Rock mechanics for hard rock nuclear waste repositories
The mined geologic burial of high level nuclear waste is now the favored option for disposal. The US National Waste Terminal Storage Program designed to achieve this disposal includes an extensive rock mechanics component related to the design of the wastes repositories. The plan currently considers five candidate rock types. This paper deals with the three hard rocks among them: basalt, granite, and tuff. Their behavior is governed by geological discontinuities. Salt and shale, which exhibit behavior closer to that of a continuum, are not considered here. This paper discusses both the generic rock mechanics R and D, which are required for repository design, as well as examples of projects related to hard rock waste storage. The examples include programs in basalt (Hanford/Washington), in granitic rocks (Climax/Nevada Test Site, Idaho Springs/Colorado, Pinawa/Canada, Oracle/Arizona, and Stripa/Sweden), and in tuff (Nevada Test Site).
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 60256
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-86768; CONF-810983-2; CONF-811132-1; ON: DE82001736
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 34. Canadian geotechnical conference, Fredericton, New Brunswic (Canada), 30 Sep - 2 Oct 1981; Other Information: PBD: Sep 1981
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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