Synthesis, characterisation and corrosion behaviour of simulant Chernobyl nuclear meltdown materials
Synthesis, characterisation and corrosion behaviour of simulant Chernobyl nuclear meltdown materials
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DOI：
10.1038/s41529-020-0108-z
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发表时间：
2020-01-30
影响因子：
5.1
通讯作者：
Corkhill, Claire L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Barlow, Sean T.;Bailey, Daniel J.;Corkhill, Claire L.
了解切尔诺贝利和福岛事故等核熔毁产生的材料的物理和化学性质，对于支持退役作业和减少对人员和受损反应堆周围环境的危害至关重要。可供研究的熔毁材料样品相对较少，由于与处理它们相关的辐射危害，它们的分析具有挑战性。在这项研究中，小规模批次的低放射性（即，仅含贫化铀）的模拟物，并发现其微观结构和矿物学与真实的LFCM非常接近。添加过量的ZrO 2的组合物导致在第一次成功的合成高铀-锆石（chernobylite）的结晶从玻璃熔体。这些模拟材料的使用允许进一步分析LFCM的热特性和腐蚀动力学，给出的结果是在真实的样品与有限的可用文献的良好协议。因此，应该可以使用这些新的模拟材料来支持核反应堆事故后的退役操作。
Understanding the physical and chemical properties of materials arising from nuclear meltdowns, such as the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents, is critical to supporting decommissioning operations and reducing the hazard to personnel and the environment surrounding the stricken reactors. Relatively few samples of meltdown materials are available for study, and their analysis is made challenging due to the radiation hazard associated with handling them. In this study, small-scale batches of low radioactivity (i.e., containing depleted uranium only) simulants for Chernobyl lava-like fuel-containing materials (LFCMs) have been prepared, and were found to closely approximate the microstructure and mineralogy of real LFCM. The addition of excess of ZrO2 to the composition resulted in the first successful synthesis of high uranium-zircon (chernobylite) by crystallisation from a glass melt. Use of these simulant materials allowed further analysis of the thermal characteristics of LFCM and the corrosion kinetics, giving results that are in good agreement with the limited available literature on real samples. It should, therefore, be possible to use these new simulant materials to support decommissioning operations of nuclear reactors post-accident.