skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Modeling of Diffusion of Plutonium in Other Metals and of Gaseous Species in Plutonium-Based Systems

Abstract

The problem being addressed is to establish standards for temperature conditions under which plutonium, uranium, or neptunium from nuclear wastes permeates steel, with which it is in contact, by diffusion processes. The primary focus is on plutonium because of the greater difficulties created by the peculiarities of face-centered-cubic-stabilized (delta) plutonium (the form used in the technology generating the waste). Temperature is the key controllable diffusion process, i.e., temperature controls the rate of diffusion. The scientific goal of this project is to predict diffusion constants on an ab initio basis, i.e. diffusion distances in specified time at specified temperature for plutonium from plutonium-based waste materials into various steels or technologically-pertinent metallic alloys. This predictive ability will help to provide information relevant to setting temperature standards for maintaining structures, ducts, equipment, or waste-containing vessels until such time as decontamination and decommissioning and/or permanent storage can be carried out. In 2 addition, this knowledge will aid in assessing the depth of penetration that must be dealt with in any surface treatment for decontamination. The scientific steps of the methodology are (1) to recognize the stabilizing mechanism and the electronic structure pertinent to that stabilization for face-centered-cubic (fcc) deltastabilized plutonium, (2) to extract themore » information needed to perform dynamic simulations from ab initio electronic structure calculations, (3) to perform and report the dynamic simulations predicting the diffusion behavior.« less

Authors:
;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV; University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (US)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) (US)
OSTI Identifier:
828401
Report Number(s):
EMSP-59925-2001
R&D Project: EMSP 59925; TRN: US0403966
DOE Contract Number:  
FG07-97ER45671
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 1 Jun 2001
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; 36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; DECOMMISSIONING; DECONTAMINATION; DIFFUSION; ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE; FCC LATTICES; NEPTUNIUM; PLUTONIUM; RADIOACTIVE WASTES; SIMULATION; STABILIZATION; STEELS; SURFACE TREATMENTS; TEMPERATURE CONTROL; URANIUM; WASTES

Citation Formats

Cooper, Bernard R, and Fernando, Gayanath W. Modeling of Diffusion of Plutonium in Other Metals and of Gaseous Species in Plutonium-Based Systems. United States: N. p., 2001. Web. doi:10.2172/828401.
Cooper, Bernard R, & Fernando, Gayanath W. Modeling of Diffusion of Plutonium in Other Metals and of Gaseous Species in Plutonium-Based Systems. United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/828401
Cooper, Bernard R, and Fernando, Gayanath W. 2001. "Modeling of Diffusion of Plutonium in Other Metals and of Gaseous Species in Plutonium-Based Systems". United States. https://doi.org/10.2172/828401. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/828401.
@article{osti_828401,
title = {Modeling of Diffusion of Plutonium in Other Metals and of Gaseous Species in Plutonium-Based Systems},
author = {Cooper, Bernard R and Fernando, Gayanath W},
abstractNote = {The problem being addressed is to establish standards for temperature conditions under which plutonium, uranium, or neptunium from nuclear wastes permeates steel, with which it is in contact, by diffusion processes. The primary focus is on plutonium because of the greater difficulties created by the peculiarities of face-centered-cubic-stabilized (delta) plutonium (the form used in the technology generating the waste). Temperature is the key controllable diffusion process, i.e., temperature controls the rate of diffusion. The scientific goal of this project is to predict diffusion constants on an ab initio basis, i.e. diffusion distances in specified time at specified temperature for plutonium from plutonium-based waste materials into various steels or technologically-pertinent metallic alloys. This predictive ability will help to provide information relevant to setting temperature standards for maintaining structures, ducts, equipment, or waste-containing vessels until such time as decontamination and decommissioning and/or permanent storage can be carried out. In 2 addition, this knowledge will aid in assessing the depth of penetration that must be dealt with in any surface treatment for decontamination. The scientific steps of the methodology are (1) to recognize the stabilizing mechanism and the electronic structure pertinent to that stabilization for face-centered-cubic (fcc) deltastabilized plutonium, (2) to extract the information needed to perform dynamic simulations from ab initio electronic structure calculations, (3) to perform and report the dynamic simulations predicting the diffusion behavior.},
doi = {10.2172/828401},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/828401}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2001},
month = {Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2001}
}