A Review of Corrosion Considerations of Container Materials Relevant to Underground Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste in Belgium

2006 ◽  
Vol 932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruno Kursten ◽  
Frank Druyts
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
General Corrosion ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Boom Clay ◽  
Nuclear Site ◽  
In Situ Experiments ◽  
Underground Disposal ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe underground formation that is currently being considered in Belgium for the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent fuel is a 30-million-year-old argillaceous sediment (Boom Clay layer). This layer is located in the northeast of Belgium and extending under the Mol-Dessel nuclear site at a depth between 180 and 280 meter.Within the concept for geological disposal (multibarrier system), the metallic container is the primary engineered barrier. Its main goal is to contain the radioactive waste and to prevent the groundwater from coming into contact with the wasteform by acting as a tight barrier. The corrosion resistance of container materials is an important aspect in ensuring the tightness of the metallic container and therefore plays an important role in the safe disposal of HLW. The metallic container has to provide a high integrity, i.e. no through-the-wall corrosion should occur, at least for the duration of the thermal phase (500 years for vitrified HLW and 2000 years for spent fuel).An extensive corrosion evaluation programme, sponsored by the national authorities and the European Commission, was started in Belgium in the mid 1980's. The main objective was to evaluate the long-term corrosion performance of a broad range of candidate container materials. In addition, the influence of several parameters, such as temperature, oxygen content, groundwater composition (chloride, sulphate and thiosulphate), γ-radiation, … were investigated. The experimental approach consisted of in situ experiments (performed in the underground research facility, HADES), electrochemical experiments, immersion experiments and large scale demonstration tests (OPHELIE, PRACLAY). Degradation modes considered included general corrosion, localised corrosion (pitting) and stress corrosion cracking.This paper gives an overview of the more relevant experimental results, gathered over the past 25 years, of the Belgian programme in the field of container corrosion.

Safety Assessment of Geological Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste in Boom Clay: Relation With the Radionuclide Inventory

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Van Iseghem ◽  
Jan Marivoet
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Safety Assessment ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Geological Disposal ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Boom Clay ◽  
High Level ◽  
Clay Formation ◽  
Parameter Values

This paper discusses the impact of the parameter values used for the transport of radionuclides from high-level radioactive waste to the far-field on the long-term safety of a proposed geological disposal in the Boom Clay formation in Belgium. The methodology of the Safety Assessment is explained, and the results of the Safety Assessment for vitrified high-level waste and spent fuel are presented. The radionuclides having the strongest impact on the dose-to-man for both HLW glass and spent fuel are 79Se, 129I, 126Sn, 36Cl, and 99Tc. Some of them are volatile during the vitrification process, other radionuclides are activation products, and for many of them there is no accurate information on their inventory in the waste form. The hypotheses in the selection of the main parameter values are further discussed, together with the status of the R&D on one of the main dose contributing radionuclides (79Se).

The Belgian Demonstration Programme for the Disposal of High-Level and Long-Lived Radioactive Waste

2006 ◽  
Vol 932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernier Frédéric ◽  
Demarche Marc ◽  
Bel Johan
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Thermal Load ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Mechanical Response ◽  
Boom Clay ◽  
Geological Formation ◽  
Important Input ◽  
Clay Layers ◽  
High Level ◽  
Large Scale Tests

ABSTRACTThe EIG EURIDICE is responsible for performing large-scale tests, technical demonstrations and experiments so as to assess the feasibility of a final disposal of vitrified radioactive waste in deep clay layers. This programme is part of the Belgian Research and Development programme managed by ONDRAF/NIRAS. The research infrastructure includes the Underground Research Facilities HADES (URF HADES) in the Boom Clay geological formation and surface facilities. The achievements of the demonstration programme are the demonstration of the construction of shafts and galleries at industrial scale, the characterisation of the hydro-mechanical response of the host rock, and the “OPHELIE mock-up” a large scale hydration test under thermal load of pre-fabricated bentonite blocks. The future works will consist mainly in the realisation of the “PRACLAY experiments” including a large scale heater test. The large scale heater test has to demonstrate that Boom Clay is suitable, in terms of performance of the disposal system, to undergo the thermal load induced by the vitrified waste. The combined effect of the excavation and the thermal load will be investigated. A long term (more than 10 years) large scale heater test would be representative of the most penalizing conditions that could be encountered in the real disposal. The results of this test will constitute an important input for the Safety and Feasibility Cases 1 (SFC-1, 2013) and 2 (SFC-2, 2020).

A Modeling Study of General Corrosion of Copper Overpack for Geological Isolation of High-Level Radioactive Waste

1999 ◽  
Vol 556 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Honda ◽  
N Taniguchi ◽  
H. Ishikawa ◽  
M. Kawasaki
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Rotating Disk ◽  
Copper Surface ◽  
Rotating Disk Electrode ◽  
General Corrosion ◽  
Reaction Products ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Solution Layer ◽  
High Level ◽  
Modeling Study

AbstractThis paper describes a modeling study for general corrosion of copper which is a candidate material for high-level radioactive waste overpacks. The model is a mixed-potential model combined with diffusive transport of reactants and reaction products. The rest potential and corrosion rate of copper in aerated solution were measured while controlling the thickness of a diffusive solution layer on the copper surface using a rotating-disk electrode. Experimental data were used for validation of the model.

A Computational Model for Estimating the Cost of Spent Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Transport

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Johnson ◽  
R. E. Best
Keyword(s):  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Spent Nuclear Fuel ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Transportation Cost ◽  
Cost Calculation ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Transport Costs ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Cost

JAI has developed a simple computer program for use in determining a preliminary estimate of costs for transporting spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste by legal weight truck or by rail. The JAI Corporation Spent Fuel and High-Level Radioactive Waste Transportation Cost Model © is a Microsoft Excel 2000-based collection of spreadsheets. Both the truck and rail sub-models consist of three spreadsheets, or modules — as follows: • The “Input” spreadsheet accepts the user’s inputs (the user’s configuration of the transportation scenario to be modeled); • The “Cost Calculations” spreadsheet lists cost components and associated calculations; • The “Results” spreadsheet summarized the calculated transportation costs. The program does not calculate costs between two specific points, but rather over a specific distance. The individual inputs required can be entered by the user — or the user can accept the default values built into the program. The input to the program is divided into the following elements: 1. Scenario configuration; 2. Financial assumptions; 3. Capital-related costs; 4. Operating costs; 5. Freight-related costs; 6. Security-related costs. The rail portion of the program also permits the calculation of the cost of heavy haul and barge transport. The cost calculation spreadsheet contains all the algorithms used for calculating each element of cost and summing them — and the results spreadsheet shows the separate cost of capital, operations, freight, security and miscellaneous costs, plus the total cost for the shipment(s). The program offers an easy way for obtaining preliminary estimates of the cost of transporting spent fuel or high-level radioactive waste, and a way to quickly estimate the sensitivity of transport costs to changes in conditions or shipping scenarios.

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