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
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Materials Research Society annual meeting, Boston, MA, USA, 14 Nov 1983; Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
BACKFILLING
CORROSION
FIELD TESTS
BENTONITE
THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
CHROMIUM-MOLYBDENUM STEELS
CLAYS
IRON BASE ALLOYS
LEAD
NICKEL BASE ALLOYS
PACKAGING
SALT DEPOSITS
SILICA
TITANIUM BASE ALLOYS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
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CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHROMIUM ALLOYS
CHROMIUM STEELS
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ELEMENTS
FEDERAL REGION VI
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INFORMATION
IRON ALLOYS
MATERIALS
METALS
MINERALS
NICKEL ALLOYS
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NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
STEELS
TESTING
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
TITANIUM ALLOYS
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052002* - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Disposal & Storage
360105 - Metals & Alloys- Corrosion & Erosion