Characterization of Impact Fracture of Brittle Solid Waste Forms

The fracture of solid waste forms resulting from mechanical impacts that could occur during in-plant handling and storage and during off-site transportation needs to be known to evaluate the increased risks of potential dispersion of radioactive wastes. Two physical properties of the waste form which may be useful to characterize the increased dispersion risks from fracture are the increase in surface area and the (mass) fraction of particles less than the respirable size (i.e., <10 μm) for the waste form. An analysis and evaluation of the effects of impacts have been initiated for metal-encapsulated reference glass and ceramic waste forms. Descriptive and calculational models were developed for relating impact energy to deformation effects, both for brittle and ductile materials and for characterizing the surface area resulting from impact fracture of brittle materials (1).