INVESTIGATION OF WASTE GLASS POURING PROCESS OVER A KNIFE EDGE

Vitrification is the process of capturing radioactive waste in glass. The Savannah River Site's (SRS) Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) is one of the facilities using the vitrification technology to treat and immobilize radioactive waste. The objective of the project is to investigate the pouring behavior of molten glass over a pour spout knife edge. Experiments are run using simulant glass containing the same chemical formulation as the radioactive sludge glass, but without radioactive contaminants. The purpose of these tests is to obtain actual glass data that, when combined with previous cold data from other fluids, will provide an overall understanding of the physics of liquids flowing over a pour spout and knife edge, A specific objective is to verify computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models with a range of liquid data with particular emphasis on glass so as to provide confidence in use of these CFD models for designing a new improved pour spout for the DWPF melter. The work to be performed at FIU-HCET includes assembling the melting and pouring system that mimics the DWPF melter and determining the key parameters that may influence wicking. Information from the FIU-HCET melter tests will lead to better operating guidelines for the DWPF melter so as to avoid wicking. During FY98, a bench-scale melter complete with pour spout and a knife edge was designed and assembled at FIU-HCET. Initially, the system was tested with glycerine. Subsequently, glass provided by SRS was used for experimentation. Flow visualization tests were performed with the melter in FY98 to investigate the pouring behavior of molten glass over a pour spout model simulating a DWPF pour spout of the original design. Simulant glass containing the same chemical formulation as sludge glass but without radioactive contaminants was used in the tests. All the tasks and milestones mentioned in the PTP for the project were accomplished. The project completed its second year, and this document reports the tasks and milestones that were accomplished during the 1998 fiscal year