Characterization of U-Mo Foils for AFIP-7

Twelve AFIP in-process foil samples, fabricated by either Y-12 or LANL, were shipped from LANL to PNNL for potential characterization using optical and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Of these twelve, nine different conditions were examined to one degree or another using both techniques. For this report a complete description of the results are provided for one archive foil from each source of material, and one unirradiated piece of a foil of each source that was irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor. Additional data from two other LANL conditions are summarized in very brief form in an appendix. The characterization revealed that all four characterized conditions contained a cold worked microstructure to different degrees. The Y-12 foils exhibited a higher degree of cold working compared to the LANL foils, as evidenced by the highly elongated and obscure U-Mo grain structure present in each foil. The longitudinal orientations for both of the Y-12 foils possesses a highly laminar appearance with such a distorted grain structure that it was very difficult to even offer a range of grain sizes. The U-Mo grain structure of the LANL foils, by comparison, consisted of a more easily discernible grain structure with a mix of equiaxed and elongated grains. Both materials have an inhomogenous grain structure in that all of the characterized foils possess abnormally coarse grains

Technetium Waste Form Development - Progress Report

Analytical electron microscopy using SEM and TEM has been used to analyze a ~5 g. ingot with composition 71.3 wt% 316SS-5.3 wt% Zr-13.2 wt% Mo-4.0 wt% Rh-6.2 wt% Re prepared at the Idaho National Laboratory. Four phase fields have been identified two of which are lamellar eutectics, with a fifth possibly present. A Zr rich phase was found distributed as fine precipitate, ~10µm in diameter, often coating large cavities. A Mo-Fe-Re-Cr lamellar eutectic phase field appears as blocky regions ~30µm in diameter, surrounded by a Fe-Mo-Cr lamellar eutectic phase field, and that in turn is surrounded by a Zr-Fe-Rh-Mo-Ni phase field. The eutectic phase separation reactions are different. The Mo-Fe-Re-Cr lamellar eutectic appears a result of austenitic steel forming at lower volume fraction within an Mo-Fe-Re intermetallic phase, whereas the Fe-Mo-Cr lamellar eutectic may be a result of the same intermetallic phase forming within a ferritic steel phase. Cavitation may have arisen either as a result of bubbles, or from loss of equiaxed particles during specimen preparation

Effect of Concrete Wasteform Properties on Radionuclide Migration

The objective of this investigation was to initiate numerous sets of concrete-soil half-cell tests to quantify 1) diffusion of I and Tc from concrete into uncontaminated soil after 1 and 2 years, 2) I and Re (set 1) and Tc (set 2) diffusion from fractured concrete into uncontaminated soil, and 3) evaluate the moisture distribution profile within the sediment half-cell. These half-cells will be section in FY2009 and FY2010. Additionally, 1) concrete-soil half-cells initiated during FY2007 using fractured prepared with and without metallic iron, half of which were carbonated using carbonated, were sectioned to evaluate the diffusion of I and Re in the concrete part of the half-cell under unsaturated conditions (4%, 7%, and 15% by wt moisture content), 2) concrete-soil half cells containing Tc were sectioned to measure the diffusion profile in the soil half-cell unsaturated conditions (4%, 7%, and 15% by wt moisture content), and 3) solubility measurements of uranium solid phases were completed under concrete porewater conditions. The results of these tests are presented

Characterization of U-Mo Foils for AFIP-7

Twelve AFIP in-process foil samples, fabricated by either Y-12 or LANL, were shipped from LANL to PNNL for potential characterization using optical and scanning electron microscopy techniques. Of these twelve, nine different conditions were examined to one degree or another using both techniques. For this report a complete description of the results are provided for one archive foil from each source of material, and one unirradiated piece of a foil of each source that was irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor. Additional data from two other LANL conditions are summarized in very brief form in an appendix. The characterization revealed that all four characterized conditions contained a cold worked microstructure to different degrees. The Y-12 foils exhibited a higher degree of cold working compared to the LANL foils, as evidenced by the highly elongated and obscure U-Mo grain structure present in each foil. The longitudinal orientations for both of the Y-12 foils possesses a highly laminar appearance with such a distorted grain structure that it was very difficult to even offer a range of grain sizes. The U-Mo grain structure of the LANL foils, by comparison, consisted of a more easily discernible grain structure with a mix of equiaxed and elongated grains. Both materials have an inhomogenous grain structure in that all of the characterized foils possess abnormally coarse grains

300 Area Treatability Test: Laboratory Development of Polyphosphate Remediation Technology for In Situ Treatment of Uranium Contamination in the Vadose Zone and Capillary Fringe

This report presents results from bench-scale treatability studies conducted under site-specific conditions to optimize the polyphosphate amendment for implementation of a field-scale technology demonstration to stabilize uranium within the 300 Area vadose and smear zones of the Hanford Site. The general treatability testing approach consisted of conducting studies with site sediment and under site conditions, to develop an effective chemical formulation and infiltration approach for the polyphosphate amendment under site conditions. Laboratory-scale dynamic column tests were used to 1) quantify the retardation of polyphosphate and its degradation products as a function of water content, 2) determine the rate of polyphosphate degradation under unsaturated conditions, 3) develop an understanding of the mechanism of autunite formation via the reaction of solid phase calcite-bound uranium and aqueous polyphosphate remediation technology, 4) develop an understanding of the transformation mechanism, the identity of secondary phases, and the kinetics of the reaction between uranyl-carbonate and -silicate minerals with the polyphosphate remedy under solubility-limiting conditions, and 5) quantify the extent and rate of uranium released and immobilized based on the infiltration rate of the polyphosphate remedy and the effect of and periodic wet-dry cycling on the efficacy of polyphosphate remediation for uranium in the vadose zone and smear zone