THERMAL PROPERTY TESTING OF AN ENGINEERED BARRIER FOR USE IN A DEEP GEOLOGICAL REPOSITORY

Pedram Abootalebi, Gregory Siemens

In the proceedings of: GeoQuébec 2015: 68th Canadian Geotechnical Conference & 7th Canadian Permafrost Conference

Session: Rock Mechanics and Engineering Geology I / Mécanique des roches et ingénierie géologique I

ABSTRACT: There are over 2.5 million bundles of used nuclear fuel in Canada and upwards of an additional 2 million bundles anticipated to be generated in the future. Canada, and all countries around the world that have taken a decision on long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel, has decided on central storage within a deep geological repository. A deep geological repository provides centralized containment and isolation of the used nuclear fuel hundreds of meters below ground. Spent nuclear fuel bundles are to be placed at depth within containers and surrounded by engineered barriers. A key component of the performance of a repository is the capability of the engineered barriers to transfer the thermal energy to the surrounding geosphere. In this paper thermal property testing of a high density bentonite material is presented. The challenges associated with high density specimen preparation are highlighted and preliminary results are reported.

RÉSUMÉ: Il y a plus de 2,5 millions de grappes de combustible nucléaire utilisé au Canada et plus de 2 millions de grappes additionnelles à être générées sont anticipées pour le futur. Le Canada et les autres pays autour du monde, qui ont pris dans un dépôt géologique profond. Un dépôt géologique profond fournit un confinement centralisé et une isolation du combustible nucléaire utilisé à des centaines de mètres sous le sol. Les déchets de combustible nucléaire seront placés en profondeur dans des conteneurs entourés de baressais de qualité thermique de matériel à grande masse volumique de bentonite sont présentés. Les défis associés avec

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