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Fusion Science and Technology
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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.
Baoling Zhang, Shuoyang Fang, Jun Wang, Xue Su, Shujian Tian
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 77 | Number 6 | August 2021 | Pages 437-445
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.1080/15361055.2021.1927583
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
Helium bubble growth and coalescence in the slip plane as well as the influence on substrate were studied using the molecular dynamics method. In the slip plane, the helium bubbles grow first along the slip plane and then grow toward the side which is short one atomic layer in the form of a hexagonal structure at low temperature. The growth rates of helium bubbles are related to the addition rate of helium atoms and their surrounding environments. After coalescence, the coalesced helium bubble grows first toward the side that is short one atomic layer. Then it grows along the slip plane with a velocity less than the growth rate before coalescence. Helium bubble growth and coalescence in the slip plane have significant influence on the substrate. During the process, the preexisting slipping metal atoms are pushed back to the normal lattice sites, and the crystal structure of the metal is recovered around the helium bubbles. The recovered area changes with the number of helium atoms in the bubble and the temperature of the substrate. The simulation results indicate that the preexisting grain boundary is beneficial for enhancing the helium damage resistance of metal.