The active/passive conditions for copper corrosion under nuclear waste repository environment

Copper Corrosion in Aqueous Sulfide Solutions under Nuclear Waste Repository Conditions

The corrosion behavior of oxygen-free copper in anoxic sulfide solutions under nuclear waste disposal conditions was studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with a focused ion beam (FIB), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Micro X-ray diffraction ( XRD). The film growth process and mechanism were elucidated using an Au mark...

An improved model for the corrosion of used nuclear fuel inside a failed waste container under permanent disposal conditions

An improved model for nuclear fuel corrosion inside a failed waste container has been developed. The model considers the influence of the a-radiolysis products using a full radiolytic reaction set, and demonstrates that H2O2 is the dominant oxidant. Corrosion of the fuel is modelled considering both the direct oxidation of UO2 by H2O2 and the galvanically-coupled oxidation by H2O2 reduction on ...

A model for the influence of steel corrosion products on nuclear fuel corrosion under permanent disposal conditions

A model was developed to determine the influence of steel corrosion products on a-radiolytic corrosion of spent nuclear fuel inside a failed waste container. The model takes into account the a-radiolysis of water, the reaction of radiolytic H2O2 with UO2 both directly and via galvanic coupling with noble metal particles, the reaction with H2 via galvanic coupling, and the Fenton reaction. The d...

Modeling the Radiolytic Corrosion of Fractured Nuclear Fuel under Permanent Disposal Conditions

A two-dimensional model has been developed to simulate the corrosion of nuclear fuel pellets under permanent waste disposal conditions in a steel vessel with a corrosion-resistant copper shell. The primary emphasis was on the corrosion behavior within cracks with various dimensions. It was shown that a simplified α-radiolysis model which only accounts for the radiolytic production of H2O2 and H...

Long term behaviour of low and intermediate level waste packages under repository conditions