• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.104-126
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• 2024

Buffer and backfill play an essential role in isolating high-level radioactive waste and retard the migration of leaked radionuclides in deep geological disposal system. A bentonite mixture, which exhibits a swelling property, is considered for buffer and backfill materials, and excessive groundwater inflow from surrounding rock mass may affect stability and efficiency of their role as an engineered barrier. Therefore, stringent quality control as well as in-situ installation management and inflow water constrol for buffer and backfill are required to ensure the safety of deep disposal facilities. In this study, we analyzed the design requirements of buffer and backfill by examining various laboratory tests and a field study of the Steel Tunnel Test at the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Sweden. We introduced how to control the quality of buffer and backfill construction in-field, and also presented how to handle excessive groundwater inflow into disposal caverns, validating the groundwater retention capacity of bentonite pellets and the effectiveness of geotexile use.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.143-147
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• 2008

U(IV) ion, the valance state of uranium presumed at in a deep-depth disposal of a spent fuel, was prepared and separated from U(VI) ion. In order to prepare U(IV) ion, tests were performed by adding several reducing agents into a uranyl solution or by dissolution of uranium oxide in a mixed acid added with a reducing agent. The valance states of the uranium in the prepared solutions were identified by separating two ions with a Dowex AG 50W-X8 cation exchange resins and measuring the solutions using a laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. However, U(IV) and U(VI) were not separated by a Lichroprep Si60 exchange resin in the same separation condition of Pu(IV) and Pu(VI).

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.127-142
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• 2024

The robustness of a numerical method means that its computational performance is maintained under various modeling conditions. New numerical methods or codes need to be assessed for robustness through benchmark testing. The TOUGH-FLAC modeling approach has been applied to various fields such as subsurface carbon dioxide storage, geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel, and geothermal development both domestically and internationally, and the modeling validity has been examined by comparing the results with experimental measurements and other numerical codes. In the present study, a benchmark test of the TOUGH-FLAC approach was performed based on a coupled thermal-hydro-mechanical behavior problem with an analytical solution. The analytical solution is related to the temperature, pore water pressure, and mechanical behavior of a fully saturated porous medium that is subjected to a point heat source. The robustness of the TOUGH-FLAC approach was evaluated by comparing the analytical solution with the results of numerical simulation. Additionally, the effects of thermal-hydro-mechanical coupling terms, fluid phase change, and timestep on the computation of coupled behavior were investigated.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.14 no.6 s.53
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• pp.429-439
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• 2004

The deep underground High Level Waste (HLW) repository to dispose of 36,000tons of spent fuel from the reactors in Korea needs about $4km^2$ repository area. In this study, the deep undergrond repository layout was optimized to minimize the excavation rock volume as well as underground repository area. In the optimization, the results from thermal analysis were used to define the influence of tunnel and deposition hole spacings on repository layout. The repository area and excavation rock volume could be reduced with longer disposal tunnel length. When it is necessary to reduce the repository area with satisfying thermal criteria, it is better to reduce tunnel spacing and increase deposition hole spacing. In contrast, the excavation rock volume can be reduced by increasing the tunnel spacing and decreasing the hole spacing.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.147-153
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• 2018

Copper is used in various applications in environments favoring and enabling formation of biofilms by naturally occurring microbes. Copper is also the chosen corrosion barrier for nuclear waste in Finland. The copper canisters should have lifetimes of 100,000 years. Copper is commonly considered to be resistant to corrosion in oxygen-free water. This is an important argument for using copper as a corrosion protection in the planned canisters for spent nuclear-fuel encapsulation. However, microbial biofilm formation on metal surfaces can increase corrosion in various conditions and provide conditions where corrosion would not otherwise occur. Microbes can alter pH and redox potential, excrete corrosion-inducing metabolites, directly or indirectly reduce or oxidize the corrosion products, and form biofilms that create corrosive microenvironments. Microbial metabolites are known to initiate, facilitate, or accelerate general or localized corrosion, galvanic corrosion, and intergranular corrosion, as well as enable stress-corrosion cracking. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are present in the repository environment. Sulfide is known to be a corrosive agent for copper. Here we show results from corrosion of copper in anoxic simulated ground water in the presence of SRB enriched from the planned disposal site.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.9-27
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• 2021

As an example of research activities in decontamination for decommissioning, new data are presented on the options for corrosion layer dissolution during the decommissioning decontamination, or persulfate regeneration for decontamination solutions re-use. For the management of spent decontamination solutions, new method based on solvent extraction of radionuclides into ionic liquid followed by electrodeposition of the radionuclides has been developed. Fields of applications of composite inorganic-organic absorbers or solid extractants with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) binding matrix for the treatment of liquid radioactive waste are reviewed; a method for americium separation from the boric acid containing NPP evaporator concentrates based on the TODGA-PAN material is discussed in more detail. Performance of a model of radionuclide transport, developed and implemented within the GoldSim programming environment, for the safety studies of the LLW/ILW repository is demonstrated on the specific case of the Richard repository (Czech Republic). Continuation and even broadening of these activities are expected in connection with the approaching end of the lifespan of the first blocks of the Czech NPPs.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.411-417
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• 2023

During the operation of a nuclear power plant (NPP), the generation of radioactive waste, including dry active waste (DAW), concentrates, spent resin, and filters, mandates the implementation of appropriate disposal methods to adhere to Korea's waste acceptance criteria (WAC). In this context, this study investigates the potential use of polymer concrete (PC) as a high-integrity container (HIC) material for solidifying and packaging these waste materials. PC is a versatile composite material comprising binding polymers, aggregates, and additives, known for its exceptional strength and chemical stability. A comprehensive analysis of PC's long-term integrity was conducted in this study. First, its compressive strength, which is crucial for ensuring the structural stability of HICs over extended periods, was evaluated. Subsequently, the resilience of PC was tested under various stress conditions, including biological, radiological, thermal, and chemical stressors. The findings of this study indicate that PC exhibits remarkable long-term properties, demonstrating exceptional stability even when subjected to diverse stressors. The results therefore underscore the potential viability of PC as a reliable material for constructing high-integrity containers, thus contributing to the safe and sustainable management of radioactive waste in NPPs.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.587-609
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• 2019

Short-and long-term stabilities of bentonite, favored material as buffer in geological repositories for high-level waste were reviewed in this paper in addition to alternative design concepts of buffer to mitigate the thermal load from decay heat of SF (Spent Fuel) and further increase the disposal efficiency. It is generally reported that the irreversible changes in structure, hydraulic behavior, and swelling capacity are produced due to temperature increase and vapor flow between $150{\sim}250^{\circ}C$. Provided that the maximum temperature of bentonite is less than $150^{\circ}C$, however, the effects of temperature on the material, structural, and mineralogical stability seems to be minor. The maximum temperature in disposal system will constrain and determine the amount of waste to be disposed per unit area and be regarded as an important design parameter influencing the availability of disposal site. Thus, it is necessary to identify the effects of high temperature on the performance of buffer and allow for the thermal constraint greater than $100^{\circ}C$. In addition, the development of high-performance EBS (Engineered Barrier System) such as composite bentonite buffer mixed with graphite or silica and multi-layered buffer (i.e., highly thermal-conductive layer or insulating layer) should be taken into account to enhance the disposal efficiency in parallel with the development of multilayer repository. This will contribute to increase of reliability and securing the acceptance of the people with regard to a high-level waste disposal.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.271-305
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• 2020

An effect of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical and chemical (THMC) behavior is an essential part of the performance and safety assessment of geological disposal systems for high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Furthermore, numerical models and modeling techniques are necessary to analyze and predict the coupled THMC behavior in the disposal systems. However, phenomena associated with the coupled THMC behavior are nonlinear, and the constitutive relationships between them are not well known. Therefore, it is challenging to develop numerical models and modeling techniques to analyze and predict the coupled THMC behavior in the geological disposal systems. It is also difficult to verify and validate the development of the models and techniques because it requires expensive laboratory tests and in-situ experiments that need to be performed for a long time. DECOVALEX was initiated in 1992 to efficiently develop numerical models and modeling techniques and validate the developed models and techniques against the lab and in-situ experiments. In Korea, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute has participated in DECOVALEX-2011, DECOVALEX-2015, and DECOVALEX-2019 since 2008. In this study, all tasks in the three DECOVALEX projects were introduced to the researcher in the field of rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering in Korea.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.183-202
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• 2019

For design and performance assessment of a high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) behavior. However, in previous studies for the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS), thermal analysis was performed to determine the spacing of disposal tunnels and interval of disposition holes without consideration of the coupled THM behavior. Therefore, in this study, TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D is used to conduct THM modeling for performance assessment of the Korean Reference HLW Disposal System (KRS). The peak temperature remains below the temperature limit of $100^{\circ}C$ for the whole period. A rapid rise of temperature caused by decay heat occurs in the early years, and then temperature begins to decrease as decay heat from the waste decreases. The peak temperature at the bentonite buffer is around $96.2^{\circ}C$ after about 3 years, and peak temperature at the rockmass is $68.2^{\circ}C$ after about 17 years. Saturation of the bentonite block near the canister decreases in the early stage, because water evaporation occurs owing to temperature increase. Then, saturation of the bentonite buffer and backfill increases because of water intake from the rockmass, and bentonite buffer and backfill are fully saturated after about 266 years. The stress is calculated to investigate the effect of thermal stress and swelling pressure on the mechanical behavior of the rockmass. The calculated stress is compared to a spalling criterion and the Mohr-Coulumb criterion for investigation of potential failure. The stress at the rockmass remains below the spalling strength and Mohr-Coulumb criterion for the whole period. The methodology of using the TOUGH2-MP/FLAC3D simulator can be applied to predict the long-term behavior of the KRS under various conditions; these methods will be useful for the design and performance assessment of alternative concepts such as multi-layer and multi-canister concepts for geological spent fuel repositories.