For decades, the nuclear industry has used cement-based materials to immobilise low- and intermediate-level short-lived and long-lived radioactive waste (sludge, concentrates, resins, … ) originating from the operation of nuclear power plants and from the chemical reprocessing of spent fuel (IAEA, 2013). Whereas because of the simplicity of the technique one could expect that this practice would result in a stable waste form that is well compatible with the final disposal site, there are many examples that show that this is absolutely not the case, e.g. the gel-formation attributed to alkali-silica-reaction (ASR) in the concrete operational waste of the nuclear power plant of Doel (http://www.niras.be/sites/default/files/Persdossier_actieplan_20140926_0.pdf).
Description
The objectives of this proposal are:
1.To improve our knowledge on the alkali silica reaction (ASR) in cement systems, with emphasis on the hydro-mechanical consequences of this reaction on the overall final repository performance;
2.To develop a test cell that allows to measure the swelling (in constant stress conditions) or swelling pressure (in constant volume conditions) of a cement system, due to ASR and/or other cement deterioration processes.
Nr of positions available : 1
Research Fields
Engineering
Career Stage
Experienced researcher or 4-10 yrs (Post-Doc)
Research Profiles
Recognised Researcher (R2)
Comment/web site for additional job details
Requirements
| ENGLISH |
| Excellent |