Final Report Mechanics of Bubbles in Sludges and Slurries
The Hanford Site has 177 underground waste storage tanks that are known to retain and release bubbles composed of flammable gases. Characterizing and understanding the behavior of these bubbles is important for the safety issues associated with the flammable gases for both ongoing waste storage and future waste-retrieval operations. The retained bubbles are known to respond to small barometric pressure changes, though in a complex manner with unusual hysteresis occurring in some tanks in the relationship between bubble volume and pressure, or V-P hysteresis. With careful analysis, information on the volume of retained gas and the interactions of the waste and the bubbles can be determined. The overall objective of this study is to create a better understanding of the mechanics of bubbles retained in high-level waste sludges and slurries. Significant advancements have been made in all the major areas of basic theoretical and experimental method development. In addition, the relevance of these basic developments to Hanford waste has resulted in an entirely new understanding of bubble mechanics and waste microstructure in Hanford waste tanks. This effort included both experimental and theoretical studies. Experimental developments have provided measurements of V-P hysteresis on a range of simulants. The theoretical approaches included solid-mechanics studies of bubbles in soft solids, fluid-mechanics studies of bubbles in yield stress fluids, and porous-media studies of bubbles in model porous media filled with Newtonian fluids or filled with yield-stress fluids.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 15001164
- Report Number(s):
- PNNL-13748; KP1301020; TRN: US0400124
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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