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Thesis
Home   /   Thesis   /   Generation of Cesium silicate micro-particles from Fukushima

Generation of Cesium silicate micro-particles from Fukushima

Engineering sciences Materials and applications

Abstract

Microscopic in size, but large in environmental impact, cesium microparticles hold one of the keys to understanding the Fukushima nuclear accident. Following the Fukushima Daiichi accident, these cesium-rich silicate glass microparticles (CSMP) were discovered in the environment, carrying a significant portion of the radioactivity. Very poorly soluble in water, they differ from those observed at Chernobyl. A previous thesis demonstrated that these CSMPs could be the result of the interaction between corium and concrete during a severe accident, via small-scale experiments. The study made it possible to reproduce similar particles, made of amorphous silica with crystalline nano-inclusions. However, the results need to be refined, particularly with regard to the presence of zinc and calcium. The proposed thesis aims to explore the physicochemical mechanisms leading to the synthesis of these CSMPs. Laboratory experiments will recreate the corium-concrete interaction conditions, representative of Fukushima, in order to optimize the compositions and improve the modeling of the releases of these particles in current severe accident assessment tools.

Laboratory

Département de Technologie Nucléaire
Service Mesures et modélisation des Transferts et des Accidents graves
Laboratoire d’études et d’expérimentation pour les accidents graves
Aix-Marseille Université
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