Nuclear Engineering and Technology

Korean Nuclear Society (한국원자력학회)
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Statistical analysis of effects of test conditions on compressive strength of cement solidified radioactive waste

  • Hyeongjin Byeon (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) ;
  • Jaeyeong Park (Department of Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
  • Received : 2022.07.03
  • Accepted : 2022.11.16
  • Published : 2023.03.25
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Abstract

Radioactive waste should be solidified before being disposed of in the repository to eliminate liquidity or dispersibility. Cement is a widely used solidifying media for radioactive waste, and cement solidified waste should satisfy the minimum compressive strength of the waste acceptance criteria of a radioactive repository. Although the compressive strength of waste should be measured by the test method provided by the waste acceptance criteria, the method differs depending on the operating repository of different countries. Considering the measured compressive strength changes depending on test conditions, the effect of test conditions should be analyzed to avoid overestimation or underestimation of the compressive strength during disposal. We selected test conditions such as the height-to-diameter ratio, loading rate, and porosity as the main factors affecting the compressive strength of cement solidified radioactive waste. Owing to the large variance in measured compressive strength, the effects of the test conditions were analyzed via statistical analyses using parametric and nonparametric methods. The results showed that the test condition of the lower loading rate, with a height-to-diameter ratio of two, reflected the actual cement content well, while the porosity showed no correlation. The compressive strength assessment method that reflects the large variance of strengths was suggested.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Nuclear Safety Research Program through the Korea Foundation of Nuclear Safety (KoFONS), granted financial resources from the Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC), Republic of Korea (No. 1903005 & No. 2203028).

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