scholarly journals Functions of the Materials Review Board

1984 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Steindler ◽  
W. B. Seefeldt
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level ◽  
Nuclear Waste Policy

Some nuclear waste is destined for disposal in deep geological formations. The disposal system for wastes from commercial nuclear activities, and perhaps also for high-level wastes from defense-related activities, is to be designed and operated by the Department of Energy (DOE) and licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Nuclear Waste Policy Act [1] outlines some of the procedures and schedules that are to be followed by DOE in carrying out its assignment in the disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW). The regulations of the NRC that deal with HLW [2] are only partly in place, and amendments (e.g., related to the unsaturated zone) are yet to be approved and issued. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued only draft versions of the regulations pertaining to HLW disposal [3], but key features of these drafts are at present in adequate agreement with NRC documents. On the basis of the trends that have become evident in the last few years, the DOE will be required to substantiate performance predictions for all pertinent aspects of a repository, especially the performance of the engineered waste package. The basis for demonstrating that the waste package performance in the repository will be in concert with the requirements is data on the waste package materials. These key materials data must clearly be highly reliable, and DOE will be required to assure this reliability. This paper addresses the organization and functions that have been assembled to aid in establishing the quality of materials data that are important in the licensing of a waste repository.

An Analysis of Waste Package Behavior for High-Level Waste

1982 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret S. Chu ◽  
James E. Campbell ◽  
Stephen E. Stuckwisch ◽  
Krishan K. Wahi ◽  
Malcolm D. Siegel
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Protection Agency ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Draft Standard ◽  
Geologic Disposal ◽  
Waste Repository ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a draft standard (40CFR191) [1] which specifies permissible limits for radionuclide releases from a high-level waste repository to the accessible environment. The U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has published a proposed rule (10CFR60) [2] which contains technical criteria for geologic disposal of high-level waste to facilitate compliance with the EPA Draft Standard. The three main numerical criteria specified in 10CFR60 are:

A Review Process and a Database for Waste-Package Documents

1990 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles G. Interrante ◽  
Carla A. Messina ◽  
Anna C. Fraker
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Long Term Storage ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level ◽  
Term Storage

ABSTRACTThe work reported here is part of a program conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the efficacy of proposed plans for radionuclide containment for long-term storage of high-level nuclear waste (HLW). An important element of that program is the review and evaluation of available literature on components of a waste package. A review process and a database have been developed and tailored to provide information quickly to an individual who has a question about a particular material or component of a waste package. The database is uniquely suited to serve as a guide to indicate special areas where data and information needs exist on questions related to radionuclide containment. Additions to the database are made as information becomes available, and this source is as current as the published literature. A description of the review process and the database is given.

High-Level Waste Package Licensing Considerations for Extrapolating test Data

1986 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.C. Johnson ◽  
K.C. Chang ◽  
T.L. Jungling ◽  
L.S. Person ◽  
C.H. Peterson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Test Data ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level ◽  
General Standard

AbstractPrograms intended to provide supporting information for the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository program must consider the licensing requirements and the technical issues involved with extrapolation of short-term test data to periods of up to 10,000 years. The licensing requirements of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and the issues the NRC staff considers important for the development of predictive methods, are described. Because performance predictions of the geologic repository and particular components of the waste package must largely be based upon inference, a reasonable assurance, on the basis of the record before the Commission, is the general standard that will be required.

Training in the Application of the ASME Code to Transportation Packaging of Radioactive Materials

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Shah ◽  
B. Shelton ◽  
R. Fabian ◽  
S. W. Tam ◽  
Y. Y. Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Fissile Material ◽  
Radioactive Materials ◽  
Asme Code ◽  
Material Transportation ◽  
Accident Conditions ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level

The Department of Energy has established guidelines for the qualifications and training of technical experts preparing and reviewing the safety analysis report for packaging (SARP) and transportation of radioactive materials. One of the qualifications is a working knowledge of, and familiarity with the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, referred to hereafter as the ASME Code. DOE is sponsoring a course on the application of the ASME Code to the transportation packaging of radioactive materials. The course addresses both ASME design requirements and the safety requirements in the federal regulations. The main objective of this paper is to describe the salient features of the course, with the focus on the application of Section III, Divisions 1 and 3, and Section VIII of the ASME Code to the design and construction of the containment vessel and other packaging components used for transportation (and storage) of radioactive materials, including spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. The training course includes the ASME Code-related topics that are needed to satisfy all Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) requirements in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulation Part 71 (10 CFR 71). Specifically, the topics include requirements for materials, design, fabrication, examination, testing, and quality assurance for containment vessels, bolted closures, components to maintain subcriticality, and other packaging components. The design addresses thermal and pressure loading, fatigue, nonductile fracture and buckling of these components during both normal conditions of transport and hypothetical accident conditions described in 10 CFR 71. Various examples are drawn from the review of certificate applications for Type B and fissile material transportation packagings.

Comparison of CFD Calculations With Experimental Results for the YMP Scaled Natural Convection Tests

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Dalvit Dunn ◽  
Stephen W. Webb ◽  
John Del Mar ◽  
Michael T. Itamura ◽  
Nicholas D. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Concrete Pipe ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Control ◽  
Calculated Model

The Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) is currently designing a geologic repository for high level nuclear waste. The design encompasses two distinct phases, the pre-closure period where temperatures within the repository will be controlled by active ventilation, and the post-closure period where the repository will be sealed. A prerequisite for designing the repository is the ability to both understand and control the heat generated from the decay of the nuclear waste. This decay heat affects the performance of both the waste packages and the emplacement drift. The ability to accurately model the complex heat transfer within the repository is critical to the understanding of the repository performance. Currently, computational fluid dynamics codes are being used to model the post-closure performance of the repository. Prior to using the codes on the project they were required to be thoroughly validated. Eight pilot-scale tests were performed at the Department of Energy North Las Vegas Atlas Facility to evaluate the processes that govern thermal transport in an environment that scales to the proposed repository environment during the post closure period. The tests were conducted at two geometric scales (25 and 44% of full scale), with and without drip shields, and under both uniform and distributed heat loads. The tests provided YMP specific data for model validation. A separate CFD model was developed for each of the four test configurations. The models included the major components of the experiment, including the waste packages (heated steel canisters), invert floor, and emplacement drift (insulated concrete pipe). The calculated model temperatures of the surfaces and fluids, and velocities, are compared with experimental data.

Evaluation of the Susceptibility of Astm A216 Grade Wca Mild Steel to Stress Corrosion Cracking in Simulated Salt Repositopy Environments

1986 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. G. Pitman
Keyword(s):  
Mild Steel ◽  
Stress Corrosion ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Dynamic Tests ◽  
Static Tests ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
Container Material

AbstractIn current conceptual designs, a mild steel (ASTM A?16 Grade WCA) is the relerence container material for use in high level nuclear waste packages intended for emplacement in a salt repository. The resistance of the steel to stress corrosion crackinq (SCC) is being investigated as part of the effort underway to verify the suitability of the material for waste package applications. Static tests (U-bend and bolt-loaded fracture toughness specimens) and dynamic tests (slow strain rate and corrosion fatigue) were conducted on both as-cast and weldment specimens of the material, in both low-Mg and high-Mg halite-saturated brines, in the temperature range of 90 to 200°C. The investigations indicate that the steel is not susceptible to SCC under the test conditions employed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the US DOE's conceptual model of hydrothermal activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 3853-3905
Author(s):  
Y. V. Dublyansky
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Hydrothermal Activity ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Natural Analog ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
The Us ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

Abstract. A unique conceptual model envisaging conductive heating of rocks in the thick unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada by a silicic pluton emplaced several kilometers away is accepted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as an explanation of the elevated depositional temperatures measured in fluid inclusions in secondary fluorite and calcite. Acceptance of this model allowed the DOE not to consider hydrothermal activity in the performance assessment of the proposed high-level nuclear waste disposal facility. Evaluation shows that validation of the model by computational modeling and by observations at a natural analog site was unsuccessful. Due to the lack of validation, the reliance on this model must be discontinued and the scientific defensibility of decisions which rely on this model must be re-evaluated.

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