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Coupled Thermo-Hydraulic Behavior Around Access Shaft Sealed with Backfill Material

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2011

J. Okamoto
Affiliation:
KAJIMA Corporation, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
K. Ishihara
Affiliation:
KAJIMA Corporation, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
Y. Sawauchi
Affiliation:
KAJIMA Corporation, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, JAPAN
K. Hara
Affiliation:
Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki-ken, JAPAN
N. Sasaki
Affiliation:
Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, Tokai-mura, Ibaraki-ken, JAPAN
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Abstract

Groundwater flow from the repository to the surface through the sealed access shaft may be induced by the heat generated from high-level radioactive waste(HLW). It is important to estimate the effect of this heat generation on groundwater flow.

This paper presents an evaluation of groundwater flow in the vicinity of an access shaft filled with a backfill material. The evaluation uses a coupled thermo-hydraulic model. According to the current design, the backfill material within the shaft will be tamped 5 to 15 times every 20 cm depth using a 60 kg vibrating compactor. The properties of the backfill material were determined from experimental results for this construction method.

A transient coupled thermo-hydraulic analysis was carried out using an axisymmetric FEM model. Two kinds of repository models were considered, one was a single layered repository located at 1000 m depth, and the other was a two layered repository located at 800 m and 1000 m depths. The access shaft of each model was located at the center of the repository.

The results show that the vertical hydraulic gradient of groundwater flow along the sealed shaft will be approximately 0.001 at a time 1000 years after closure of the repository.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1991

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References

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