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DOE OSTI2024

Update on Parallel Process Execution in the Next Generation System Analysis Model (NGSAM)

As of the end of 2022, it is estimated that over 90,000 metric tons of heavy metal (MTHM) of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) were stored at various commercial nuclear power reactor sites (both operating and shutdown) across the United States [1]. The Office of Storage and Transportation within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy is planning for the transportation, storage, and eventual disposal of SNF and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). To aid in this effort and inform decision-makers about the backend of the spent fuel cycle, systems analysis tools capable of analyzing the various options with respect to SNF and HLW management are being used as well as continuously improved to meet the evolving needs of the program. System analysts typically use these tools to vary underlying assumptions (shipping rates, available facilities, start dates, interim storage capacity, etc.) and study the associated system implications such as timing for clearing sites of SNF, various cost elements, transportation infrastructure acquisition needs, etc.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

FY2019 Performance Assessment Annual Review for the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility

The Savannah River Site (SRS) E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) consists of six types of disposal units described in the Performance Assessment (PA) (WSRC, 2008): Low Activity Waste Vault (LAWV), Intermediate Level Vault (ILV), Trenches [Slit Trenches (STs), Engineered Trenches (ETs), and Component-in-Grout (CIG) Trenches], and Naval Reactor Component Disposal Areas (NRCDAs). The ELLWF is a part of the Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF). SWMF is managed and operated by the SRS Management and Operations prime contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). Within SRNS, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) organization is responsible for operating the SWMF, and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is the technical agency responsible for preparing and maintaining the PA. SWMF operations have been performed at SRS since 1952. The mission of the SWMF is to provide storage, processing, disposal, and shipment of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste. The SWMF is committed to treat, store, and dispose of these waste products in a manner that protects the environment and the health and safety of the facility worker, the co-located worker, and the offsite general public. Wastes handled in the SWMF include low level waste, transuranic waste, hazardous waste, Toxic Substances Control Act waste, and mixed waste (containing both hazardous and radioactive constituents).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2020

FY2019 Performance Assessment Annual Review for the E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility

The Savannah River Site (SRS) E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) consists of six types of disposal units described in the Performance Assessment (PA) (WSRC, 2008): Low Activity Waste Vault (LAWV), Intermediate Level Vault (ILV), Trenches [Slit Trenches (STs), Engineered Trenches (ETs), and Component-in-Grout (CIG) Trenches], and Naval Reactor Component Disposal Areas (NRCDAs). The ELLWF is a part of the Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF). SWMF is managed and operated by the SRS Management and Operations prime contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). Within SRNS, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) organization is responsible for operating the SWMF, and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is the technical agency responsible for preparing and maintaining the PA. SWMF operations have been performed at SRS since 1952. The mission of the SWMF is to provide storage, processing, disposal, and shipment of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste. The SWMF is committed to treat, store, and dispose of these waste products in a manner that protects the environment and the health and safety of the facility worker, the co-located worker, and the offsite general public. Wastes handled in the SWMF include low level waste, transuranic waste, hazardous waste, Toxic Substances Control Act waste, and mixed waste (containing both hazardous and radioactive constituents).

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DOE OSTI2021

FY2020 performance assessment annual review for the E-area low-level waste facility

The Savannah River Site (SRS) E-Area Low-Level Waste Facility (ELLWF) consists of six types of disposal units described in the Performance Assessment (PA) (WSRC, 2008): Low Activity Waste Vault (LAWV), Intermediate Level Vault (ILV), Trenches [Slit Trenches (STs), Engineered Trenches (ETs), and Component-in-Grout (CIG) Trenches], and Naval Reactor Component Disposal Areas (NRCDAs). The ELLWF is a part of the Solid Waste Management Facility (SWMF). SWMF is managed and operated by the SRS Management and Operations prime contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). Within SRNS, the Solid Waste Management (SWM) organization is responsible for operating the SWMF, and the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is the technical agency responsible for preparing and maintaining the PA. SWMF operations have been performed at SRS since 1952. The mission of the SWMF is to provide storage, processing, disposal, and shipment of radioactive, hazardous, and mixed waste. The SWMF is committed to treat, store, and dispose of these waste products in a manner that protects the environment and the health and safety of the facility worker, the co-located worker, and the offsite general public. Wastes handled in the SWMF include low level waste, transuranic waste, hazardous waste, Toxic Substances Control Act waste, and mixed waste (containing both hazardous and radioactive constituents). The FY2020 PA Annual Review for the ELLWF affirms that the disposal facility continued to operate within the bounds of the current PA and Composite Analysis (CA) baseline and the subsequent SA’s and satisfied all the requirements, conditions, and limitations identified in the 2008 DAS (DOE 2008a), RWMB SRNL_STI-2020-00588 Revision 0 vi (McGill, 2020), and ELLWF Low-Level Waste Acceptance Criteria (SRS-1S, 2014). This annual review affirms that the supporting studies performed in FY2020 do not alter the conclusions of the ELLWF PA (WSRC, 2008) and that there is a reasonable expectation that the ELLWF will meet the performance objectives delineated in DOE Manual 435.1-1 (DOE 2011)

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DOE OSTI2018

The Status of LILW Complex Disposal Facility Construction in Korea-18511

This paper provides the status and experiences of Low and Intermediate-level radioactive Waste (LILW) disposal facility in Korea. The LILW disposal facility is being constructed in Gyeongju-si, Korea. It can dispose of 800,000 drums (hereafter, 'drums' means '200 liter drum equivalents' unless specified otherwise) of radioactive waste in a site of 2,060,000 m{sup 2}. The first stage of the LILW facility construction was completed in June 2014, and approved for use by Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) in December 2014. The first stage of the LILW facility, which is a type of underground silo with disposal capacity of 35,200 m{sup 3} (100,000 drums), consists of a construction tunnel, an operation tunnel, an access shaft, and six silos, etc. Silo for final disposal is located 80∼130 m below sea level, 25 m in diameter and 50 m in height. The capacity of each silo is approximately 16,700 drums. The second stage of the LILW facility is under construction and will be completed by December 2020. The second stage of the LILW facility, which is a type of near-surface disposal with disposal capacity of 32,875 m{sup 3} (125,000 drums), consists of an underground gallery, three movable cranes and twenty vaults, etc. Vault for final disposal is located about 100 m above sea level, 20 m in width, 20 m length and 10.9 m in height. The capacity of each vault is approximately 6,250 drums. A second receipt and storage facility is to be completed by June 2021. This facility is under designing to prepare for further increasing radioactive waste receipt quantities. It has storage capacity of 10,000 drums (existing receipt and storage facility have storage capacity of 7,000 drums)and will be divided into several sections for pre-disposal work, storage, a passage to link the existing facility to the second receipt and storage facility and truck bay, etc. These components of the LILW disposal facilities are together called LILW complex disposal facility. It is the world's first LILW disposal facility with two different types of disposal facilities in one site. For efficient operation, these disposal facilities share a receipt and storage building, a waste water treatment system, a measurement and monitoring system, etc. Once the construction of the first two stages is completed, LILW disposal facilities will be incrementally expanded, and as the whole LILW disposal facilities are completed, all LILW in Korea will be disposed of these disposal facilities efficiently according to its radioactivity level and managed safely by KORAD. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2019

Comparing Ecological Risk between D and D Facilities and Operating Facilities at the Hanford Site - 19531

Many countries are faced with a large remediation task resulting from World War II, the Cold War, and subsequent industrial development. In the U.S. the Department of Energy (DOE) faces the largest hazardous waste remediation tasks, with a commitment to protect human health and the environment during and following remediation. DoE's biggest challenge is remediation of the many remaining cleanup areas at the Hanford Site, Washington. Some Hanford sites have extensive ecological resources and ecosystems that require protection or restoration. We briefly 1) describe a rapid evaluation method for ecological resources on units slated for cleanup that allows comparison among the different areas at the Hanford Site, 2) examine some D4 (deactivation, decommissioning, decontamination and demolition) facilities and Operating facilities that require remediation, 3) describe potential ecological harm to resources on these sites, and 4) compare how risks from potential harm vary at the Hanford Site. The ecological evaluation includes three phases: 1) general steps (identify resource categories, identify cleanup areas), 2) ecological descriptions (describe resources on the site to be cleaned up), and 3) ecological ratings (rate the value of the resources on a scale that can be applied across remediation sites). After completion of these steps for the sites requiring cleanup, a comparison of potential risks can be made among types of facilities (e.g. D4 facilities, legacy waste sites, operating facilities). D4 facilities are those slated for deactivation, decommissioning, decontamination and demolition, while operating facilities at Hanford include waste treatment plants, sludge basins, waste trenches, Central Waste Complex, storage facilities, and disposal facilities, among others required to support the D4 and other remediation activities, before they too are remediated. Currently the potential harm to ecological (and eco-cultural) resources on the Hanford Site for remediation at D4 facilities is very low, but increases to very high (for reactors) during remediation when there is physical disruption, increased traffic and personnel, and possible increased contamination. Following remediation, the potential harm to ecological resources is low, and the value may increase due to restoration of native vegetation on sites that were largely industrial prior to remediation. In contrast, the potential harm to ecological resources at Operating Facilities was higher currently than for D4 facilities, but was low to medium following cleanup. The higher harm (risk) at D4 facilities partly derives from the location of the reactors near the Columbia River, a resource extremely important to Tribal Nations and to other peoples in the Northwestern United States, as well as for the iconic and threatened salmon populations. Methods described in this paper provide Congress, DOE managers, regulators, Tribes, and the general public with assurance that ecological and eco-cultural resources and the environment are being protected during and following remediation. The analysis of specific sites provides managers, regulators and the public with information to make cost-effective decisions about remediation that continues to enhance ecological value while protecting human health. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2018

Hot Isostatically Pressed Ceramic Waste forms for High Dose Spent Adsorbents - 18129

Decommissioning and clean-up of nuclear facilities requires the development of new technologies to condition radioactive wastes, producing passively safe waste packages of minimal volume, to reduce storage and disposal costs. We have applied hot isostatic pressing to demonstrate conceptual waste forms for high dose spent adsorbents (i.e. ion exchange materials) present on the Sellafield site, UK, and Fukushima Daiichi site, Japan. These radioactive wastes pose several challenges which demand early conditioning to produce a passively safe wasteform, including: a wet and granular nature, and hence dispersible as a result of loss of containment; a very high dose rates as a result of their selectivity for short lived radionuclides (e.g. Sr-90, Cs-137, Co-60); radiogenic self-heating, as a result of the concentration of such lived radio nuclides; hydrogen production as a result of radiolysis of entrained water [1]. Here, we demonstrate the conversion of natural inorganic ion exchange materials into multiphase ceramic waste forms, achieving a waste loading of 100 wt.% and density in excess of 97% theoretical. High resolution thermogravimetric analysis coupled with mass spectroscopy was utilised to characterise the evolution of water and volatiles during the in-can bake out step, prior to the HIP cycle. This allowed optimisation of the bake out parameters (temperature, time and vacuum) to enable complete removal of water and volatiles, affording ceramic bodies with minimal residual porosity by hot isostatic pressing at 1250 deg. C for 4 h in stainless steel canisters. Characterisation of the ceramic waste forms by SEM /EDX and X-ray diffraction revealed the nuclides of concern to be incorporated within well-known natural mineral and synthetic phases, with Cs partitioning into the K-feldspar. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2016

The function of Sn(II)-apatite as a Tc immobilizing agent

Technetium-99 is a radioactive contaminant of high concern at many nuclear waste storage sites. At the U.S. Department of Energy Hanford Site, 99Tc is a component of low-activity waste (LAW) fractions of the nuclear tank waste, which are highly caustic, high ionic strength and have high concentrations of chromate. Removal of 99Tc from LAW streams would greatly benefit the site remediation process. In this study, we investigated the removal of 99Tc(VII), as pertechnetate, from deionized water (DIW) and a LAW simulant using two solid sorbents, tin (II) apatite (Sn-A) and SnCl2 through batch sorption testing and solid phase characterization. Sn-A showed higher levels of removal of Tc from both DIW and LAW simulant compared with the SnCl2. Scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/XEDS) and X-ray adsorption spectroscopy (XAS) of Sn-A following batch experiments in DIW showed that TcO4- is reduced to Tc(IV) on the Sn-A surface with no incorporation into the lattice structure of Sn-A. The performance of Sn-A in the LAW simulant was lowered due to a combined effect of the high alkalinity, which lead to an increased dissolution of Sn from the Sn-A, and a preference for the reduction of Cr(VI) over Tc(VII).

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Coupling the Modeled Structural Transmissibility of a Used Nuclear Fuel Conveyance to Over the Road Data – 16215

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE), Office of Fuel Cycle Technology, has established the Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) to conduct research and development activities related to storage, transportation, and disposal of used nuclear fuel (UNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW). The mission of the UFDC is to identify alternatives and conduct scientific research and technology development to enable storage, transportation and disposal of used nuclear fuel and HLW generated by existing and future nuclear fuel cycles. The Storage and Transportation staff within the UFDC is responsible for addressing issues regarding the long-term or extended storage (ES) of UNF and its subsequent transportation.

Jensen, Philip J.↗
DOE OSTI2016

A Conceptual World Information Library (WIL) and Land Use Information System (LUIS) - 16181

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Nuclear Energy Agency initiative on the Preservation of Records, Knowledge and Memory is addressing the topic of communicating with future generations on the location, specific contents, and potential risks associated with deep geologic nuclear waste repositories. At the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed, prior to the facility closure, to develop a Passive Institutional Controls (PICs) program designed to last as long as practicable. A portion of this PICs program includes development of records packages, selection of data storage materials and methods, and a determination of records retention/storage locations. The approved plan for record retention at WIPP includes the storage of information including hard copies of data, figures and maps in multiple libraries and archive record centers. With this in mind, it is easy to envision reams of various paper documents in a robust physical archive record center similar to one of the museums in Washington D.C., or DOE's Legacy Management facility in Morgantown, West Virginia. While some portion of records for nuclear waste burial sites should be maintained in this fashion for near-term retrieval purposes, it is widely accepted that this is not an efficient way to communicate with future generations even 1,000 years from now. Transmitting large detailed volumes of information to the future should be captured in an electronic format; maintained on computers, translated by computers, and perhaps updated by artificial intelligence as machine and human languages change over the centuries. In addition to a physical records development and storage process for transmittal to future generations, a web-based electronic database system should be developed. A World Electronic Library (WEL) database could be funded from various nations and perhaps sanctioned by the United Nations and/or the IAEA. This WEL could contain information regarding several different subjects with the intent of being a one-stop-information-shop for future generations. This database would require updates and maintenance for as long as there is a recipient. One subset of the WEL would be a spatial database containing all the information available to any set of GPS coordinates, anywhere within the world. This Land Use Information System (LUIS) database would contain information on past and present land use, natural resources, known geology, hydrology and atmospheric conditions, potential warnings, and other pertinent information. The LUIS database is where specific electronic information, a subset of all the records data gathered for a nuclear waste repository, could reside. For not only would LUIS provide the information on a nuclear waste repository when specific GPS coordinates were entered; but a search from the LUIS on 'Nuclear Waste Repositories' could bring up information, including data on location of repositories, radionuclides, operations, D and D, maps, and regulations, plus many other details for locations throughout the world. This tool could be used by future generations for a number of land use or resource exploration decisions. So what can we do now? We can agree to the types of information that should be captured into an electronic database for nuclear waste repositories. We can agree to the levels of detail, the file names and the formats, for ease of combining information sets in the future. Perhaps we can agree to a central electronic data storage site, or sites, where this information will reside for import into a centralized electronic record system, if one is ever developed. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2018

Verification and Analysis of Spent Fuel Safety Information Database in Korea - 18252

The Public Engagement Commission on SNF management (PECOS) published the recommendation report on the spent fuel management of Korea in June, 2015. Based on this report, the national basic policy for high level radioactive waste management of Korea was established and promulgated, taking into consideration the national/international trends on policy and technology development. According to the national plan, the siting for deep geological disposal facility of high level radioactive waste will be proceeded by 2028. Once the site is selected at somewhere, centralized spent fuel storage facility will be constructed by 2035 at the same site while research program is ongoing to determine the compatibility of the site for disposal facility. According to the enforcement decree of the nuclear safety act, the definition of 'interim storage' is that a safe storage of spent fuel which is received from NPP operator for a specified period, until it is processed or permanently disposed of. It means that spent fuels should be taken over with integrated information of spent fuel from NPP operator to the KORAD (Korea Radioactive waste agency). The aim of this study is to confirm and analyze present and future spent fuel data in order to provide the basic information to the safety research on the transport and storage of spent fuel in Korea. AMORES (Automatic Multi-batch ORIGEN Runner for Evaluation of Spent fuel) was used for the aim of this study. All 16,160 bundles of PWR spent fuel database as of the end of 2015 and the expected spent fuel which will be generated from 2016 to 2053 are evaluated and verified based on national basic plan. Through scenario analysis, it was estimated that approximately 15,000 MTU of spent fuel will be transported to intermediate storage facilities by 2052. Therefore, 44%, 6%, and 33% of spent fuel will be left in Kori, Hanbit and Hanul sites, respectively. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2020

A Dose Assessment Model for Radioactive Waste Exposed by Gully Erosion at West Valley - 20513

The Western New York Nuclear Service Center (WNYNSC), located approximately 48 km south of Buffalo, New York, is the site of a former nuclear fuel reprocessing and radioactive waste disposal facility. Spent nuclear fuel was processed there from 1966 to 1972, leaving behind radioactive and chemical wastes in two disposal areas and a waste tank farm. Site operations also resulted in releases of radioactivity to site soils, groundwater, and to surface waters draining the site. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are collaborating in a process of decision making for decommissioning those facilities remaining at the WNYNSC following the completion of Phase 1 decommissioning. Neptune and Company, Inc. (Neptune) was contracted to develop a probabilistic performance assessment (PPA) computer model to assist the agencies in this process. The PPA Model includes a contaminant transport component focusing on the movement of contaminants within and among environmental media including groundwater and surface water transport, contaminant translocation by plants and animals, diffusion, and erosion. The model also includes evaluation of potential exposure and health effects for a Resident Farmer exposure scenario, where the Resident Farmer represents a critical group, described as that group of individuals reasonably expected to receive the greatest exposure to residual radioactivity for any applicable set of circumstances. The West Valley Site is located in the glaciated Allegheny Plateau region of western New York State. The waste reprocessing and disposal areas were constructed on a relatively fat area of plateau dissected by drainages of Buttermilk Creek, including Erdman Brook, Franks Creek, and Quarry Creek. An important aspect of the contaminant transport component of the PPA model is consideration of erosive processes such as slumping of the stream slopes and the advance of gullies from these streams. These erosion processes remove material from the plateau, growing the size of the creek valleys and making them wider and deeper. Of particular interest for the impact of erosion is radioactive waste contained in the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)-Licensed Disposal Area (NDA), the New York State-Licensed Disposal Area (SDA), and residual radiological inventory in the underground storage tanks at the Waste Tank Farm (WTF). The PPA Model is organized around geographically-defined facilities which were constructed upon the plateau, including the NDA, SDA, and WTF. Ongoing stream erosion processes will potentially transfer radioactive waste and residual inventory from these facilities to the ground surface on adjacent hillslope areas where erosion has breached the facility. Hence, it is important to evaluate the consequences of potential exposures to a Resident Farmer on the hillslopes below a breached facility. Two interrelated aspects of the dose assessment model related to hillslope exposure are discussed: 1) representation of the physical processes related to transport of radionuclides from facilities onto the hillslopes, and from the hillslopes into adjoining creeks where contaminated material migrates downstream with surface water and sediment, and; 2) adaptation of the activities associated with the Resident Farmer scenario to assess potential exposures to contamination in the hillslope areas. This discussion will cover the conceptual basis of the hillslope exposure and transport models, and also implementation in the PPA computer model. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2022

Frictional properties of Opalinus Clay: influence of humidity, normal stress and grain size on frictional stability

SUMMARY The Opalinus Clay (OPA) is a clay-rich formation considered as a potential host rock for radioactive waste repositories and as a caprock for carbon storage in Switzerland. Its very low permeability (10−19 to 10−21 m2) makes it a potential sealing horizon, however the presence of faults that may be activated during the lifetime of a repository project can compromise the long-term hydrological confinement, and lead to mechanical instability. Here, we have performed laboratory experiments to test the effect of relative humidity (RH), grain size (g.s.) and normal stress on rate-and-state frictional properties and stability of fault laboratory analogues corresponding to powders of OPA shaly facies. The sifted host rock powders at different grain size fractions (<63 μm and 63 < g.s. < 125 μm), at room (∼25 per cent) and 100 per cent humidity, were slid in double-direct shear configuration, under different normal stresses (5–70 MPa). We observe that peak friction, μpeak and steady-state friction, μss, depend on water vapour content and applied normal stress. Increasing relative humidity from ∼25 per cent RH (room humidity) to 100 per cent RH causes a decrease of frictional coefficient from 0.41 to 0.35. The analysis of velocity-steps in the light of rate-and-state friction framework shows that the stability parameter (a–b) is always positive (velocity-strengthening), and it increases with increasing sliding velocity and humidity. The dependence of (a–b) on slip rate is lost as normal stress increases, for each humidity condition. By monitoring the variations of the layer thickness during the velocity steps, we observe that dilation (Δh) is directly proportional to the sliding velocity, decreases with normal stress and is unaffected by humidity. Microstructural analysis shows that most of the deformation is accommodated within B-shear zones, and the increase of normal stress (σn) promotes the transition from strain localization and grain size reduction to distributed deformation on a well-developed phyllosilicate network. These results suggest that: (1) the progressive loss of velocity dependence of frictional stability parameter (a–b) at σn > 35 MPa is dictated by a transition from localized to distributed deformation and (2) water vapour content does not affect the deformation mechanisms and dilation, whereas it decreases steady-state friction (μss), and enhances fault stability.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

DOE EM Sponsored Research on Long-Term Dry Storage of Aluminum Clad SNF

This PowerPoint presentation describes and discusses DOE EM and INL lead studies on addressing potential technical issues associated with long-term dry storage of aluminum clad spent nuclear fuel. This same presentation was made to the US Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board in Nov 2019.

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DOE OSTI2017

Evaluation of Nonmetallic Components in the Hanford Waste Transfer System - 17287

Nonmetallic materials are currently being used in the United States Department of Energy's Hanford Site Tank Farm waste transfer system. These materials include the inner primary hoses in the hose-in-hose transfer lines (HIHTLs), Garlock{sup R} gaskets, ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) O-rings. These materials are exposed to a number of stressors and the synergistic effects are not well understood. Florida International University (FIU) engineers have developed an experimental test loop to determine how the nonmetallic materials react to both individual and simultaneous stressors. The initial phase of testing includes exposure of coupons and components to caustic material at various temperatures for varying lengths of time. The coupons are manufactured from EPDM and Garlock{sup R} sheets and will be used to evaluate changes in material data from baseline data. Components (inner hoses, O-rings and gaskets) will also be used to determine the effects from an environment similar to its operational environment. The test loop utilizes a 25% NAOH solution as the fluid and can accommodate eighteen component assemblies, each consisting of one EPDM HIHTL, EPDM O-ring and Garlock{sup R} gasket. There are three assembly aging sets, one for each temperature (37.78 deg. C, 54.44 deg. C and 79.44 deg. C) and each set contains six assemblies; three for each of the two time periods (6 months and 1 year). Prior to aging, a sample set of the components had baseline mechanical properties tested and a sample set of the coupons had baseline material properties determined as per ASTM standards. After the aging is completed the mechanical and material properties of the aged samples will be measured and compared with the bass-line data to obtain an understanding of the synergistic effects of the two stressors. (authors)

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DOE OSTI2017

Design, Fabrication and Start-up of Test Facilities for the LAWPS Full-Scale IX Column Test and Engineering Scale Test - 17418

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of River Protection's (ORP) primary mission is to retrieve and treat Hanford's tank waste and close the Tank Farms to protect the Columbia River. Mixed radioactive waste is stored in 177 underground tanks at the Hanford Site as reported in DOE/ORP 2003-02, Environmental Impact Statement for Retrieval, Treatment, and Disposal of Tank Waste and Closure of the Single Shell Tanks at the Hanford Site, Richland WA, Inventory and Source Term Data Package. The 177 underground tanks are estimated to contain about 56 million gallons of waste. The Low Activity Waste Pretreatment System (LAWPS) Project provides for the early production of immobilized low activity waste (ILAW) by feeding LAW directly from Tank Farms to the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant's (WTP's) LAW Facility, bypassing the Pretreatment Facility. Prior to the transfer of feed to the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility, tank supernatant waste will be pretreated in the LAWPS to meet the WTP LAW waste acceptance criteria. The LAWPS will also facilitate the return of secondary liquid wastes from the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility to the Tank Farms. In November of 2015 DOE's Tank Operations Contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), awarded a contract to the AECOM Team to design, fabricate and operate two test platforms to generate performance data at two different scales and demonstrate technology maturation. The first platform models the ion exchange (IX) columns at full scale, and the second platform models the integrated flowsheet (cross flow filter (CFF) and IX) at 1/9. scale. Both test platforms underwent shakedown and start-up testing in August 2016 and moved into actual testing and NQA-1 data generation shortly thereafter. This paper covers the engineering design, procurement, construction, installation, and acceptance testing of the test platforms (which are now operational) under an aggressive fast track schedule, and initial test data as available. (authors)

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