PNNL

Abstract

Apart from the waste loading, the melting rate is a major factor determining the lifecycle of nuclear waste disposal by vitrification in electric melters in which the heat to the cold cap is delivered from the melt pool. The melting rate correlation relates the melting rate to the melter feed and glass properties and the process parameters, one of which is the cold cap bottom temperature that depends on the primary foam stability, a function of the transient glass-forming melt viscosity, the presence of residual solid particles, and the shear stress imposed by the flow in the melt pool.