Rayleigh-Taylor Instability within Sediment Layers Due to Gas Retention: Preliminary Theory and Experiments

Gauglitz, Phillip A. ; Wells, Beric E. ; Buchmiller, William C. ; Rassat, Scot D.

关键词: Hanford;    undergroud storage waste tanks;    particles;    layers;   

DOI  :  10.2172/1077995
RP-ID  :  PNNL-22339 Rev. 0
PID  :  OSTI ID: 1077995
Others  :  Other: 830403000

美国|英语

来源: SciTech Connect

【 摘 要 】

In Hanford underground waste storage tanks, a typical waste configuration is settled beds of waste particles beneath liquid layers. The settled beds are typically composed of layers, and these layers can have different physical and chemical properties. One postulated configuration within the settled bed is a less-dense layer beneath a more-dense layer. The different densities can be a result of different gas retention in the layers or different degrees of settling and compaction in the layers. This configuration can experience a Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability where the less dense lower layer rises into the upper layer. Previous studies of gas retention and release have not considered potential buoyant motion within a settle bed of solids. The purpose of this report is to provide a review of RT instabilities, discuss predictions of RT behavior for sediment layers, and summarize preliminary experimental observations of RT instabilities in simulant experiments.