Demonstration of a System Performance Assessment Process

1990 ◽  
Vol 212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Dormuth

ABSTRACTTo help evaluate the concept of nuclear fuel waste disposal in plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield, the long-term performance of a hypothetical disposal facility is being studied. This case study uses information from a Shield research area, laboratories, and conceptual engineering. It illustrates the use of performance assessment to derive constraints on the siting, construction, and operation of a disposal facility, and to demonstrate the feasibility of safe disposal of nuclear fuel waste.

2012 ◽  
Vol 1475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter N. Swift ◽  
Bill W. Arnold ◽  
Patrick V. Brady ◽  
Geoff Freeze ◽  
Teklu Hadgu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTDeep boreholes have been proposed for many decades as an option for permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Disposal concepts are straightforward, and generally call for drilling boreholes to a depth of four to five kilometers (or more) into crystalline basement rocks. Waste is placed in the lower portion of the hole, and the upper several kilometers of the hole are sealed to provide effective isolation from the biosphere. The potential for excellent long-term performance has been recognized in many previous studies. This paper reports updated results of what is believed to be the first quantitative analysis of releases from a hypothetical disposal borehole repository using the same performance assessment methodology applied to mined geologic repositories for high-level radioactive waste. Analyses begin with a preliminary consideration of a comprehensive list of potentially relevant features, events, and processes (FEPs) and the identification of those FEPs that appear to be most likely to affect long-term performance in deep boreholes. The release pathway selected for preliminary performance assessment modeling is thermally-driven flow and radionuclide transport upwards from the emplacement zone through the borehole seals or the surrounding annulus of disturbed rock. Estimated radionuclide releases from deep borehole disposal of spent nuclear fuel, and the annual radiation doses to hypothetical future humans associated with those releases, are extremely small, indicating that deep boreholes may be a viable alternative to mined repositories for disposal of both high-level radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel.


2019 ◽  
Vol 145 (5) ◽  
pp. 04019034 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Granello ◽  
C. Leyder ◽  
A. Frangi ◽  
A. Palermo ◽  
E. Chatzi

Energy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 107 ◽  
pp. 716-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pulin Yeh ◽  
Chu Hsiang Chang ◽  
Naichien Shih ◽  
Naichia Yeh

1991 ◽  
Vol 257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence H. Johnson ◽  
D.W. Shoesmith ◽  
B.M. Ikeda ◽  
F. King

ABSTRACTTitanium and copper have been proposed as suitable container materials for disposal of nuclear fuel waste in plutonic rock of the Canadian Shield. Studies of the corrosion of these materials have led to the development of container failure models to predict long-term performance. Crevice corrosion and hydrogen-induced cracking of titanium have been identified as potential failure mechanisms, and these two processes have been studied in detail. Using data from these studies as well as a number of conservative assumptions, titanium container lifetimes of 1200 to 7000 a have been estimated. For copper, general corrosion has been studied in detail in bulk solution and in compacted clay-based buffer material. Results indicate that the copper corrosion rate is likely to be controlled by the rate of transport of copper species away from the container surface. An assessment of copper pitting data suggests that pitting is an extremely improbable failure mechanism. The copper container failure model predicts minimum container lifetimes of 30 000 a. The results demonstrate that long lifetime containment can be provided, should performance assessment studies indicate the need for such an option.


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