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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Thermohydrologic behavior and repository design at Yucca Mountain

Conference ·
OSTI ID:15005969

Radioactive decay of nuclear waste emplaced at Yucca Mountain will produce an initial heat flux many times larger than the heat flux in some natural geothermal systems. This heat flux will change the thermal and hydrologic environment at Yucca Mountain significantly, affecting both the host rock and conditions within the emplacement tunnels (drifts). Understanding the thermohydrologic behavior in this coupled natural and engineered system is critical to the assessment of the viability of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear-waste repository site and for repository design decision-making. We report results from a study that uses our multi-scale modeling approach to explore the relationship between repository design, thermohydrologic behavior, and key repository performance measures.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Department of Energy (US)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
15005969
Report Number(s):
UCRL-JC-141237
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English