Development of a nuclear waste drum of concrete

The paper describes the selection of raw materials for a nuclear waste concrete drum and the properties of the materials, the formulation and properties of the concrete, and the specification and technical quality requirements for the drum. The manufacture essentials and technology, the experiments and checks as well as the effective quality control and quality assurance carried out in the course of production are described. The nuclear waste drum has a simple structure, and is made from easily available raw materials and contains a rational formulation of concrete. The compressive strength of the drum is greater than 70 MPa, the tensile strength is greater than 5 MPa, the nitrogen permeability is 3.6-2.16x10-18 m2. The error of the drum in dimensions is ± 2 mm. The external surface of the drum is smooth. The drum meets the China standards regarding sandy surface, void and crack. The appraisal results show that quality of the drum is as good as of the same foreign product. Our research shows China has the ability to develop and produce nuclear waste concrete containers and lays the foundation for standardization and series of the nuclear waste container for waste packing and transporting in China. (author). 2 refs, 2 figs, 3 tabs