Waste package materials field test in S. E. New Mexico salt
A six-part, waste package materials field test was conducted in a halite horizon of a potash mine in southeastern New Mexico. The primary purposes of this test were to evaluate the thermophysical and geochemical performance of candidate HLW-package backfill materials emplaced in rock salt and the corrosion behavior of candidate waste canister or overpack alloys. This field test series also served as a precursor to forthcoming Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in-situ waste package performance experiments on simulated defense high-level waste packages, serving to develop applicable testing, instrumentation, and sampling techniques. The backfill materials tested (individually, in one- to five-month tests) were: low-density bentonite clay; low-density bentonite (70 wt %)-silica sand (30 wt %) mixtures, both dry and brine-injected; high-density bentonite-sand annular compacts; trapped air; and finely-crushed WIPP salt. The in-situ measured thermal conductivities (at a maximum canister-heater surface temperature of 150/sup 0/ or 250/sup 0/C) for the backfills ranged from 0.25 W/mK for pure bentonite to about 1.25 W/mK for the high-density bentonite-sand. No significant backfill material degradation products were detected in post-test analyses. No appreciable corrosion of the titanium-, nickel-, or iron-based alloys embedded in the hot backfill was found; potentially significant pitting corrosion of 2-1/4 Cr-1 Mo steel and copper was detected. 11 references, 1 table.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 5322145
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-83-1516C; CONF-831174-65; ON: DE84005514
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
ALLOYS
BACKFILLING
BENTONITE
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
CHROMIUM-MOLYBDENUM STEELS
CLAYS
CORROSION
DATA
ELEMENTS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FEDERAL REGION VI
FIELD TESTS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INFORMATION
IRON ALLOYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
LEAD
MATERIALS
METALS
MINERALS
NEW MEXICO
NICKEL ALLOYS
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
NORTH AMERICA
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PACKAGING
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SILICA
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
STEELS
TESTING
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TITANIUM ALLOYS
TITANIUM BASE ALLOYS
USA
WASTES