provide a reliable physical barrier to prevent leakage of radionuclides for 103–106 years will depend on a thorough understanding of mechanisms for microbiologically influenced corrosion; the geological, microbiological, and chemical environments of storage sites; and their evolution over time.Key words: nuclear waste storage, microbiologically influenced corrosion, biofilms.


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