ABSTRACT

Three alloys were made to represent waste forms for ZIRLO® cladding and metallic fuel wastes by alloying ZIRLO® and a surrogate metallic fuel waste mixture with various amounts of Inconel 718, 304 stainless steel, trim chromium, and trim copper. The objective was to establish if metallic wastes that contain ZIRLO® can be manufactured into durable waste forms for geological repository. Specimens were metallurgically characterized and subjected to electrochemical tests to assess their corrosion resistance. Tests were conducted in acidic and alkaline electrolytes prepared with and without NaCl to simulate ranges of environmental redox and chemical conditions that could occur within a breached waste package in a disposal facility. The microstructures and potentiodynamic scans of these alloys are presented. Surface analyses after the potentiodynamic scans indicate intermetallics enriched in iron, nickel, and copper corroded at relatively low potentials in Cl− solutions and were less durable than the zirconium-chromium phases.

摘要

通过将 ZIRLO® 和一种替代金属燃料废物混合物与不同数量的 Inconel 718、304 不锈钢、装饰铬和装饰铜合金化，制造了三种合金来代表 ZIRLO® 包层和金属燃料废物的废物形式。目的是确定是否可以将含有 ZIRLO® 的金属废料制成耐用的废料形式用于地质处置。对试样进行冶金表征并进行电化学测试以评估其耐腐蚀性。在使用和不使用 NaCl 制备的酸性和碱性电解质中进行了测试，以模拟在处置设施中破损的废物包内可能发生的环境氧化还原和化学条件的范围。介绍了这些合金的微观结构和动电位扫描。