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Container Materials for High-Level Nuclear Waste at the Proposed Yucca Mountain Site

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

R. Daniel McCright
R. Daniel McCright*
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, CA 94550 USA
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Abstract

Candidate container materials for high-level nuclear waste packages to be emplaced at the proposed Yucca Mountain repository site are being considered for their long-term resistance to corrosion, oxidation, embrittlement and other kinds of degradation. Selection criteria have been established, and a method has been developed for recommending a material for advanced container design activities. An extensive compilation of the degradation phenomena for six candidate materials is complete, and further studies have begun on the degradation modes affecting additional candidate materials. Phenomenological models for predicting container degradation rates are being advanced for environmental conditions applicable to Yucca Mountain. An experimental program is underway to evaluate the susceptibility of container materials to localized corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, and enhancement of corrosion and oxidation attack by gamma radiation. Initial evaluations of container fabrication and welding processes have identified some processes that appear to alleviate some long-term corrosion susceptibility concerns.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 212: Symposium P – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XIV , 1990 , 249
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

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References

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