Open AccessMechanics of bubbles in sludges and slurries. 1998 annual progress report
Author(s) -
Phillip A. Gauglitz,
Guillermo Terrones,
Morton M. Denn,
Susan Müller,
W.R. Rossen
Publication year - 1998
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/13517
Subject(s) - flammable liquid , slurry , volume (thermodynamics) , hanford site , atmospheric pressure , waste management , environmental science , petroleum engineering , chemistry , environmental engineering , engineering , radioactive waste , meteorology , thermodynamics , physics
'Previous studies have established that the waste level of Hanford tanks responds to barometric pressure changes, the compressibility of retained bubbles accounts for the level changes, and the volume of retained gas can be determined from the measured waste level and barometric pressure changes. However, interactions between the gas bubbles and rheologically complex waste cause inaccurate retained gas estimates and are not well understood. Because the retained gas is typically a flammable mixture of hydrogen, ammonia, and nitrous oxide, accurate determination of the retained gas volume is a critical component for establishing the safety hazard of the tanks. Accurate estimates of retained gas from level/pressure data are highly desirable because direct in-situ measurements are very expensive in an individual tank and impossible in many single-shell tanks. The objective of this research project is to gain a fundamental understanding of the interactions between gas bubbles and tank waste during barometric pressure fluctuations. It is expected that the elucidation of the bubble/waste interaction mechanisms will lead to the development of models for a more accurate determination of: gas content in Hanford tanks, waste properties from level/pressure data, and the effect that barometric pressure fluctuations have on the slow release of bubbles. The results of this research will support critical operations at the Hanford Site associated with the flammable gas safety hazard and future waste operations such as salt-well pumping, waste transfers, and sluicing/retrieval. This three-year research program, which began in FY 1998, is divided into four related problems. Progress has been made in each of the areas of modeling bubble behavior in continuum materials (sludges) from both a solid mechanics viewpoint and separately from a fluid mechanics viewpoint, modeling studies of compressible bubbles in particulate materials (slurries), and experimental studies of bubbles in both sludges and slurries.