Comparison of CFD Calculations With Experimental Results for the YMP Scaled Natural Convection Tests

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Dalvit Dunn ◽  
Stephen W. Webb ◽  
John Del Mar ◽  
Michael T. Itamura ◽  
Nicholas D. Francis
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Specific Data ◽  
Concrete Pipe ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level ◽  
And Control ◽  
Calculated Model

The Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) is currently designing a geologic repository for high level nuclear waste. The design encompasses two distinct phases, the pre-closure period where temperatures within the repository will be controlled by active ventilation, and the post-closure period where the repository will be sealed. A prerequisite for designing the repository is the ability to both understand and control the heat generated from the decay of the nuclear waste. This decay heat affects the performance of both the waste packages and the emplacement drift. The ability to accurately model the complex heat transfer within the repository is critical to the understanding of the repository performance. Currently, computational fluid dynamics codes are being used to model the post-closure performance of the repository. Prior to using the codes on the project they were required to be thoroughly validated. Eight pilot-scale tests were performed at the Department of Energy North Las Vegas Atlas Facility to evaluate the processes that govern thermal transport in an environment that scales to the proposed repository environment during the post closure period. The tests were conducted at two geometric scales (25 and 44% of full scale), with and without drip shields, and under both uniform and distributed heat loads. The tests provided YMP specific data for model validation. A separate CFD model was developed for each of the four test configurations. The models included the major components of the experiment, including the waste packages (heated steel canisters), invert floor, and emplacement drift (insulated concrete pipe). The calculated model temperatures of the surfaces and fluids, and velocities, are compared with experimental data.

Demonstration of Safety for Geologic Disposal

1993 ◽  
Vol 333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward C. Taylor ◽  
Lawrence D. Ramspott ◽  
William M. Sprecher
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Technological Advance ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Nuclear Waste Management ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Geologic Disposal ◽  
High Level ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTThe U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) is developing a nuclear waste management system that will accept high-level radioactive waste, transport it, store it, and ultimately emplace it in a deep geologic repository. The key activity now is determining whether Yucca Mountain, Nevada is suitable as a site for the repository. If so, the crucial technological advance will be the demonstration that disposal of nuclear waste will be safe for thousands of years after closure. This paper assesses the impact of regulatory developments, legal developments, and scientific developments on such a demonstration.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the US DOE's conceptual model of hydrothermal activity at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

2012 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 3853-3905
Author(s):  
Y. V. Dublyansky
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Hydrothermal Activity ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Natural Analog ◽  
Disposal Facility ◽  
The Us ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

Abstract. A unique conceptual model envisaging conductive heating of rocks in the thick unsaturated zone of Yucca Mountain, Nevada by a silicic pluton emplaced several kilometers away is accepted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) as an explanation of the elevated depositional temperatures measured in fluid inclusions in secondary fluorite and calcite. Acceptance of this model allowed the DOE not to consider hydrothermal activity in the performance assessment of the proposed high-level nuclear waste disposal facility. Evaluation shows that validation of the model by computational modeling and by observations at a natural analog site was unsuccessful. Due to the lack of validation, the reliance on this model must be discontinued and the scientific defensibility of decisions which rely on this model must be re-evaluated.

scholarly journals Functions of the Materials Review Board

1984 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Steindler ◽  
W. B. Seefeldt
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Nuclear Regulatory Commission ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Waste Package ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
Regulatory Commission ◽  
High Level ◽  
Nuclear Waste Policy

Some nuclear waste is destined for disposal in deep geological formations. The disposal system for wastes from commercial nuclear activities, and perhaps also for high-level wastes from defense-related activities, is to be designed and operated by the Department of Energy (DOE) and licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Nuclear Waste Policy Act [1] outlines some of the procedures and schedules that are to be followed by DOE in carrying out its assignment in the disposal of high-level nuclear waste (HLW). The regulations of the NRC that deal with HLW [2] are only partly in place, and amendments (e.g., related to the unsaturated zone) are yet to be approved and issued. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued only draft versions of the regulations pertaining to HLW disposal [3], but key features of these drafts are at present in adequate agreement with NRC documents. On the basis of the trends that have become evident in the last few years, the DOE will be required to substantiate performance predictions for all pertinent aspects of a repository, especially the performance of the engineered waste package. The basis for demonstrating that the waste package performance in the repository will be in concert with the requirements is data on the waste package materials. These key materials data must clearly be highly reliable, and DOE will be required to assure this reliability. This paper addresses the organization and functions that have been assembled to aid in establishing the quality of materials data that are important in the licensing of a waste repository.

scholarly journals A Demonstration of Dose Modeling at Yucca Mountain

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terri B. Miley ◽  
Paul W. Eslinger
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Yucca Mountain ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
Hanford Site ◽  
Regulatory Guidance ◽  
Dose Limits ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTThe U. S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently revising the regulatory guidance for high-level nuclear waste disposal. In its draft form, the guidelines contain dose limits. Since this is likely to be the case in the final regulations, it is essential that the U.S. Department of Energy be prepared to calculate site-specific doses for any potential repository location. This year, Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) has made a first attempt to estimate doses for the potential geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada as part of a preliminary total-systems performance assessment.A set of transport scenarios was defined to assess the cumulative release of radionuclides over 10,000 years under undisturbed and disturbed conditions at Yucca Mountain. Dose estimates were provided for several of the transport scenarios modeled. The exposure scenarios used to estimate dose in this total-systems exercise should not, however, be considered a definitive set of scenarios for determining the risk of the potential repository.Exposure scenarios were defined for waterborne and surface contamination that result from both undisturbed and disturbed performance of the potential repository. The exposure scenarios used for this analysis were designed for the Hanford Site in Washington. The undisturbed performance scenarios for which exposures were modeled are gas-phase release of 14C to the surface and natural breakdown of the waste containers with waterborne release. The disturbed performance scenario for which doses were estimated is exploratory drilling. Both surface and waterborne contamination were considered for the drilling intrusion scenario.

scholarly journals High-Level Nuclear-Waste Borosilicate Glass: A Compendium of Characteristics

1992 ◽  
Vol 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Cunnane ◽  
J. K. Bates ◽  
W. L. Ebert ◽  
X. Feng ◽  
J. J. Mazer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Waste ◽  
Experimental Testing ◽  
Glass Network ◽  
The United States ◽  
Waste Glass ◽  
Mechanistic Modeling ◽  
Geologic Repository ◽  
High Level Nuclear Waste ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACTWith the imminent startup, in the United States, of facilities for vitrification of high-level nuclear waste, a document has been prepared that compiles the scientific basis for understanding the alteration of the waste glass products under the range of service conditions to which they may be exposed during storage, transportation, and eventual geologic disposal. A summary of selected parts of the content of this document is provided.Waste glass alterations in a geologic repository may include corrosion of the glass network due to groundwater and/or water vapor contact. Experimental testing results are described and interpreted in terms of the underlying chemical reactions and physical processes involved. The status of mechanistic modeling, which can be used for long-term predictions, is described and the remaining uncertainties associated with long-term simulations are summarized.

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