Design evaluation: Structural calculations for the construction and salt handling shaft and the waste handling shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
Technical Report
·
OSTI ID:5534527
One fundamental strategy under consideration for sealing the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) shafts involves the consolidation of the salt backfill in specified portions of the shaft. The criterion for effective salt consolidation was defined to occur when the fractional density of the crushed salt reaches 95%. Thus, the shaft is sealed with a backfill material (crushed salt and/or precompacted salt blocks) that eventually develops properties considered favorable for long-term sealing purposes. This report describes the structural analyses performed to address how much deformation will occur in the shaft as a function of time and depth and how long will it take for the backfill to consolidate to 95% relative density. The two-dimensional axisymmetric shaft model was allowed to creep for a period of 30 years before instantaneous backfill emplacement. Results indicate that the backfill will consolidate to 95% density in less than 300 years at the repository horizon for an initial relative density of 0.60. Most of the backfill in the shaft reaches 95% density in less than 1000 years if the backfill is emplaced at an initial relative density of 0.85. Thus, the calculations show that salt seal materials can reconsolidate in the WIPP shafts to densities nearly equal to those for the intact host rock salt in a relatively short time span. 10 refs., 17 figs.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-76DP00789
- OSTI ID:
- 5534527
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-87-2230; ON: DE88006691
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
BACKFILLING
DESIGN
FORECASTING
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SEALS
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
SOLIDIFICATION
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WIPP
053000 -- Nuclear Fuels-- Environmental Aspects
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
ALPHA-BEARING WASTES
BACKFILLING
DESIGN
FORECASTING
FUNCTIONAL MODELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
NUCLEAR FACILITIES
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PILOT PLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RADIOACTIVE WASTES
SALT DEPOSITS
SEALS
SHAFT EXCAVATIONS
SOLIDIFICATION
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
US DOE
US ORGANIZATIONS
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTES
WIPP