[alpha]-Decay damage effects in curium-doped titanate ceramic containing sodium-free high-level nuclear waste

Journal Article · Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1994 · Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1151-2916.1994.tb04591.x· OSTI ID:6932949

Mitamura, Hisayoshi; Matsumoto, Seiichiro; Tsuboi, Takashi; Hashimoto, Masaaki; Togashi, Yoshihiro; Kanazawa, Hiroyuki ^[1]; Stewart, M W.A.; Vance, E R; Hart, K P; Ball, C J ^[2]; White, T J

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1. Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Ibaraki (Japan)
2. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Lucas Heights, New South Wales (Australia). Lucas Heights Research Labs.

A polyphase titanate ceramic incorporating sodium-free simulated high-level nuclear waste was doped with 0.91 wt% of [sup 224]Cm to accelerate the effects of long-term self-irradiation arising from [alpha] decays. The ceramic included three main constituent minerals: hollandite, perovskite, and zirconolite, with some minor phases. Although hollandite showed the broadening of its X-ray diffraction lines and small lattice parameter changes during damage in growth, the unit cell was substantially unaltered. Perovskite and zirconolite, which are the primary hosts of curium, showed 2.7% and 2.6% expansions, respectively, of their unit cell volumes after a dose of 12 [times] 10[sup 17] [alpha] decays[center dot]g[sup [minus]1]. Volume swelling due to damage in growth caused an exponential (almost linear) decrease in density, which reached 1.7% after a dose of 12.4 [times] 10[sup 17] [alpha] decays[center dot]g[sup [minus]1]. Leach tests on samples that had incurred doses of 2.0 [times] 10[sup 17] and 4.5 [times] 10[sup 17] [alpha] decays[center dot]g[sup [minus]1] showed that the rates of dissolution of cesium and barium were similar to analogous leach rates from the equivalent cold ceramic, while strontium and calcium leach rates were 2--15 times higher. Although the cerium, molybdenum, strontium, and calcium leach rates in the present material were similar to those in the curium-doped sodium-bearing titanate ceramic reported previously, the cesium leach rate was 3--8 times lower.

• OSTI ID: 6932949
• Journal Information: Journal of the American Ceramic Society; (United States), Vol. 77:9; ISSN 0002-7820
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
BARIUM
DISSOLUTION
LEACHING
CALCIUM
CESIUM
CURIUM
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MOLYBDENUM
STRONTIUM
TITANATES
PHYSICAL RADIATION EFFECTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CRACK PROPAGATION
CURIUM 244
DOPED MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE FORMS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ACTINIDES
ALKALI METALS
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CURIUM ISOTOPES
ELEMENTS
EVALUATION
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
HEAVY NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
METALS
NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOISOTOPES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SPONTANEOUS FISSION RADIOISOTOPES
TITANIUM COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
TRANSPLUTONIUM ELEMENTS
TRANSURANIUM ELEMENTS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
360206* - Ceramics
Cermets
& Refractories- Radiation Effects
052002 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
053002 - Nuclear Fuels- Environmental Aspects- Radioactive Effluents- (1992-)