• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.55-62
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• 2012

As an alternative of the high-level radioactive waste disposal in the subsurface repository, a deep borehole disposal is reviewed by several nuclear advanced countries. In this study, the state of the art on the borehole disposal researches was reviewed, and the possibility of borehole disposal in Korean peninsula was discussed. In the deep borehole disposal concept radioactive waste is disposed at the section of 3 - 5km depth in a deep borehole, and it has known that it has advantages in performance and cost due to the layered structure of deep groundwater and small surface disposal facility. The results show that it is necessary to acquisite data on deep geologic conditions of Korean peninsula, and to research the engineering barrier system, numerical modeling tools and disposal techniques for deep borehole disposal.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2001.09a
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• pp.120-123
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• 2001

국내 원전에서 배출되는 사용후핵연료의 안정한 장기 보관과 평화적 재활용을 위한 많은 연구중에서 금속저장체 연구는 사용후핵연료의 장기 보관에 따른 부식 문제 해결과 방사성 붕괴열 제거 관점에서 관심을 끌고 있다. 본 논문에서는 고준위 방사성폐기물로 분류되는 금속저장체를 국내 심지층 암반에 영구 처분했을 때 발생하는 처분장 요구 면적과 영구 처분에 따른 방사선적 안전성에 관한 고찰을 통해 금속 저장체를 이용한 사용후핵연료 관리의 장단점을 분석하였다. 예비 조사 결과 주어진 데이터 조건에서는 금속 저장체는 고준위 방사성폐기물 처분장의 면적을 5 배 정도 줄일 수 있을 것이며 방사선적 안전성 또한 우수한 것으로 판명되었으나 향후 경제성과 핵비확산성을 고려한 종합적인 타당성 연구가 수행되는 것이 바람직하다고 판명되었다.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.246-252
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• 1997

원자력 발전 과정에서 부산물로 발생되는 사용후 핵연료와 같은 고준위 방사성폐기물은 수백 만년동안 인간 및 자연 환경에 영향ㅇ르 미치기 때문에 엄격한 관리가 요구된다. 이를 위하여 세계 각국에서는 KBS-3 개념과 같이 고준위 방사성폐기물을 지하 500미터 심도의 암반에 영구 처분하기 위하여 연구를 수행사고 있다. 이러한 연구 활동의 일환으로 고준위 방사성폐기물에서 발생하는 방사성 붕괴열로 인한 처분장 인접 암반에서의 응력 변화 및 이에 따른 주변 암반대에서의 지하수 유동 현상 규명을 위한 연구가 지난 1980년대부터 활발하게 진행되고 있는 바, 그 대표적인 연구 과제가 DECOVALEX 국제 공동 연구이다. 이 글에서는 현재 진행 중인 DECOVALEX 연구 현황과 향후 전망에 관하여 조명하고자 한다.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.183-190
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• 2009

The basic function of HLW disposal system is to prevent excessive radio-nuclides being leaked from the repository in a short time. To do this, many technical standards should be developed and established on the components of disposal system. Safety assessment of a repository is considered as one of technical standards, because it produces quantitative results of the future evolution of a repository based on a reasonably simplified model. In this paper, we investigated other countries' regulations related to safely assessment focused on the assessment period, radiation dose limits and uncertainties of the assessment. Especially, in the investigation process of the USA regulations, the USA regulatory bodies' approach to assessment period and peak dose is worth taking into account in case of a conflict between peak dose from safety assessment and limited value in regulation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.363-364
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• 2011

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.157-164
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• 2007

The prediction of the temperature distribution change of the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister and its surrounding structures (bentonite buffer, granitic rock etc.) due to the spent fuel heat is very important for the design of the 500m deep granitic repository for the spent nuclear fuel disposal canister (about 10,000 years long) deposition. In this study, the temperature distribution change of the composite structure which comprises the canister, the bentonite buffer, the deposition tunnel due to the spent fuel heat is computed using the numerical analysis method. Specially, the temperature distribution change of the composite structure is analysed as the deposition time elapses up to m years. The analysis result shows that the temperature of each part of the repository increases slowly in different way but the latest part temperature increases slowly up to 150 years and thereafter decreases slowly.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.518-525
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• 2011

In this study, the natural ventilation pressure resulting from the large altitude difference which is a characteristic of high radioactive waste repository and the caloric value of the heat emitted by wastes was calculated and based on the results, natural ventilation quantities were calculated. A high radioactive waste repository can be considered as being operated through closed cycle thermodynamic processes similar to those of thermal engines. The heat produced by the heating of high radioactive wastes in the underground repository is added to the surrounding air, and the air goes up through the upcast vertical shaft due to the added heat while working on its surroundings. Part of the heat added by the work done by the air can be temporarily changed into mechanical energy to promote the air flow. Therefore, if a sustained and powerful heat source exists in the repository, the heat source will naturally enable continued cyclic flows of air. Based on this assumption, the quantity of natural ventilation made during the disposal of high radioactive wastes in a deep geological layer was mathematically calculated and based on the results, natural ventilation pressure of $74{\sim}183$Pa made by the stack effect was identified along with the resultant natural ventilation quantity of $92.5{\sim}147.7m^3/s$. The result of an analysis by CFD was $82{\sim}143m^3/s$ which was very similar to the results obtained by the mathematical method.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.429-437
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• 2012

This study predicted temperature in the disposal tunnels using computational fluid dynamics based on natural ventilation quantity that comes from high altitude and temperature differences that are the characteristics of high level waste repository. The result of the previous study that evaluated quantitatively natural ventilation quantity using a hydrostatic method and CFD shows that significant natural ventilation quantity is generated. From the result, this study performed the prediction of temperature in disposal tunnels by natural ventilation quantity by the caloric values of the wastes, at both deep geological repository and surface repository. The result of analysis shows that deep geological repository is effective for thermal control in the disposal tunnels due to heat transfer to rock and the generation of sufficient natural ventilation quantity, while surface repository was detrimental to thermal control, because surface repository was strongly affected by external temperature, and could not generate sufficient natural ventilation quantity. Moreover, this study found that in the case of deep geological repository with a depth of 200 m, the heatof about $10^{\circ}C$ was transferred to the depth of 500 m. Thus, it is considered that if the high level waste repository scheduled to be built in the country is designed placing an emphasis on thermal control, deep geological repository rather than surface repository is more appropriate.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2008

A swelling clay should remain physically and chemically stable for a long time to perform its functions as a buffer material of a high-level waste (HLW) repository. The longevity issues in the swelling clay were reviewed to evaluate their importance in the performance of a repository. The review results suggest that an elevated temperature due to decay heat, groundwater chemistry, high pH environment by concrete, organic matter and microbes, radiation, and mechanical disturbance might significantly affect the long-term performance of a swelling clay as a buffer material. This paper will be used as basic informations to design the swelling clay buffer for a HLW repository.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.105-112
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• 2004

A waste container, one of the key components of a multi-barrier system in a potential high level radioactive waste (HLW) repository in Korea ensures the mechanical stability against the lithostatic pressure of a deep geologic medium and the swelling pressure of the bentonite buffer. Also, it delays potential release of radionuclides for a certain period of time, before it is corroded by intruding impurities. Even though the material of a waste container is carefully chosen and its manufacturing processes are under quality assurance processes, there is a possibility of initial defects in a waste container during manufacturing. Also, during the deposition of a waste container in a repository, there is a chance of an incident affecting the integrity of a waste container. In this study, the appropriate Features, Events, and Processes(FEP's) to describe these incidents and the associated scenario on radionuclide release from a container to the biosphere are developed. Then the total system performance assessment on the Initial waste Container Failure (ICF) scenario was carried out by the MASCOT-K, one of the probabilistic safety assessment tools KAERI has developed. Results show that for the data set used in this paper, the annual individual dose for the ICF scenario meets the Korean regulation on the post closure radiological safety of a repository.