Thermal-mechanical modeling of deep borehole disposal of high-level radioactive waste.
Disposal of high-level radioactive waste, including spent nuclear fuel, in deep (3 to 5 km) boreholes is a potential option for safely isolating these wastes from the surface and near-surface environment. Existing drilling technology permits reliable and cost-effective construction of such deep boreholes. Conditions favorable for deep borehole disposal in crystalline basement rocks, including low permeability, high salinity, and geochemically reducing conditions, exist at depth in many locations, particularly in geologically stable continental regions. Isolation of waste depends, in part, on the effectiveness of borehole seals and potential alteration of permeability in the disturbed host rock surrounding the borehole. Coupled thermal-mechanical-hydrologic processes induced by heat from the radioactive waste may impact the disturbed zone near the borehole and borehole wall stability. Numerical simulations of the coupled thermal-mechanical response in the host rock surrounding the borehole were conducted with three software codes or combinations of software codes. Software codes used in the simulations were FEHM, JAS3D, Aria, and Adagio. Simulations were conducted for disposal of spent nuclear fuel assemblies and for the higher heat output of vitrified waste from the reprocessing of fuel. Simulations were also conducted for both isotropic and anisotropic ambient horizontal stress in the host rock. Physical, thermal, and mechanical properties representative of granite host rock at a depth of 4 km were used in the models. Simulation results indicate peak temperature increases at the borehole wall of about 30 C and 180 C for disposal of fuel assemblies and vitrified waste, respectively. Peak temperatures near the borehole occur within about 10 years and decline rapidly within a few hundred years and with distance. The host rock near the borehole is placed under additional compression. Peak mechanical stress is increased by about 15 MPa (above the assumed ambient isotropic stress of 100 MPa) at the borehole wall for the disposal of fuel assemblies and by about 90 MPa for vitrified waste. Simulated peak volumetric strain at the borehole wall is about 420 and 2600 microstrain for the disposal of fuel assemblies and vitrified waste, respectively. Stress and volumetric strain decline rapidly with distance from the borehole and with time. Simulated peak stress at and parallel to the borehole wall for the disposal of vitrified waste with anisotropic ambient horizontal stress is about 440 MPa, which likely exceeds the compressive strength of granite if unconfined by fluid pressure within the borehole. The relatively small simulated displacements and volumetric strain near the borehole suggest that software codes using a nondeforming grid provide an adequate approximation of mechanical deformation in the coupled thermal-mechanical model. Additional modeling is planned to incorporate the effects of hydrologic processes coupled to thermal transport and mechanical deformation in the host rock near the heated borehole.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Albuquerque, NM, and Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 1035996
- Report Number(s):
- SAND2010-8638C; TRN: US1201279
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Proposed for presentation at the American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting held December 13-17, 2010 in San Francisco, CA.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES, AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
APPROXIMATIONS
BASEMENT ROCK
BOREHOLES
COMPRESSION
CONSTRUCTION
DEFORMATION
DRILLING
FUEL ASSEMBLIES
GRANITES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
NUCLEAR FUELS
PERMEABILITY
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
REPROCESSING
SALINITY
STABILITY
STRAINS
WASTES
SPENT FUELS