Selection of candidate canister materials for high-level nuclear waste containment in a tuff repository

Technical Report · Tue Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1983

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/59290· OSTI ID:59290

McCright, R D; Weiss, H; Juhas, M C; Logan, R W

A repository located at Yucca Mountain at the Nevada Test Site is a potential site for permanent geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste. The repository can be located in a horizon in welded tuff, a volcanic rock, which is above the static water level at this site. The environmental conditions in this unsaturated zone are expected to be air and water vapor dominated for much of the containment period. Type 304L stainless steel is the reference material for fabricating canisters to contain the solid high-level wastes. Alternative stainless alloys are considered because of possible susceptibility of 304L to localized and stress forms of corrosion. For the reprocessed glass wastes, the canisters serve as the recipient for pouring the glass with the result that a sensitized microstructure may develop because of the times at elevated temperatures. Corrosion testing of the reference and alternative materials has begun in tuff-conditioned water and steam environments. 21 references, 8 figures, 8 tables.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 59290
• Report Number(s): UCRL--89988; CONF-840405--14; ON: DE85003567
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CONTAINERS
CORROSION
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MATERIALS TESTING
NICKEL-CHROMIUM STEELS
STAINLESS STEEL-304L
STAINLESS STEEL-316L
STAINLESS STEEL-321
STAINLESS STEEL-347
STEAM
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
TUFF
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Yucca Mountain Project