Evaluation of DUSTRAN Software System for Modeling Chloride Deposition on Steel Canisters

Technical Report · Wed Jul 29 00:00:00 EDT 2015

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1212246· OSTI ID:1212246

Tran, Tracy T. ^[1]; Jensen, Philip J. ^[1]; Fritz, Brad G. ^[1]; Rutz, Frederick C. ^[1]; Devanathan, Ram ^[1]

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1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

The degradation of steel by stress corrosion cracking (SCC) when exposed to atmospheric conditions for decades is a significant challenge in the fossil fuel and nuclear industries. SCC can occur when corrosive contaminants such as chlorides are deposited on a susceptible material in a tensile stress state. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has identified chloride-induced SCC as a potential cause for concern in stainless steel used nuclear fuel (UNF) canisters in dry storage. The modeling of contaminant deposition is the first step in predictive multiscale modeling of SCC that is essential to develop mitigation strategies, prioritize inspection, and ensure the integrity and performance of canisters, pipelines, and structural materials. A multiscale simulation approach can be developed to determine the likelihood that a canister would undergo SCC in a certain period of time. This study investigates the potential of DUSTRAN, a dust dispersion modeling system developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, to model the deposition of chloride contaminants from sea salt aerosols on a steel canister. Results from DUSTRAN simulations run with historical meteorological data were compared against measured chloride data at a coastal site in Maine. DUSTRAN’s CALPUFF model tended to simulate concentrations higher than those measured; however, the closest estimations were within the same order of magnitude as the measured values. The decrease in discrepancies between measured and simulated values as the level of abstraction in wind speed decreased suggest that the model is very sensitive to wind speed. However, the influence of other parameters such as the distinction between open-ocean and surf-zone sources needs to be explored further. Deposition values predicted by the DUSTRAN system were not in agreement with concentration values and suggest that the deposition calculations may not fully represent physical processes. Overall, results indicate that with parameter refinement, DUSTRAN has the potential to simulate atmospheric chloride dispersion on steel canisters.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1212246
• Report Number(s): PNNL-24500; TRN: US1500335
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
STAINLESS STEELS
AEROSOLS
CHLORIDES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
SEAS
DEPOSITION
CRACKS
STRESS CORROSION
COMPUTER CODES
DRY STORAGE
ABUNDANCE
VELOCITY
WIND
DUSTS
METEOROLOGY
PERFORMANCE
SALTS
STRESSES
SPENT FUEL CASKS
DUSTRAN
chloride deposition
steel canister
modeling