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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
Changjun Li, Dahuan Zhu, Xiangbin Li, Junling Chen
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 4 | May 2021 | Pages 310-315
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1874765
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The W-1%Y2O3-0.5%Ti composite fabricated by the spark plasma sintering method has been tested on the EMS-60 facility using 0 to 600 MW/m2 with pulse duration of 5 ms for single and 100 cycles. It is shown that the cracking threshold under single pulse of the W-1%Y2O3-0.5%Ti is close to 300 MW/m2, which exceeds that of pure tungsten (~200 MW/m2). Moreover, the crack morphology is different than that of pure W under the same heat load condition. These experimental data illustrate that the addition of dispersed oxides and alloying elements can, to some extent, ameliorate high heat load behaviors. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the melting and volatility of the second phase if the heat flux exceeds 400 MW/m2 for a single pulse will narrow the operation range of the composite. And, the severe damages of crack and matrix melting under fatigue shocks illustrate that the composite still needs further efforts to be improved by the optimization of fabrication processing.