Use of Thermoanalytical Methods for Studying the Thermal Characteristics of Vitrified Radioactive Waste Forms

The heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and linear thermal expansion coefficient of non-radioactive borosilicate glass samples of various chemical compositions, simulating the vitrified cesium–strontium fraction, were determined by differential scanning calorimetry and dilatometry to justify the safety of the radioactive waste storage. The developed steps of remote experimental determination of the thermal characteristics allow working with real vitrified high-level waste samples and creating a database containing the characteristics of borosilicate glasses.