The effects of composition on glass dissolution rates: The application of four models to a data base

Four models have been applied to a data base to relate glass dissolution in distilled water to composition. The data base is used to compare the precisions obtained from the models in fitting actual data. The usefulness of the data base in formulating a model is also demonstrated. Two related models in which the composite or pH-adjusted free energy of hydration of the glass is the correlating parameter are compared with experimental data. In a structural model, the nonbridging oxygen content of the glasses is used to correlate glass dissolution rate to composition. In a model formulated for this report, the cation valence and the oxygen content of the glass are compared with observed dissolution rates. The models were applied to the 28-day normalized silica release at 90/sup 0/C for over 285 glass compositions with surface area to volume ratios of 10 m/sup -1/ (Materials Characterization Center MCC-1 glass durability test using distilled water). These glasses included the nonradioactive analogs of WV205 and SRL-165, as well as SRL-131, PNL 76-68, and a European glass, UK209. Predicted glass dissolution rates show similar fits to the data for all four models. The predictions of the models were also plotted for two subsets of the glasses: waste glasses and Savannah River Laboratory glasses. The model predictions fit the data for these groups much better than they fit the data for the entire set of glasses. 14 refs., 12 figs., 7 tabs