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A Justification for the Use of Data from Accelerated Leach Tests of Glass

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1992

Tae M. Ahn ,
Charles G. Interrante  and
Richard A. Weller
Tae M. Ahn
Affiliation:
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555
Charles G. Interrante
Affiliation:
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555
Richard A. Weller
Affiliation:
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington DC 20555
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Abstract

A case is made for the use of short-term laboratory data in making predictions on the likelihood of significant colloid formation in supersaturated leachates of glass, under long-term repository conditions, using “accelerated tests” with a large ratio of the surface area of the glass to the leachate volume. In the repository conditions in which colloids can form, long-term leaching may be a kinetically-controlled process that involves the continuous formation of colloids. If this kinetic process dominates, it could lead to a significant increase in the predicted rates of radionuclide release. The question is whether or not colloids may form after prolonged times; the delayed formation would make it difficult to use short-term laboratory test results to represent (or predict) the long-term and cumulative effects of radionuclides. In this work, the pertinent long-term kinetic processes are identified in part. Classical nucleation theory for particle formation, as a potential condensation mechanism for colloid formation, is applied to explain pertinent experimental data on colloid formation. The classical theory, which is justified for this discussion, indicates that as supersaturation of a leachate is decreased, the nucleation rate decreases most significantly, while the incubation time increases at a small rate. As a result of this decreased nucleation rate, the significance of colloids tends to vanish, and usefulness of data from “accelerated“ laboratory tests may be applicable to long-term behavior.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 294: Symposium V – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XVI , 1992 , 599
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1993

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