Comparison of mechanical properties of glass-bonded sodalite and borosilicate glass high-level waste forms

摘要

Argonne National Laboratory has developed a glass-bonded sodalite waste form to immobilize the salt waste stream from electrometallurgical treatment of spent nuclear fuel. The waste form consists of 75 vol.% crystalline sodalite and 25 vol.% glass. Microindentation fracture toughness measurements were performed on the material and borosilicate glass from the Defense Waste Processing Facility using a Vickers indenter. Palmqvist cracking was confined for the glass-bonded sodalite waste form, while median-radial cracking occurred in the borosilicate glass. The elastic modulus was measured by an acoustic technique. Fracture toughness, microhardness, and elastic modulus values are reported for both waste forms.