Use of field data to evaluate and improve drift response models for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Conference · Mon Dec 31 23:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:5714522

Morgan, H S; Stone, C M; Krieg, R D

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is currently being excavated near Carlsbad, New Mexico by the US Department of Energy as a research and development facility to demonstrate the safe disposal of defense generated radioactive waste in bedded salt. Structural response data collected from underground rooms and drifts at the WIPP will ultimately be used to evaluate and improve computational models for predicting time-dependent room deformations caused by salt creep. An initial evaluation, based on a comparison of computed and measured room closures for one of the early WIPP excavations known as the South Drift, has already been completed. Some of the highlights of that evaluation are presented. First the finite element model used to compute the response of the South Drift is described. Then closure measurements from the South Drift are presented, and comparisons with the calculations are made. Attempts to resolve the resulting discrepancies are summarized next, and finally some directions for future work are offered. 7 figs.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-76DP00789
• OSTI ID: 5714522
• Report Number(s): SAND-84-2126C; CONF-850671-2; ON: DE85007003
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
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TIME DEPENDENCE
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US DOE
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