skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: User's manual and guide to SALT3 and SALT4: two-dimensional computer codes for analysis of test-scale underground excavations for the disposal of radioactive waste in bedded salt deposits

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6952688

SALT3 and SALT4 are two-dimensional analytical/displacement-discontinuity codes designed to evaluate temperatures, deformation, and stresses associated with underground disposal of radioactive waste in bedded salt. These codes were developed by the University of Minnesota for the Office of Nuclear Waste Isolation in 1979. The present documentation describes the mathematical equations of the physical system being modeled, the numerical techniques utilized, and the organization of these computer codes. The SALT3 and SALT4 codes can simulate: (a) viscoelastic behavior in pillars adjacent to excavations; (b) transversely isotropic elastic moduli such as those exhibited by bedded or stratified rock; and (c) excavation sequence. Major advantages of these codes are: (a) computational efficiency; (b) the small amount of input data required; and (c) a creep law based on laboratory experimental data for salt. The main disadvantage is that some of the assumptions in the formulation of the codes, i.e., the homogeneous elastic half-space and temperature-independent material properties, render it unsuitable for canister-scale analysis or analysis of lateral deformation of the pillars. The SALT3 and SALT4 codes can be used for parameter sensitivity analyses of two-dimensional, repository-scale, thermomechanical response in bedded salt during the excavation, operational, and post-closure phases. It is especially useful in evaluating alternative patterns and sequences of excavation or waste canister placement. SALT3 is a refinement of an earlier code, SALT, and includes a fully anelastic creep model and thermal stress routine. SALT4 is a later version, and incorporates a revised creep model which is strain-hardening.

Research Organization:
Minnesota Univ., Duluth (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-83CH10140
OSTI ID:
6952688
Report Number(s):
BMI/ONWI-145; ON: DE84011198
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Portions are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English