Microstructural Characterization of Copper Coatings on Nuclear Waste Containers for the Long-Term Disposal of Canada’s Used Nuclear Fuel

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization has proposed a deep geological repository solution for the long-term disposal of Canada’s nuclear waste fuel. A critical part of this solution is the used fuel container which houses the waste fuel. This container is made of steel and is coated with copper via the electrodeposition and cold spray processes to provide corrosion resistance. Microstructural characterization was conducted on the electrodeposited and cold sprayed copper coatings of the UFC, as well as wrought copper reference material through electron backscattered diffraction, focused ion beam microscopy, and SEM imaging. Electrodeposited copper is expected to have the optimal corrosion resistance based on the structure-property relationships for corrosion of pure copper. This is primarily due to its smaller grain size and higher frequency of special grain boundaries.M.A.S