scholarly journals Numerical Study on the Effect of Enhanced Buffer Materials in a High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8733
Author(s):  
Min-Jun Kim ◽  
Gi-Jun Lee ◽  
Seok Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Thermal Requirements ◽  
Buffer Material ◽  
Deep Geological Disposal ◽  
High Level ◽  
3D Finite Element Method ◽  
System Designs ◽  
Proper Disposal ◽  
Element Method

In deep geological disposal system designs, it is important to minimize the installation area for cost effectiveness while satisfying the thermal requirements of the systems. An effective method to reduce the installation area for the systems is to employ an enhanced buffer material, as this can decrease the spacing between the disposal tunnels and deposition holes. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effect of an enhanced buffer material on the thermal behavior of the systems and their spacing. First, the discrete element method (DEM) was adopted to validate the thermal conductivity of the enhanced buffer material used, which was a mixture of bentonite and graphite. Then, a 3D finite element method (FEM) was conducted to analyze the proper disposal tunnel and hole spacing considering three cases with thermal conductivities values of the buffer as 0.8 W/(m K), 1.0 W/(m K), and 1.2 W/(m K). The results showed that the disposal tunnel and hole spacing could be reduced to 30 m and 6 m, respectively, when the temperature of the buffer surface facing the canister was 100 °C with a thermal conductivity value of approximately 1.2 W/(m K) or if more than 3% of graphite is added.

scholarly journals Thermal Conductivity of Compacted GO-GMZ Bentonite Used as Buffer Material for a High-Level Radioactive Waste Repository

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong-Gui Chen ◽  
Xue-Min Liu ◽  
Xiang Mu ◽  
Wei-Min Ye ◽  
Yu-Jun Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Radioactive Waste ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Radioactive Waste Disposal ◽  
Dry Density ◽  
Gmz Bentonite ◽  
High Level Radioactive Waste ◽  
Buffer Material ◽  
High Level ◽  
Crucial Parameter

In China, Gaomiaozi (GMZ) bentonite serves as a feasible buffer material in the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository, while its thermal conductivity is seen as a crucial parameter for the safety running of the HLW disposal. Due to the tremendous amount of heat released by such waste, the thermal conductivity of the buffer material is a crucial parameter for the safety running of the high-level radioactive waste disposal. For the purpose of improving its thermal conductivity, this research used the graphene oxide (GO) to modify the pure bentonite and then the nanocarbon-based bentonite (GO-GMZ) was obtained chemically. The thermal conductivity of this modified soil has been measured and investigated under various conditions in this study: the GO content, dry density, and water content. Researches confirm that the thermal conductivity of the modified bentonite is codetermined by the three conditions mentioned above, namely, the value of GO content, dry density, and water content. Besides, the study proposes an improved geometric mean model based on the special condition to predict the thermal conductivity of the compacted specimen; moreover, the calculated values are also compared with the experimental data.

scholarly journals Influence of sample preparation on MX-80 bentonite microstructure

Clay Minerals ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Matusewicz ◽  
V.-M. Pulkkanen ◽  
M. Olin
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Buffer Material ◽  
Deep Geological Disposal ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
And Performance ◽  
High Level ◽  
Water Saturated

AbstractCompacted bentonite is to be used as a buffer material between waste canisters and the bedrock in the deep geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste in several countries. In spite of the fact that such large bentonite systems have long equilibration times, estimation of the material properties and performance in repository conditions is often based on short-term, laboratory-scale experiments. Sample-preparation procedures in these experiments may differ from the natural evolution of the bentonite in the repository, however, affecting the bentonite properties. The present study reports the influence on the structure of clay tactoids of four different preparation procedures of water-saturated, compacted MX-80 bentonite samples using four target dry bulk densities. Small-angle X-ray scattering was used to illustrate the differences between the samples. The different treatments of the bentonite samples may lead to different structural features. Clear differences between low-density samples prepared using different procedures were observed. The influence of the preparation methods was less, but still noticeable, for the high-density samples.

scholarly journals Thermal Conductivity of Korean Compacted Bentonite Buffer Materials for a Nuclear Waste Repository

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seok Yoon ◽  
WanHyoung Cho ◽  
Changsoo Lee ◽  
Geon-Young Kim
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Near Field ◽  
High Level Waste ◽  
Nuclear Waste Repository ◽  
Spent Fuel ◽  
Decay Heat ◽  
Bentonite Buffer ◽  
Buffer Material ◽  
Overall Evaluation ◽  
High Level

Engineered barrier system (EBS) has been proposed for the disposal of high-level waste (HLW). An EBS is composed of a disposal canister with spent fuel, a buffer material, backfill material, and a near field rock mass. The buffer material is especially essential to guarantee the safe disposal of HLW, and plays the very important role of protecting the waste and canister against any external mechanical impact. The buffer material should also possess high thermal conductivity, to release as much decay heat as possible from the spent fuel. Its thermal conductivity is a crucial property since it determines the temperature retained from the decay heat of the spent fuel. Many studies have investigated the thermal conductivity of bentonite buffer materials and many types of soils. However, there has been little research or overall evaluation of the thermal conductivity of Korean Ca-type bentonite buffer materials. This paper investigated and analyzed the thermal conductivity of Korean Ca-type bentonite buffer materials produced in Gyeongju, and compared the results with various characteristics of Na-type bentonites, such as MX80 and Kunigel. Additionally, this paper suggests various predictive models to predict the thermal conductivity of Korean bentonite buffer materials considering various influential independent variables, and compared these with results for MX80 and Kunigel.

Boundary element method in numerical study of three-dimensional Stokes flows in channels of arbitrary shape

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-97
Author(s):  
Yu.A. Itkulova
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Element Method ◽  
Boundary Element ◽  
Cross Section ◽  
Numerical Study ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Cylindrical Tube ◽  
Variable Cross Section ◽  
Variable Cross ◽  
Periodic Flows ◽  
Element Method

In the present work creeping three-dimensional flows of a viscous liquid in a cylindrical tube and a channel of variable cross-section are studied. A qualitative triangulation of the surface of a cylindrical tube, a smoothed and experimental channel of a variable cross section is constructed. The problem is solved numerically using boundary element method in several modifications for a periodic and non-periodic flows. The obtained numerical results are compared with the analytical solution for the Poiseuille flow.

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