scholarly journals Overview of Chemical Modeling of Nuclear Waste Glass Dissolution

1990 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Bourcier

ABSTRACTGlass dissolution takes place through metal leaching and hydration of the glass surface accompanied by development of alteration layers of varying crystallinity. The reaction which controls the long-term glass dissolution rate appears to be surface layer dissolution. This reaction is reversible because the buildup of dissolved species in solution slows the dissolution rate due to a decreased dissolution affinity. Glass dissolution rates are therefore highly dependent on silica concentrations in solution because silica is the major component of the alteration layer.Chemical modeling of glass dissolution using reaction path computer codes has successfully been applied to short term experimental tests and used to predict long-term repository performance. Current problems and limitations of the models include a poorly defined long-term glass dissolution mechanism, the use of model parameters determined from the same experiments that the model is used to predict, and the lack of sufficient validation of key assumptions in the modeling approach. Work is in progress that addresses these issues.

Soil Research ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 738 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. E. Allen ◽  
P. M. Bloesch ◽  
T. G. Orton ◽  
B. L. Schroeder ◽  
D. M. Skocaj ◽  
...  

We explored soil properties as indices of mineralisable nitrogen (N) in sugarcane soils and whether we could increase the accuracy of predicting N mineralisation during laboratory incubations. Utilising historical data in combination with samples collected during 2016, we: (i) measured mineralised N over the course of short-term (14 days) and long-term (301 days) laboratory incubations; (ii) compared models representing mineralisation; then (iii) related model parameters to measured soil properties. We found measures representing the labile organic N pool (Hydrolysable NaOH organic N; amino sugar Illinois soil N test) best related to short-term mineralised N (R2 of 0.50–0.57, P < 0.001), while measures of CO2 production (3, 7, 10 and 14 days) best related to longer-term mineralised N (R2 of 0.75–0.84, P < 0.001). Indices were brought together to model the active and slow pools of a two-pool mineralisation model in the statistical framework of a mixed-effects model. Of the models that relied on measurement of one soil property, cumulative CO2 production (7 days) performed the best when considering all soil types; in a cross-validation test, this model gave an external R2 of 0.77 for prediction of the 301-day mineralised N. Since the mixed-effects model accounts for the various sources of uncertainty, we suggest this approach as a framework for prediction of in-field available N, with further measurement of long-term mineralised N in other soils to strengthen predictive certainty of these soil indices.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Vrtunski ◽  
Lara Pajewski ◽  
Aleksandar Ristić ◽  
Željko Bugarinović ◽  
Miro Govedarica

<p>Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) systems need to be calibrated on a recurrent basis and their performance shall be periodically verified, in accordance with manufacturer recommendations and specifications. Nevertheless, most GPR owners in Europe employ their radar units and antennas for years without ever having them verified by manufacturers, unless major flaws or issues become evident. In this framework, Members of COST Action TU1208 have recently carried out a critical analysis of the few existing procedures for the calibration and performance verification of GPR systems; and, they have proposed four improved experimental tests to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio, short-term stability, linearity in the time axis, and long-term stability of the GPR signal [1]. In this work, we present the results of the tests executed in Novi Sad, Serbia, on a GSSI SIR 3000 control unit equipped with GSSI ground-coupled antennas having central frequencies of 400 MHz and 900 MHz. We have experienced that the execution of the tests helps to attain stronger awareness about the behaviour and limits of owned GPR equipment. It is also interesting to check how the results of the tests change over time and in different environmental conditions, to analyze the performance evolution of the equipment. Main aim of this abstract is to spread the voice and encourage GPR owners and manufacturers to execute the tests. If a wide variety of control units and antennas are tested, of older and more recent conception, with different numbers of working hours, reliable thresholds for the tests can be established and the proposed procedures can be further refined and upgraded. Moreover, the results of the tests can be translated into accuracy levels of measured physical and geometrical quantities, to get some awareness about the uncertainty of results of a GPR survey (e.g., achieved accuracy levels in the estimation of layer thicknesses).</p><p> </p><p>[1] L. Pajewski, M. Vrtunski, Ž. Bugarinović, A. Ristić, M. Govedarica, A. van der Wielen, C. Grégoire, C. Van Geem, X. Dérobert, V. Borecky, S. Serkan Artagan, S. Fontul, V. Marecos, and S. Lambot, "GPR system performance compliance according to COST Action TU1208 guidelines,"  Ground Penetrating Radar, Volume 1, Issue 2, Article ID GPR-1-2-1, July 2018, pp. 2-36, doi.org/10.26376/GPR2018007.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 911 ◽  
pp. 232-237
Author(s):  
Yuan Rong Ma ◽  
Xian Jun Li ◽  
Biao Deng ◽  
Ying She Luo

The study tested the short-term bending creep curves of Eucalyptus Plantation Wood under different loads, moisture contents and temperatures, analyzed the influence of load, moisture content and temperature on creep of Eucalyptus. Guided by the rheological theory, the study adopted the Burger rheological model to do the curve fitting and solved the model parameters. A defect found from Burger model in simulating long-term creep properties of wood was preliminary discussed and remedied. The equivalence of creep test and relaxation one was discussed.


1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Grambow ◽  
Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe

ABSTRACTThe current knowledge on the glass dissolution mechanism and the representation of glass dissolution concepts within overall repository performance assessment models are briefly summarized and uncertainties related to mechanism, radionuclide chemistry and parameters are discussed. Understanding of the major glass dissolution processes has been significantly increased in recent years. Long-term glass stability is related to the long-term maintenance of silica saturated conditions. The behavior of individual radionuclides in the presence of a dissolving glass has not been sufficiently and results do not yet allow meaningful predictions. Conservative long-term predictions of glass matrix dissolution as upper limit for radionuclide release can be made with sufficient confidence, however these estimations generally result in a situation were the barrier function of the glass is masked by the efficiency of the geologic barrier. Realistic long-term predictions may show that the borosilicate waste glass contributes to overall repository safety to a much larger extent than indicated by overconservatism. Today realistic predictions remain highly uncertain and much more research work is necessary. In particular the long-term rate under silica saturated conditions needs to be understood and the behavior of individual radionuclides in the presence of a dissolving glass deserves more systematic investigations.


1996 ◽  
Vol 465 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. L. Ebert ◽  
S.-W. Tam

ABSTRACTWe have characterized the corrosion behavior of several Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) reference waste glasses by conducting static dissolution tests with crushed glasses. Glass dissolution rates were calculated from measured B concentrations in tests conducted for up to five years. The dissolution rates of all glasses increased significantly after certain alteration phases precipitated. Calculation of the dissolution rates was complicated by the decrease in the available surface area as the glass dissolves. We took the loss of surface area into account by modeling the particles to be spheres, then extracting from the short-term test results the dissolution rate corresponding to a linear decrease in the radius of spherical particles. The measured extent of dissolution in tests conducted for longer times was less than predicted with this linear dissolution model. This indicates that advanced stages of corrosion are affected by another process besides dissolution, which we believe to be associated with a decrease in the precipitation rate of the alteration phases. These results show that the dissolution rate measured soon after the formation of certain alteration phases provides an upper limit for the long-term dissolution rate, and can be used to determine a bounding value for the source term for radionuclide release from waste glasses. The long-term dissolution rates measured in tests at 20,000 m−1 at 90°C in tuff groundwater at pH values near 12 are about 0.2,0.07, and 0.04 g/(m2•d) for the Environmental Assessment glass and glasses made with SRL 131 and SRL 202 frits, respectively.


1987 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Stephens

AbstractFor a number of years, nuclear regulators have grappled with difficult questions such as: “How safe is safe enough?” Such issues take on new dimensions in the long time-frame of high-level waste disposal.Many of the challenges facing regulators involve assessment of long-term materials performance. Because real-time experiments cannot be conducted, it is necessary to rely extensively on modeling. This raises issues regarding the extent to which long-term extrapolations of short-term data are justified, the question of how closely models must represent reality to be trusted, and practical matters such as methods for validating unique computer codes.Issues such as these illustrate how regulators must make decisions in a climate of uncertainty. Methods used by non-technical disciplines to make decisions under uncertainty have been examined and offer solutions for regulators and licensees alike.


1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
William L. Bourcier ◽  
Susan A. Carroll ◽  
Brian L. Phillips

ABSTRACTPredictions of long-term glass dissolution rates are highly dependent on the form of the affinity term in the rate expression. Analysis of the quantitative effect of saturation state on glass dissolution rate for CSG glass (a simple analog of SRL-165 glass), shows that a simple (1-Q/K) affinity term does not match experimental results. Our data at 100°C show that the data is better fit by an affinity term having the form where σ =10.


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