• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.14 no.3 s.40
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• pp.325-333
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• 2004

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.87-92
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• 2011

This paper introduces the policy and regulations on very low level waste (VLLW) management in China. Given the important decommissioning and site restoration program of the old facility, it is considered necessary to create a new disposal facility dedicated to VLLW. Many general design principles are in common with to the disposal facility for low and intermediate level waste (LILW), namely the isolation of the waste by means of a multibarrier system, but using bentonite and/or high density polyethylene membranes instead of the generalized use of concrete barriers. The design of the facility is consistent with the design of disposal facilities for hazardous waste. The engineering design of two VLLW disposal facilities is introduced.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.331-338
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• 2021

Extensive studies have been conducted on thermal conductivity of bentonite buffer materials, as it affects the safety performance of barriers engineered to contain high-level radioactive waste. Bentonite is composed of several minerals, and studies have shown that the difference in the thermal conductivity of bentonites is due to the variation in their mineral composition. However, the specific reasons contributing to the difference, especially with regard to the thermal conductivity of bentonites with similar mineral composition, have not been elucidated. Therefore, in this study, bentonites with significantly different thermal conductivities, but of similar mineral compositions, are investigated. Most bentonites contain more than 60% of montmorillonite. Therefore, it is believed that the exchangeable cations of montmorillonite could affect the thermal conductivity of bentonites. The effect of bentonite type was comparatively analyzed and was verified through the effective medium model for thermal conductivity. Our results show that Ca-type bentonites have a higher thermal conductivity than Na-type bentonites.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2022

A compacted bentonite buffer is a major component of engineered barrier systems, which are designed for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. In most countries, the target temperature required to maintain safe functioning is below 100℃. If the target temperature of the compacted bentonite buffer can be increased above 100℃, the disposal area can be dramatically reduced. To increase the target temperature of the buffer, it is necessary to investigate its properties at temperatures above 100℃. Although some studies have investigated thermal-hydraulic properties above 100℃, few have evaluated the water suction of compacted bentonite. This study addresses that knowledge gap by evaluating the water suction variation for compacted Korean bentonite in the 25-150℃ range, with initial saturations of 0 and 0.22 under constant saturation conditions. We found that water suction decreased by 5-20% for a temperature increase of 100-150℃.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.524-531
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• 2003

The usefulness of vitrification technology for low- and intermediate- level radioactive wastes was demonstrated because of high volume reduction, mechanical and chemical stability of final waste forms. Thus, a construction of the commercial vitrification plant Is currently promoted. Due to the high radiation level of the waste, shielding analysis has to be carried out for safe design in a vitrification facility. Because there has been no experience in the construction and operation of the vitrification facility in Korea, in this study, in order to get some information for help the detailed design and plan for operation in vitrification facility, shielding analysis for each facility in pilot plant is carried out by using source term from established study. For the selection of the shielding material, concrete was chosen compared to the lead because of economic advantage, weight consideration, and thermal resistance.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2009

Use of nuclear energy inevitably brings the problem of radioactive waste disposal. Repositories for disposing radioactive waste use underground space that is unconnected with the outside and the diagonal system, which allows the waste to be deposited. Ventilation if necessary because high-level radioactive waste generates heat. In this study, the air velocity through diagonal branches with regulators of different sizes and in different locations, was measured. The air velocity is determined by the size of the first and last regulators, regardless of the size of other regulators. In the diagonal system. Consequently, once the desired total airflow rate has been achieved by installing the appropriate first and last regulators, the other regulators fan be evenly installed to maintain the minimum air velocity needed.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.227-234
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• 2019

A user-friendly modeling interface is developed for a process-based total system performance assessment framework (APro) specialized for a generic geological disposal system for high-level radioactive waste. The APro modeling interface is constructed using MATLAB, and the operator splitting scheme is used to combine COMSOL for simulation of multiphysics and PHREEQC for the calculation of geochemical reactions. As APro limits the modeling domain to the generic disposal system, the degree of freedom of the model is low. In contrast, the user-friendliness of the model is improved. Thermal, hydraulic, mechanical and chemical processes considered in the disposal system are modularized, and users can select one of multiple modules: "Default process" and multi "Alternative process". APro mainly consists of an input data part and calculation execution part. The input data are prepared in a single EXCEL file with a given format, and the calculation part is coded using MATLAB. The final results of the calculation are created as an independent COMSOL file for further analysis.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.381-387
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• 2003

Hull arising from the spent PWR fuel elements is classified as a high-level radioactive waste. This report describes the radio-chemical characteristics of the hull -from PWR spent fuel of 32, 000MWd/tU burn-up and 15 years cooling, discharged from Gori Unit I cycled 4 -7-by examination and literature survey. On the basis of the results, a method of degradation to middle and low-level radio active waste was proposed by dry process such as laser or plasma technique with removing the nuclides deposited on the surface of the hull.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.213-220
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• 2010

The permeability characterization on the natural barrier for deep geological disposal of radioactive waste is very critical to evaluate total safety and performance assessment of disposal site. However, the confidence level in using previous hydraulic testing equipments consist of simple components to estimate rock mass permeability is not high enough to reflect in situ condition. The purpose of this research is to establish an advanced hydraulic testing equipment, which is applicable to deep borehole (up to 1,000 m), through the improvement of technical problems of previous packer systems. Especially, the straddle packer hydraulic testing equipment was designed to adopt both the hydraulic downhole shut-in valve(H-DHSIV) to minimize the wellbore storage effect and the real time data acquisition system to measure the pressure changes of test interval including its upper and lower parts. The results from this research lead to not only improve current technical level in the field of hydraulic testing but also provide important information to radioactive waste disposal technology development and site characterization project.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.1540-1554
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• 2023

To use nuclear energy sustainably, spent nuclear fuel, classified as high-level radioactive waste and inevitably discharged after electricity generation by nuclear power plants, must be managed safely and isolated from the human environment. In Korea, the land area is limited and the amount of high-level radioactive waste, including spent nuclear fuels to be disposed, is relatively large. Thus, it is particularly necessary to maximize disposal efficiency. In this study, a high-efficiency deep geological repository concept was developed to enhance disposal efficiency. To this end, design strategies and requirements for a high-efficiency deep geological repository system were established, and engineered barrier modules with a disposal canister for pressurized water reactor (PWR)-type and pressurized heavy water reactor type Canada deuterium uranium (CANDU) plants were developed. Thermal and structural stability assessments were conducted for the repository system; it was confirmed that the system was suitable for the established strategies and requirements. In addition, the results of the nuclear safety assessment showed that the radiological safety of the new system met the Korean safety standards for disposal of high-level radioactive waste in terms of radiological dose. To evaluate disposal efficiency in terms of the disposal area, the layout of the developed disposal areas was assessed in terms of thermal limits. The estimated disposal areas were 2.51 km² and 1.82 km² (existing repository system: 4.57 km²) and the excavated host rock volumes were 2.7 Mm³ and 2.0 Mm³ (existing repository system: 4.5 Mm³) for thermal limits of 100 ℃ and 130 ℃, respectively. These results indicated that the area and the excavated volume of the new repository system were reduced by 40-60% compared to the existing repository system. In addition, methods to further improve the efficiency were derived for the disposal area for deep geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. The results of this study are expected to be useful in establishing a national high-level radioactive waste management policy, and for the design of a commercial deep geological repository system for spent nuclear fuels.