Erosion/corrosion concerns in feed preparation systems at the Defense Waste Processing Facility
The Savannah River Site (SRS) has been operating a nuclear fuel cycle since the 1950`s to produce nuclear materials in support of the national defense effort. The Department of Energy authorized the construction of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) to immobilize the high level radioactive waste resulting from these processes as a durable borosilicate glass. The DWPF, after having undergone extensive testing, has been approved for operations and is currently immobilizing radioactive waste. To ensure reliability of the DWPF remote canyon processing equipment, a materials evaluation program was performed prior to radioactive operations to determine to what extent erosion/corrosion would impact design life of equipment. The program consisted of performing pre-service baseline inspections on critical equipment and follow-up inspections after completion of DWPF cold chemical demonstration runs. Non-destructive examination (NDE) techniques were used to assess erosion/corrosion as well as evaluation of corrosion coupon racks. These results were used to arrive at predicted equipment life for selected feed preparation equipment. It was concluded with the exception of the coil and agitator for the slurry mix evaporator (SME), which are exposed to erosive glass frit particles, all of the equipment should meet its design life.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC09-89SR18035
- OSTI ID:
- 431876
- Report Number(s):
- WSRC-MS-96-0363; CONF-970332-3; ON: DE97060049; TRN: 97:002963
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Corrosion 97. 52. annual corrosion conference of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers: economics and performance - bridging the gap and NACExpo, New Orleans, LA (United States), 9-14 Mar 1997; Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Materials performance in a high-level radioactive waste vitrification system
Demonstration of the Defense Waste Processing Facility vitrification process for Tank 42 radioactive sludge -- Melter feed preparation