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Title: Potential for a solids fire during an ITP waste tank deflagration and the impact on gas pressure

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10106561· OSTI ID:10106561

During the In-Tank Precipitation (ITP) process, solid deposits may form at the water-line on internal waste tank surfaces. These solids may be combustible due to the presence of tetraphenylborate compounds and hence there is a potential that a waste tank deflagration could ignite a solids fire. The work described in this report evaluates the potential for a waste tank deflagration to ignite a solids fire and the subsequent effect on gas pressure. Thermal analyses were performed using a one-dimensional conduction model, radiative heat flux values calculated with the Deflagration Pressure Analysis Code (DPAC), and effective deposit properties calculated from the component properties. It was shown that a solids fire could only be ignited by a waste tank deflagration for a limited range of cases. For the best-estimate mixtures, a solids fire could not be ignited prior to the time the peak gas pressure is reached and would not increase the peak pressure. For the upper-bound mixtures, the thickness of the solid layer which could be ignited is insufficient to increase the energy released by the deflagration by a significant amount. It was also shown that these conclusions are relatively insensitive to uncertainties related to deposit composition. Thus, the contribution from a solids fire to the gas pressure resulting from a waste tank deflagration may be neglected.

Research Organization:
Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC09-89SR18035
OSTI ID:
10106561
Report Number(s):
WSRC-RP-93-997; ON: DE94003698; TRN: 94:005507
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Jul 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English