An archaeological analog for long-term interaction between iron and glass

Mitsui, Seiichiro  ; Yoshikawa, Hideki; Matsui, Toshiya*; Kaneko, Makoto*; Nakamatsu, Yuki*; Utsunomiya, Satoshi*

Engineered barrier system for geological disposal of high level nuclear waste in Japan consists of vitrified waste, metal overpack and clay buffer material. Although the overpack and the buffer material are designed to prevent the release of radionuclides from the vitrified waste, some experimental studies have shown that these components can promote glass dissolution. To gain insight in the long-term behavior of the vitrified waste at the glass-iron interface in the geological repository conditions, we studied sand contacted with iron cannon retrieved from Kaiyo Maru, a warship of the Tokugawa Shogunate that sank off the coast of Esashi in Hokkaido, 1868, as an archaeological analog. In this paper, we discuss type of corrosion and alteration products characterized by microanalyses, such as transmission electron microscope, and clogging of sand voids analyzed by a micro-focus X-ray computed tomography.