Aging mechanisms for concrete components of high-level waste storage tanks

Conference · Fri Dec 01 04:00:00 UTC 1995

OSTI ID:131848

Kassir, M; Bandyopadhyay, K; Bush, S; Mather, B; Thompson, B; Rooyen, D van; Weeks, J ^[1]

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1. Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

The age-related degradation mechanisms which affect the concrete and the reinforcing steel in the high-level waste (HLW) storage tanks are evaluated with respect to their potential significance to the continued performance of the concrete, and are classified into non-significant and potentially significant. a degradation mechanism is classified as non-significant if it can be shown that the concrete enclosure is either not susceptible to it or affected by it to such a small degree that its intended function, namely, providing structural stability against design and postulated loads, will be maintained during the remaining service life of the tank. An age-related degradation mechanism is defined as potentially significant when, if allowed to continue without mitigating measures, it cannot be shown that the concrete enclosure would continue to maintain its structural capability. Such degradations require mitigating measures to manage the degradation. The identified potentially significantly degradation mechanisms include the effects of elevated temperature, freezing and thawing, leaching of calcium hydroxide, aggressive chemical attack, and corrosion of the reinforcing steel. To the extent that available knowledge permits, these mechanisms are generically evaluated and quantified sot that site-specific plans may be developed to verify whether significant degradation has occurred in the concrete, and, if so, to formulate mitigating measures to avoid further deterioration possibly repair the degradation or pursue other management options.

• OSTI ID: 131848
• Report Number(s): CONF-950740--; ISBN 0-7918-1334-7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
AGE DEPENDENCE
CALCIUM HYDROXIDES
COMPRESSION STRENGTH
CORROSION
CREEP
DAMAGE
ELASTICITY
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
RADIOACTIVE WASTE STORAGE
REINFORCED CONCRETE
RELIABILITY
TANKS
YIELD STRENGTH