Publications Details

International Collaboration Activities on Engineered Barrier Systems

Jove Colon, Carlos F.; Payne, Clay P.; Knight, Andrew W.

International collaborations on nuclear waste disposal is an integral part of the Spent Fuel Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) campaign within the DOE Fuel Cycle and Technology (FCT) program. These engagements with international repository R&D programs provide key opportunities to participate in experiments with international partners on research investigations developing laboratory/field (underground research laboratories (URL) experiments) data of engineered barrier system (EBS) components (e.g., near-field) and characterization of transport phenomena in the host rock (e.g., far-field). The results of these field and laboratory experiments are used in the evaluation of coupled processes and the development of state-of-the-art simulation approaches to evaluate repository performance. Thermal heating from radionuclide decay in the waste canisters will increase temperature in the surrounding EBS driving chemical and transport processes in the near- and far-field domains of the repository. URL heater-tests for extended periods of times (e.g., years) provide key information and data of thermal effects on barrier responses to temperature and water saturation levels.