Aging effects on curium-doped titanate ceramic containing sodium-bearing high-level nuclear waste

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1992 · Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1992.tb08192.x· OSTI ID:5593307

Mitamura, H ^[1]; Matsumoto, S; Tamuro, Y; Togashi, Y ^[2]; Hart, K P; Vance, E R ^[3]; Miyazaki, T ^[4]; White, T J ^[5]

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1. Dept. of Environmental Safety Research, Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst. (JP)
2. Dept. of Hot Lab., Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst. (JP)
3. Advanced Materials Program, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Lucas Heights Research Lab., Lucas Heights, N.S.W. (AU)
4. Chiyoda Maintenance Ltd. (JP)
5. Univ. of Queensland (AU)

This paper reports that curium-doped titanate ceramic containing sodium-rich high-level nuclear waste showed a gradual decrease in density up to a dose of 8.5 {times} 10{sup 17} {alpha} decays {center dot} g{sup {minus}1}. After that, the rate of density change increased apparently because of crack formation. Optical microscopy showed cracks {gt}0.1 mm long and {gt}1 {mu}m wide after a dose of 7.9 {times} 10{sup 17} {alpha} decays {center dot} g{sup {minus}1}. Leach tests suggested that the dissolution-control phases for sodium and cesium changed from freudenbergite and hollandite, respectively, to intergranular phases after significant cracking. Aging also enhanced strontium losses, relative to calcium, indicating that strontium may also be partitioned to the intergranular phases. After the fresh surfaces produced by cracking were exposed to leachant, and the dissolution of soluble intergranular surfaces was complete, the leaching of nonradioactive elements from the samples having a dose of 12.3 {times} 10{sup 17} {alpha} decays {center dot} g{sup {minus}1} was limited by the following dissolution-control phases: freudenbergite (Na), hollandite (Cs and Ba), perovskite and/or zirconolite (Sr and Ca), and alloys (Mo).

• OSTI ID: 5593307
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States), Vol. 75:2; ISSN 0002-7820
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
AGING
LEACHING
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
MATERIALS TESTING
TITANIUM OXIDES
CRACK PROPAGATION
CURIUM ADDITIONS
DENSITY
IRRADIATION
CESIUM
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
DISSOLUTION
OPTICAL MICROSCOPY
PHASE STABILITY
PHASE STUDIES
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
SODIUM
ACTINIDE ALLOYS
ALKALI METALS
ALLOYS
CHALCOGENIDES
CURIUM ALLOYS
ELEMENTS
KINETICS
MATERIALS
METALS
MICROSCOPY
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REACTION KINETICS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
STABILITY
TESTING
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
WASTES
052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
360206 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Radiation Effects
360205 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Corrosion & Erosion
360202 - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Structure & Phase Studies