KEY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE PERFORMANCE PROPERTIES OF ARP/MCU SALTSTONE MIXES
At the Saltstone Production Facility (SPF), decontaminated salt solution (DSS) is combined with premix (a cementitious mixture of portland cement (PC), blast furnace slag (BFS) and Class F fly ash (FA)) in a Readco mixer to produce fresh (uncured) Saltstone. After transfer to the Saltstone Disposal Facility (SDF) the hydration reactions initiated during the contact of the premix and salt solution continue during the curing period to produce the hardened waste form product. The amount of heat generated from hydration and the resultant temperature increase in the vaults depend on the composition of the decontaminated salt solution being dispositioned as well as the grout formulation (mix design). This report details the results from Task 3 of the Saltstone Variability Study for FY09 which was performed to identify, and quantify when possible, those factors that drive the performance properties of the projected ARP/MCU Batches. A baseline ARP/MCU mix (at 0.60 water to cementitious materials (w/cm) ratio) was established and consisted of the normal premix composition and a salt solution that was an average of the projected compositions of the last three ARP/MCU batches developed by T. A. Le. This task introduced significant variation in (1) wt % slag, w/cm ratio, and wt % portland cement about the baseline mix and (2) the temperature of curing in order to better assess the dependence of the performance properties on these factors. Two separate campaigns, designated Phase 10 and Phase 11, were carried out under Task 3. Experimental designs and statistical analyses were used to search for correlation among properties and to develop linear models to predict property values based on factors such as w/cm ratio, slag concentration, and portland cement concentration. It turns out that the projected salt compositions contained relatively high amounts of aluminate (0.22 M) even though no aluminate was introduced due to caustic aluminate removal from High Level Waste. Previous studies revealed that increased levels of aluminate in the feed cause a significant increase in the heat generation. For Phase 10, a mix with 0.05 M aluminate was used as a comparison point for the mixes at 0.22 M aluminate. The temperature of curing in Task 3 ranged from 22 C to 75 C. Recent results demonstrated that it is not only the temperature of curing which is important but also the time/temperature sequence of curing. Therefore, this report also focuses on the impact of the sequencing of time and curing temperature on Saltstone properties.
- Research Organization:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC09-08SR22470
- OSTI ID:
- 969291
- Report Number(s):
- SRNL-STI-2009-00546; TRN: US1000269
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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