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Creep of the copper canister in the Swedish program

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2011

William H Bowyer
William H Bowyer*
Affiliation:
Consultant to the Swedish Nuclear Power Inspectorate (SKI)
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Abstract

The Swedish programme for disposal of high level nuclear waste includes the development of a container which comprises a cast iron load bearing canister contained in a 50 mm thick copper corrosionshield.

The temperature of the outside of the canister is likely be up to 100°C, and repository processes may lead to long term loads of up to 50MPa. Creep of the copper is therefore an issue. SKB (The Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Co.) have been conducted tests on three materials, OF copper containing 10ppm sulphur (OF1), OF copper containing 6ppm sulphur (OF2) and OF copper containing 6ppm sulphur and 50ppm phosphorus (OFP). In order to improve confidence in extrapolation of test results to practical temperatures and stresses, it is desirable to support the extrapolation procedures with a physical model.

Life predictions made using the Frost and Ashby model [5] together with a simplification of the Cocksand Ashby model [6] provide good agreement with published experimental data for OF2 and OFPmaterials. Extrapolation of this data using the model leads to life predictions of 12,000 years for the OF2material and 120,000 years for OFP material. The prediction for OFP depends on an assumption that an observed strengthening mechanism conferred by phosphorus at high stresses and temperatures, is equally as effective under repository conditions.

OF1 material fails after a relatively short life and by a different mechanism to OF2 and OFP. The changein mechanism may be explained, using the model [6], for cases where segregating species reduce surface energy of grain boundary voids. It is suggested that in this case the segregating species is sulphur.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 932: Symposium – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXIX , 2006 , 30.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

REFERENCES

1. Bowyer, W.H., “Creep of the Copper Canister,” Swedish Nuclear Inspectorate (SKI) Report 2003:23.Google Scholar
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9. Bowyer, W.H., “Creep deformation and fracture processes in OF and OFP copper”, SKI report (2004) to be published.Google Scholar