Authors: Ella Schaefer, Tim Ashworth, Rob English, Sarah Swales, Ben Vickers and Euan Williamson
Published in Nuclear Future 22.5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.63198/nuclearfuture225411
Thermal treatment is being assessed as an alternative to cement encapsulation for pumpable intermediate-level radioactive waste. Sellafield Ltd and Thornton Tomasetti used commercial computational fluid dynamics software to model the thermal melt pool of a Joule Heated Ceramic Melter, including the movement of gas bubbles and solid particles through molten glass. The study examined how glass properties, temperature, particle size and particle density influence behaviour. It found that commercial CFD software can model a simplified Joule-heated melter and identify threshold conditions at which particles fall out of suspension. These findings could help inform melter design, experimental programmes and assessments of criticality risk, although higher-fidelity modelling is needed to address uncertainties and support future nuclear safety cases.
Ella Schaefer is a Project Engineer within the Applied Sciences team at Thornton Tomasetti. Ella has developed extensive experience in the nuclear industry, both during her time as a PhD researcher and at Thornton Tomasetti. Her experience includes a variety of waste management projects relating to long term storage, inspection and repackaging, in addition to looking at novel and innovative solutions for management of PCM.