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α‐Decay Damage Effects in Curium‐Doped Titanate Ceramic Containing Sodium‐Free High‐Level Nuclear Waste
Author(s) -
Mitamura Hisayoshi,
Matsumoto Seiichiro,
Stewart Maartin W. A.,
Tsuboi Takashi,
Hashimoto Masaaki,
Vance Eric R.,
Hart Kaye P.,
Togashi Yoshihiro,
Kanazawa Hiroyuki,
Ball Cliff J.,
White Timothy J.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of the american ceramic society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 196
eISSN - 1551-2916
pISSN - 0002-7820
DOI - 10.1111/j.1151-2916.1994.tb04591.x
Subject(s) - zirconolite , hollandite , curium , materials science , ceramic , titanate , radiochemistry , strontium , mineralogy , nuclear chemistry , analytical chemistry (journal) , chemistry , plutonium , metallurgy , pyrochlore , americium , organic chemistry , phase (matter) , chromatography
A polyphase titanate ceramic incorporating sodium‐free simulated high‐level nuclear waste was doped with 0.91 wt% of 244 Cm to accelerate the effects of long‐term self‐irradiation arising from α decays. The ceramic included three main constituent minerals: hollandite, perovskite, and zirconolite, with some minor phases. Although hollandite showed the broadening of its X‐ray diffraction lines and small lattice parameter changes during damage ingrowth, the unit cell was substantially unaltered. Perovskite and zirconolite, which are the primary hosts of curium, showed 2.7% and 2.6% expansions, respectively, of their unit cell volumes after a dose of 12 × 10 17 α decays.g ‐1 Volume swelling due to damage ingrowth caused an exponential (almost linear) decrease in density, which reached 1.7% after a dose of 12.4 × 10 17 α decays.g ‐1 . Leach tests on samples that had incurred doses of 2.0 × 10 17 and 4.5 × 10 17 a decays g ‐1 showed that the rates of dissolution of cesium and barium were similar to analogous leach rates from the equivalent cold ceramic, while strontium and calcium leach rates were 2–15 times higher. Although the curium, molybdenum, strontium, and calcium leach fates in the present material were similar to those in the curium‐doped sodium‐bearing titanate ceramic reported previously, the cesium leach rate was 3–8 times lower.