A review of the archaeological analogue approaches to predict the long-term corrosion behaviour of carbon steel overpack and reinforced concrete structures in the French disposal systems

Abstract This paper gives a review of several years of research on archaeological analogues in order to predict the long term behaviour of the steel canisters or the reinforced concrete structures involved in disposal or interim storage of nuclear wastes in France. This article aims at showing the specific methodology, the complementariness with different other approaches and the complete integration of the research on analogues in the frame of research programs on long term prediction. Archaeological sites on which field measurement can be performed were referenced and described. A significant number of artefacts collected from these sites was selected for study. Detailed chemical and microstructural characterisation of the artefacts were undertaken by a combination of microbeam analytical techniques (μRaman, μXRD, μRaman spectroscopy,…). Hypotheses on the corrosion mechanisms were then tested using specific isotopic markers during re-corroding experiments on analogues. Specific parameters were measured, allowing crucial steps in modelling long-term corrosion of steel.