Preliminary Corrosion Studies of Glass Ceramic Code 9617 and a Sealing Frit for Nuclear Waste Canisters

摘要

A study was initiated to evaluate glass-ceramic Code 9617 and a sealing frit (glass Code 186AYU) to determine the suitability of these materials for use in the construction of a cannister to contain and permanently isolate spent nuclear fuel rods. The granite repository storage conditions included ground water in contact with bentonite clay plus sand with temperature cooling from 100 to 40 deg C in 500 years. The water exchange rate is 1 ml per cm exp 2 of cannister surface per year. Tests were conducted at 60, 90, 130, and 180 deg C. Most of this preliminary work was done with distilled water with a few tests in water containing bentonite and sand or salt. Preliminary data suggest that the glass-ceramic would lose about 0.1 cm of thickness in the first 1000 years of storage. There is little evidence to suggest that the corrosion rate in ground water/bentonite/sand mix or in salt water would differ by more than an order of magnitude. It appears that the spodumene fraction of the glass-ceramic is very corrosion resistant, even at 1800 deg C. This suggests that modifications in bulk composition or processing could dramatically decresase overall corrosion rates. (Atomindex citation 10:431060)