Leakage of nuclear material powder from pressure container through a small orifice--颗粒学报PARTICUOLOGY

Liu, L., Wu, Y., Su, Y., Tang, H., Zhang, Z., Huang, P., Zhang, L., & Zhang, L. (2014). Leakage of nuclear material powder from pressure container through a small orifice. Particuology, 14, 117–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.partic.2013.06.004

Leakage of nuclear material powder from pressure container through a small orifice

Longbo Liu^*, Yanmin Wu, Yongyang Su, Hanbing Tang, Zhihong Zhang, Ping Huang, Lili Zhang, Lixing Zhang

Northwest Institute of Nuclear Technology, Xi’an 710024, China

10.1016/j.partic.2013.06.004

Volume 14, June 2014, Pages 117-123

Received 19 November 2012, Revised 11 April 2013, Accepted 15 June 2013, Available online 22 August 2013.

E-mail: lomboliu@live.cn

Highlights

• Terbium oxide powder leakage from a micro-orifice of pressurize containers was investigated.

• Effects of orifice diameter, powder layer thickness and pressure on the leakage were studied.

• Orifice diameter has dominant effect on powder leakage amount.

Abstract

Because of the radioactivity and toxic nature of nuclear materials, their containment within oxide matrices, encased in sealed containers, has been proposed as a suitable means for storage and transportation. However, container failures because of cracks or small orifices present a major leakage risk for nuclear materials, consequently posing a significant hazard to the environment and human beings. In this study, terbium oxide powder was used as a nuclear material representative to examine the leakage of nuclear material powder through orifices located at the base of a pressure container. The dependence of the orifice diameter, the powder layer thickness, and the internal pressure of the container on the leakage mechanism and amount was examined. A simplified model correlating the dependence of the above-mentioned parameters to determine the utmost leakage amount was also developed based on the present results. The leakage of the nuclear material powder was assessed by measuring its concentration using an optical particle counter. The diameter of the orifice determined the powder leakage mechanism, which in turn influenced the amount of leakage produced. Comparison studies showed that unlike the changes in the differential pressure, the volume of the container has little effect on the leakage amount. Under sufficiently high internal pressures, the oxide powder can be released as a fine aerosol. The work is not only crucial from the nuclear safety aspect, but is also beneficial for the safe application of powder and nanoparticles.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Nuclear materials; Powder; Leakage; Risk assessment

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