Abstract
Stratification of nuclear wastes in many of the Hanford storage tanks has resulted in sludge layers which are capable of retaining gases. As the gas is produced, the mechanisms of gas storage evolve until the resulting buoyancy in the sludge leads to instability. At this point, a significant volume of gas is suddenly released. Probabilistic finite element analysis has been performed to predict the likelihood of sludge rollover over time on the basis of sludge strength. The results showed that the probability of sludge rollover increased and the reliability diminished over time. The reliability of the system was shown to be most sensitive to the supernatant density and, to a lesser degree, to the reference pressure within the tank.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages | 914-917 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| State | Published - 1996 |
| Externally published | Yes |
| Event | Proceedings of the 1996 7th Specialty Conference on Probabilistic Mechanics and Structural Reliability - Worcester, MA, USA Duration: Aug 7 1996 → Aug 9 1996 |
Conference
| Conference | Proceedings of the 1996 7th Specialty Conference on Probabilistic Mechanics and Structural Reliability |
|---|---|
| City | Worcester, MA, USA |
| Period | 08/7/96 → 08/9/96 |