Technical Basis Document No. 6: Waste Package and Drip Shield Corrosion

Abstract

The waste package and drip shield will experience a wide range of interactive environmental conditions and degradation modes that will determine the overall performance of the waste package and repository.

Corrosion of single layer thin film protective coatings on steel substrates for high level waste containers

“…HLW canisters are typically made of stainless steel because of its good mechanical strength and corrosion resistance stemming from its ability to readily form passive surface films [1,5,6]. Being an austenitic material, it is not susceptible to catastrophic brittle failure as are ferritic steels.…”

Shielding properties of protective thin film coatings and blended concrete compositions for high level waste storage packages

“…Dry storage casks consist primarily of a steel canister and concrete overpack, often with a glass layer in between (Bare and Torgerson, 2001). HLW canisters are typically made of stainless steel because of its good mechanical strength and corrosion resistance (Yim and Murty, 2000;Farmer et al, 2003;Lambert et al, 2012). However, stainless steel suffers from intergranular corrosion due to carbide buildup at grain boundaries and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) due to residual stresses from welding in the presence of chloride ions (Revie and Uhlig, 2008).…”

Early detection of oxidized surfaces usingShewanella oneidensisMR-1 as a tool

“…For steel to have such versatility, iron (the major component of all steels) is either specially treated or mixed with other components (eg chromium, manganese or molybdenum), leading to products that are both durable and structurally precise, two of the most industrially important qualities of steel (Beddoes and Parr 1999). One of the greatest foes of steel is oxidation (Bozack 1991;Koch et al 2002;Farmer et al 2003). As iron in steel is exposed to air, regardless of its stainless properties, it becomes increasingly susceptible to corrosion by oxidation (Asteman et al 2000).…”