Phenomenological studies of two-phase flow processes for nuclear waste isolation

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

OSTI ID:61015

Pruess, K; Finsterle, S; Persoff, P; Oldenburg, C ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

The U.S. civilian radioactive waste management program is unique in its focus on a site in the unsaturated zone, at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Two-phase flow phenomena can also play an important role in repositories beneath the water table where gas is generated by corrosion, hydrolysis, and biological degradation of the waste packages. An integrated program has been initiated to enhance our understanding of two-phase flow behavior in fractured rock masses. The studies include two-phase (gas-liquid) flow experiments in laboratory specimens of natural rock fractures, analysis and modeling of heterogeneity and instability effects in two-phase flow, and design and interpretation of field experiments by means of numerical simulation. We present results that identify important aspects of two-phase flow behavior on different space and time scales which are relevant to nuclear waste disposal in both unsaturated and saturated formations.

• Research Organization: American Society of Civil Engineers, New York, NY (United States); American Nuclear Society, La Grange Park, IL (United States)
• OSTI ID: 61015
• Report Number(s): CONF-940553--Vol.4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
FLOW MODELS
GEOLOGIC FRACTURES
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
INSTABILITY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
SIMULATION
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
TWO-PHASE FLOW
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
Yucca Mountain Project