Publications

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Demonstration of the ACE (Arctic Coastal Erosion) model at Drew Point, AK during a permafrost bluff block collapse event in summer 2018

Frederick, Jennifer M.; Eymold, William K.; Mota, Alejandro M.; Kalashnikova, Irina; Jones, Benjamin M.; Flanary, Chris F.; Jones, Craig J.; Thomas, Matthew A.; Bristol, Emily M.; Choens, Robert C.; Jones Ward, Melissa K.; Kasper, Jeremy L.; Brown, Eloise J.; McClelland, James W.; Bull, Diana L.

Abstract not provided.

Isotopic fractionation as in-situ sensor of subsurface reactive flow and precursor for rock failure

Ilgen, Anastasia G.; Choens, Robert C.; Knight, Andrew W.; Harvey, Jacob A.; Martinez, Mario J.; Yoon, Hongkyu Y.; Wilson, Jennifer E.; Mills, Melissa M.; Wang, Qiaoyi W.; Gruenwald, Michael G.; Newell, Pania N.; Schuler, Louis S.; Davis, Haley J.

Greater utilization of subsurface reservoirs perturbs in-situ chemical-mechanical conditions with wide ranging consequences from decreased performance to project failure. Understanding the chemical precursors to rock deformation is critical to reducing the risks of these activities. To address this need, we investigated the coupled flow-dissolution- precipitation-adsorption reactions involving calcite and environmentally-relevant solid phases. Experimentally, we quantified (1) stable isotope fractionation processes for strontium during calcite nucleation and growth, and during reactive fluid flow; (2) consolidation behavior of calcite assemblages in the common brines. Numerically, we quantified water weakening of calcite using molecular dynamics simulations; and quantified the impact of calcite dissolution rate on macroscopic fracturing using finite element models. With microfluidic experiments and modeling, we show the effect of local flow fields on the dissolution kinetics of calcite. Taken together across a wide range of scales and methods, our studies allow us to separate the effects of reaction, flow, and transport, on calcite fracturing and the evolution of strontium isotopic signatures in the reactive fluids.

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Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) FY21 Update

Kuhlman, Kristopher L.; Mills, Melissa M.; Jayne, Richard S.; Matteo, Edward N.; Herrick, Courtney G.; Nemer, Martin N.; Xiong, Yongliang X.; Choens, Robert C.; Paul, Matthew J.; Stauffer, Phil S.; Boukhalfa, Hakim B.; Guiltinan, Eric J.; Rahn, Thom R.; Weaver, Doug W.; Otto, Shawn O.; Davis, Jon D.; Rutqvist, Jonny R.; Wu, Yuxin W.; Hu, Mengsu H.; Wang, Jiannan W.

This report summarizes the 2021 fiscal year (FY21) status of ongoing borehole heater tests in salt funded by the disposal research and development (R&D) program of the Office of Spent Fuel & Waste Science and Technology (SFWST) of the US Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy’s (DOE-NE) Office of Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition (SFWD). This report satisfies SFWST milestone M2SF- 21SN010303052 by summarizing test activities and data collected during FY21. The Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) is fielded in a pair of similar arrays of horizontal boreholes in an experimental area at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). One array is heated, the other unheated. Each array consists of 14 boreholes, including a central borehole with gas circulation to measure water production, a cement seal exposure test, thermocouples to measure temperature, electrodes to infer resistivity, a packer-isolated borehole to add tracers, fiber optics to measure temperature and strain, and piezoelectric transducers to measure acoustic emissions. The key new data collected during FY21 include a series of gas tracer tests (BATS phase 1b), a pair of liquid tracer tests (BATS phase 1c), and data collected under ambient conditions (including a period with limited access due to the ongoing pandemic) since BATS phase 1a in 2020. A comparison of heated and unheated gas tracer test results clearly shows a decrease in permeability of the salt upon heating (i.e., thermal expansion closes fractures, which reduces permeability).

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First-Round Testing of the Brine Availability Test in Salt (BATS) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Kuhlman, Kristopher L.; Mills, Melissa M.; Jayne, Richard S.; Herrick, Courtney G.; Choens, Robert C.; Nemer, Martin N.; Heath, Jason; Matteo, Edward N.; Xiong, Yongliang X.; Otto, Shawn O.; Dozier, Brian D.; Weaver, Doug W.; Stauffer, Phil S.; Guiltinan, Eric J.; Boukhalfa, Hakim B.; Rahn, Thom R.; Wu, Yuxin W.; Rutqvist, Jonny R.; Hu, Mengsu H.; Crandall, Dustin C.

Abstract not provided.

Results 1–25 of 49
Results 1–25 of 49