Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP): Training and Release of CBP Toolbox Software, Version 1.0 -13480

ABSTRACT The Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) Project is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration supported by the Office of Tank Waste Management within the Office of Environmental Management of U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE). The CBP program has developed a set of integrated tools (based on state-of-the-art models and leaching test methods) that improve understanding and predictions of the long-term hydraulic and chemical performance of cementitious barriers used in nuclear applications. Tools selected for and developed under this program are intended to evaluate and predict the behavior of cementitious barriers used in near-surface engineered waste disposal systems for periods of performance up to or longer than 100 years for operating facilities and longer than 1,000 years for waste management purposes. CBP software tools were made available to selected DOE Office of Environmental Management and field site users for training and evaluation based on a set of important degradation scenarios, including sulfate ingress/attack and carbonation of cementitious materials. The tools were presented at two-day training workshops held at U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Savannah River, and Hanford included LeachXS™/ORCHESTRA, STADIUM®, and a CBP-developed GoldSim Dashboard interface. Collectively, these components form the CBP Software ToolBox. The new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leaching test methods based on the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) were also presented. The CBP Dashboard uses a custom Dynamic-link library developed by CBP to couple to the LeachXS™/ORCHESTRA and STADIUM® codes to simulate reactive transport and degradation in cementitious materials for selected performance assessment scenarios. The first day of the workshop introduced participants to the software components via presentation materials, and the second day included hands-on tutorial exercises followed by discussions of enhancements desired by participants. Tools were revised based on feedbac

REFERENCE CASES FOR USE IN THE CEMENTITOUS PARTNERSHIP PROJECT

The Cementitious Barriers Partnership Project (CBP) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institution cross cutting collaborative effort supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a reasonable and credible set of tools to improve understanding and prediction of the structural, hydraulic and chemical performance of cementitious barriers used in nuclear applications. The period of performance is >100 years for operating facilities and > 1000 years for waste management. The CBP has defined a set of reference cases to provide the following functions: (i) a common set of system configurations to illustrate the methods and tools developed by the CBP, (ii) a common basis for evaluating methodology for uncertainty characterization, (iii) a common set of cases to develop a complete set of parameter and changes in parameters as a function of time and changing conditions, (iv) a basis for experiments and model validation, and (v) a basis for improving conceptual models and reducing model uncertainties. These reference cases include the following two reference disposal units and a reference storage unit: (i) a cementitious low activity waste form in a reinforced concrete disposal vault, (ii) a concrete vault containing a steel high-level waste tank filled with grout (closed high-level waste tank), and (iii) a spent nuclear fuel basin during operation. Each case provides a different set of desired performance characteristics and interfaces between materials and with the environment. Examples of concretes, grout fills and a cementitious waste form are identified for the relevant reference case configurations

Leaching of inorganic contaminants from cement-based waste materials as a result of carbonation during intermittent wetting

International audienc

The effects of carbonation and drying during intermittent leaching on the release of inorganic constituents from a cement-based matrix

International audienc

Effects of progressive carbonation on heavy metal leaching from cement-bound waste

T. Van Gerven, G. Cornelis, E. Vandoren, C. Vandecasteele, A. C. Garrabrants, F. Sanchez and D. S. Kosso

Work Assignment No. 1-7 Prepared for:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is charged by Congress with protecting the Nation’s land, air, and water resources. Under a mandate of national environmental laws, the Agency strives to formulate and implement actions leading to a compatible balance between human activities and the ability of natural systems to support and nurture life. To meet this mandate, EPA’s research program is providing data and technical support for solving environmental problems today and building a science knowledge base necessary to manage our ecological resources wisely, understand how pollutants affect our health, and prevent or reduce environmental risks in the future. The National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) is the Agency’s center for investigation of technological and management approaches for preventing and reducing risks from pollution that threaten human health and the environment. The focus of the Laboratory’s research program is on methods and their cost-effectiveness for prevention and control of pollution to air, land, water, and subsurface resources; protection of water quality in public water systems; remediation of contaminated sites, sediments, and ground water; prevention and control of indoor air pollution; and restoration of ecosystems. NRMR

The Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) Software Toolbox Capabilities In Assessing The Degradation Of Cementitious Barriers

The Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) Project is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional collaboration supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (US DOE) Office of Tank Waste and Nuclear Materials Management. The CBP program has developed a set of integrated tools (based on state-of-the-art models and leaching test methods) that help improve understanding and predictions of the long-term structural, hydraulic and chemical performance of cementitious barriers used in nuclear applications. Tools selected for and developed under this program have been used to evaluate and predict the behavior of cementitious barriers used in near-surface engineered waste disposal systems for periods of performance up to 100 years and longer for operating facilities and longer than 1000 years for waste disposal. The CBP Software Toolbox has produced tangible benefits to the DOE Performance Assessment (PA) community. A review of prior DOE PAs has provided a list of potential opportunities for improving cementitious barrier performance predictions through the use of the CBP software tools. These opportunities include: 1) impact of atmospheric exposure to concrete and grout before closure, such as accelerated slag and Tc-99 oxidation, 2) prediction of changes in Kd/mobility as a function of time that result from changing pH and redox conditions, 3) concrete degradation from rebar corrosion due to carbonation, 4) early age cracking from drying and/or thermal shrinkage and 5) degradation due to sulfate attack. The CBP has already had opportunity to provide near-term, tangible support to ongoing DOE-EM PAs such as the Savannah River Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) by providing a sulfate attack analysis that predicts the extent and damage that sulfate ingress will have on the concrete vaults over extended time (i.e., > 1000 years). This analysis is one of the many technical opportunities in cementitious barrier performance that can be addressed by the DOE-EM sponsored CBP software tools. Modification of the existing tools can provide many opportunities to bring defense in depth in prediction of the performance of cementitious barriers over time