Hanford's tank farm piping system must be substantially modified to deliver high-levelwastes from the underground storage tanks to the Waste Treatment Plant now underconstruction. Improved knowledge of the physical properties of the solids was requiredto support the design of the modified system.To provide this additional knowledge, particle size distributions for composite samplesfrom seven high-level waste feed tanks were measured using two different laser lightscatteringparticle size analyzers. These measurements were made under a variety ofinstrumental conditions, including various flow rates through the sample loop, variousstirring rates in the sample reservoir, and before and after subjecting the particles toultrasonic energy. A mean value over all the tanks of 4.2 μm was obtained for thevolume-based median particle size. Additional particle size information was obtainedfrom sieving tests, settling tests and microscopic observations.
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