Model for the conversion of nuclear waste melter feed to glass
The rate of batch-to-glass conversion is a primary concern for the vitrification of nuclear waste, as it directly influences the life cycle of the cleanup process. This study describes the development of an advanced model of the cold cap, which augments the previous model by further developments on the structure and the dynamics of the foam layer. The foam layer on the bottom of the cold cap consists of the primary foam, cavities, and the secondary foam, and forms an interface through which the heat is transferred to the cold cap. Other model enhancements include the behavior of intermediate crystalline phases and the dissolution of quartz particles. The model relates the melting rate to feed properties and melter conditions, such as the molten glass temperature, foaminess of the melt, or the heat fraction supplied to the cold cap from the plenum space. The model correctly predicts a 25% increase in melting rate when changing the alumina source in the melter feed from Al(OH)3 to AlO(OH). It is expected that this model will be incorporated in the full glass melter model as its integral component.
Temperature Distribution within a Cold Cap during Nuclear Waste Vitrification.
The kinetics of the feed-to-glass conversion affects the waste vitrification rate in an electric glass melter. The primary area of interest in this conversion process is the cold cap, a layer of reacting feed on top of the molten glass. The work presented here provides an experimental determination of the temperature distribution within the cold cap. Because direct measurement of the temperature field within the cold cap is impracticable, an indirect method was developed in which the textural features in a laboratory-made cold cap with a simulated high-level waste feed were mapped as a function of position using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The temperature distribution within the cold cap was established by correlating microstructures of cold-cap regions with heat-treated feed samples of nearly identical structures at known temperatures. This temperature profile was compared with a mathematically simulated profile generated by a cold-cap model that has been developed to assess the rate of glass production in a melter.
EFFECT OF SAMPLE PREPARATION ON WATER TREE RESISTANCE OF XLPE/SEBS BLENDS
The effects of an aromatic polymer, such as poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)b-styrene] (SEBS), and its preparation processes on water tree resistance, morphology, crystallinity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE)/SEBS and XLPE/SEBS/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) blends were investigated. The XLPE/SEBS samples were characterized by means of differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, dielectric spectral analysis and the accelerated water treeing experiment. The results clearly showed that although SEBS was partially compatible with LDPE and it was dispersed evenly in XLPE matrix, the blends demonstrated excellent dielectric performances, such as dielectric constant and dissipation factor. The crystallinity of XLPE/SEBS blends was decreased with increase in SEBS content and it was further decreased with the addition of EVA. SEBS could effectively improve the water-tree resistance of XLPE and both SEBS and EVA were found to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE synergistically as expected. The differences in sample preparation processes could change the phase morphology and dielectric performance of the blends, and could also influence the dispersion of SEBS in XLPE matrix as well as the crystallinity of the blends. Different preparation processes led to different water tree resistance behaviours of the samples. The improvement of SEBS dispersion in XLPE matrix helped to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE.