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Title: Progress of the enhanced Hanford single shell tank (SST) integrity project - 15497

Conference ·
OSTI ID:22824387
; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. Washington River Protection Solutions (United States)
  2. US DOE (United States)

To improve understanding of the single-shell tanks (SSTs) integrity, Washington River Protection Solutions, LLC (WRPS), the US DOE Hanford Site tank contractor, developed an enhanced Single-Shell Tank Integrity Project (SSTIP) in 2009. An expert panel on SST integrity, consisting of various subject matter experts in industry and academia, was created to provide recommendations supporting the development of the project. This panel developed 33 recommendations in four main areas of interest: structural integrity, liner degradation, leak integrity and prevention, and mitigation of contamination migration. In late 2010, seventeen of these recommendations were used to develop the basis for the M-45-10-1 Change Package for the Hanford Federal Agreement and Compliance Order, which is also known as the Tri-Party Agreement. The change package identified two phases of work for SST integrity. The initial phase was focused on efforts to envelope the integrity of the tanks. The initial phase was divided into two primary areas of investigation: structural integrity and leak integrity. If necessary, based on the outcome from the initial work, second phase would be focused on further definition of the integrity of the tanks and liners. Combined these two phases are designed to support the formal integrity assessment of the Hanford SSTs in 2018 by an Independent Qualified Registered Engineer. As the initial phase of this work completes in early 2015, this paper summarizes the project formation and status the work of the past few years associated the implementation of the Phase one recommendations. Work in the initial phase to further define the DOE's understanding of the structural integrity SSTs involved preparing a modern Analysis of Record (AOR) using finite element analysis. Structural analyses of the SSTs have been conducted since 1957, but these analyses used analog calculations, less rigorous models, or focused on individual structures. As such, an integrated understanding of all of the SSTs has not been developed to modern expectations. In support of this effort, other activities addressed the visual inspection of tank internal conditions and the collection of concrete core samples from the tanks, including a full height tank sidewall core, for analysis of current mechanics properties. The work on the liner leak integrity has examined leaks from 25 tanks with known liner failures. Individual leak assessments were developed for each tank to identify the leak cause and location and estimate historic leak rates. A common cause/failure analysis study was performed to take data from individual tanks to look for trends in the causes of failure. A separate activity is being conducted to examine the propensity for corrosion in select SSTs with aggressive waste layers. (authors)

Research Organization:
WM Symposia, Inc., PO Box 27646, 85285-7646 Tempe, AZ (United States)
OSTI ID:
22824387
Report Number(s):
INIS-US-19-WM-15497; TRN: US19V0960069433
Resource Relation:
Conference: WM2015: Annual Waste Management Symposium, Phoenix, AZ (United States), 15-19 Mar 2015; Other Information: Country of input: France; 6 refs.; available online at: http://archive.wmsym.org/2015/index.html
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English