• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.165-173
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• 2007

The KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT) located in KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) was recently constructed following the site investigation in 2003. Its dimension is 180 m in length, 6 m in width, and 6 m in height, and it has a horseshoe-like cross-sec-lion and is located in the ground to the depth of 90 m. When the tunnel was dug into the ground with 100 m in length, fresh rocks, weathered rocks and fracture-filling materials were taken and examined by mineralogical and chemical analyses. There are phyllosilicate minerals such as illite, smectite and chlorite including calcite, which are filling some faults and cracks of the KURT rock. The illite and smectite usually coexist in the fracture, where their content ratio is different according to which mineral is predominant. There are high concentrations of U and Th in the rocks coated with iron-oxides and filled with secondary materials as compared with those in the fresh rocks. It seems that the radionuclides, which are slowly leached from the parent rocks or exist as a dissolved form in the groundwater and hydrothermal solution, may have been migrated along the fractures and thereafter selectively sorbed and coprecipitated on the iron-oxides and the fracture-filling materials. These results will be very useful far the evaluation of environmental factors affecting the nuclides migration and retardation when long-term safety is considered to the geological disposal of high-level radioactive wastes in the future.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.229-245
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• 1997

There are Common aspects between the underground oil storage cavern and the radioactive waste disposal facility. Both facilities use appropriately the intrinsic natural berrier characteristics of the rock mass and additionally the engineered barrier system for the long term safety. The geological structures and their hydrogeological characteristics in a faactured rock mass act a major role in the safety and performance of the underground oil storage facility through the design, construction and the operation stages. Because the fracture system distributed in a fractured rock block is complicated owing to their own geometrical and hydrogeological attributes, the hydrogeological perforrmrnce of the facility would depend mainly upon the understandings of their characteristics. This study reviews the uncertainties and key issues which have to be considered to analyse the groundwater flow system in a fractured rock mass and proposes the techniques applicable to characterize the hydrogeological parameter.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.45-59
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• 2023

The transport calculation for a wide variety of radionuclides contained in high-level radioactive waste, especially spent nuclear fuel, is computationally difficult, and input data collection for this also take a considerable amount of time. Accordingly, considering limited resources, it is possible to reduce the calculation time while minimizing impact on accuracy by including only radionuclides important to calculation result through applying some criteria among potential radiation source terms that may release into environment. In this paper, therefore, we reviewed and analyzed the screening process performed to select radionuclides to be considered in the safety assessment for the KBS-3 type repository in Sweden and Finland. In both countries, it was confirmed that a list of radionuclides was selected by comprehensively considering screening criteria such as radioactivity inventory, half-life, radiotoxicity, risk quotient, and transport properties, and etc. A comparison of radionuclides included in the radiological safety assessment in both countries suggests that most of nuclides are considered in common, and a few nuclides considered only in one country are due to differences in decay chain treatment or spent fuel types. As of now, since most of information on the disposal facility in Korea has not been determined, it is necessary to comprehensively model release and transport of all radionuclides considered in Sweden and Finland when performing the radiological safety assessment. Based on these results, we derived the screening concept of selecting a list of radionuclides to be considered in the radiological safety assessment for the domestic KBS-3 type geological disposal facility, and this result is expected to be used as technical basis for confirming conformity with the safety objective. In a more detailed evaluation reflecting domestic characteristics in the future, it would be desirable to consider only radionuclides selected in accordance with the screening procedure. However, further research should be conducted to determine the quantitative limit for each criteria.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.419-434
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• 2020

In this study, the damage parameters of Mazars model for KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) granite are measured form uniaxial compressive and Brazilian tests under the simulated coupled condition of a deep geological disposal. The tests are conducted in three different temperatures (15℃, 45℃, and 75℃) and dry/saturated conditions. Major model parameters such as maximum effective tensile strain (𝜖_d0), A_t, B_t, A_c, and B_c differ from the typical reference values of concrete specimens. This is likely due to the difference in elastic modulus between rock and concrete. It is found that the saturation of specimens causes an increase in value of B_t and B_c while, the rise in temperature increases 𝜖_d0 and B_t and decreases B_c. The damage model obtained from this study will be used as the primary input parameters in the development of coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Damage numerical model in KAERI.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.183-193
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• 2018

Currently, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) is planning to build the Ki-Jang Research Reactor (KJRR) in Ki-Jang, Busan. It is important to safely dispose of low-level radioactive waste from the operation of the reactor. The most efficient way to treat radioactive waste is cement solidification. For a radioactive waste disposal facility, cement solidification is performed based on specific waste acceptance criteria such as compressive strength, free-standing water, immersion and leaching tests. Above all, the leaching test is important to final disposal. The leakage of radioactive waste such as $^{137}Cs$ causes not only regional problems but also serious global ones. The cement solidification method is simple, and cheaper than other solidification methods, but has a lower leaching resistance. Thus, this study was focused on the development of cement solidification for an enhancement of cesium leaching resistance. We used Zeolite and Loess to improve the cesium leaching resistance of KJRR cement solidification containing simulated KJRR liquid waste. Based on an SEM-EDS spectrum analysis, we confirmed that Zeolite and Loess successfully isolated KJRR cement solidification. A leaching test was carried out according to the ANS 16.1 test method. The ANS 16.1 test is performed to analyze cesium ion concentration in leachate of KJRR cement for 90 days. Thus, a leaching test was carried out using simulated KJRR liquid waste containing $3000mg{\cdot}L^{-1}$ of cesium for 90 days. KJRR cement solidification with Zeolite and Loess led to cesium leaching resistance values that were 27.90% and 21.08% higher than the control values. In addition, in several tests such as free-standing water, compressive strength, immersion, and leaching tests, all KJRR cement solidification met the waste acceptance or satisfied the waste acceptance criteria for final disposal.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.11-19
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• 2008

The development of an excavation damaged zone, EDZ, due to the blasting impact and stress redistribution after excavation, can influence on the long tenn stability, economy, and safety of the underground excavation. In this study, the size and characteristics of an EDZ around an underground research tunnel, which was excavated by controlled blasting, in KAERI were investigated. The results were implemented into the modelling for evaluating the influence of an EDZ on hydro-mechanical behavior of the tunnel. From in situ tests at KURT, it was possible to determine that the size of EDZ was about l.5rn. Goodman jack tests and laboratory tests showed that the rock properties in the EDZ were changed about 50% compared to the rock properties before blasting. The size and property change in the EDZ were implemented to a hydro-mechanical coupling analysis. In the modeling, rock strengths and elastic modulus were assumed to be decreased 50% and. the hydraulic conductivity was increased 1 order. From the analysis, it was possible to see that the displacement was increased while the stress was decreased because of an EDZ. When an EDZ was considered in the model, the tunnel inflow was increased about 20% compared to the case without an EDZ.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.256-266
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• 2022

It is important to determine the concentration of long-lived radionuclides (e.g., ¹²⁹I) in nuclear waste to ensure safety when handling it. To analyze nuclides in a solid sample (e.g., concrete and soil), it is essential to effectively separate and purify the nuclides of interest in the sample. This study reports the comprehensive efforts made to validate the analytical procedure for ¹²⁹I detection in solid samples, using a high-temperature combustion furnace. ¹²⁹I volatilized from the sample collected in 0.01 M HNO₃ solution with a reducing agent (e.g., NaHSO₃) and was rapidly measured by ICP-MS. Analytical conditions, such as pyrolysis temperature and types of mobile phase gas, catalyst, and trapping solution, were optimized to obtain a high recovery rate of spiked ¹²⁹I. Finally, the optimized method was applied for the simultaneous analysis of other volatile radionuclides, such as ³H and ¹⁴C. The performance test results for the optimized method confirmed that the LSC (for ³H and ¹⁴C) and ICP-MS (for ¹²⁹I) measurements, with the separation of volatile nuclides using a high-temperature combustion furnace, were reliable.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.161-170
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• 2012

To provide domestic values of input parameters in a safety assessment of radioactive waste disposal under domestic deep underground environments, various kinds of experiments have been carried out under KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) conditions. The input parameters were classified, and some of them were selected for this study by the criteria of importance. The domestic experimental data under KURT environments were given top priority in the data review process. Foreign data under similar conditions to KURT were also gathered. The collected data were arranged and the statistical calculations were processed. The properties and distribution of the data were explained and compared to foreign values in view of their validity. The following parameters were analysed: failure time and early time failure rate of a container, solubility of nuclides, porosity and density of the buffer, and distribution coefficients of nuclides in the geomedia, hydraulic conductivity, diffusion depth of nuclides, groundwater flow rate, fracture aperture, length of internal fracture, and width of faulted rock mass in the host rock.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Groundwater Environment
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.80-87
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• 1998

Since groundwater flow paths have one of the major roles to transport the radioactive nuclides from the radioactive waste repository to the biosphere, the discrete fracture network model is used for the rock block scale flow instead of the porous continuum model. This study aims to construct a three dimensional discrete fracture network to interpret the groundwater flow system in the study site. The modeling work includes the determination of the probabilistic distribution function from the fracture geometric and hydraulic parameters, three dimensional fracture modeling and model calibration. The results of the constant pressure tests performed in a fixed interval length at boreholes indicate that the flow dimension around boreholes shows mainly radial to spherical flow pattern. The fracture transmissivity value calculated by Cubic law is 6.12${\times}$10$\^$-7/ ㎡/sec with lognormal distribution. The conductive fracture intensity estimated by FracMan code is 1.73. Based on this intensity, the total number of conductive fractures are obtained as 3,080 in the rock block of 100 m${\times}$100 m${\times}$100 m.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.295-304
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• 2011

The first step in improving our understanding of uncertainties suclt as rock mass strength parameters and deformation modulus in rock masses around high-level radioactive waste disposal repositories, for improved safety, is to study the process of crack development in intact rock. Therefore, in this study, the fracture process and crack development were examined in samples of KURT granite taken from the KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT), based on acoustic emission (AE) and moment tensor analysis. The results show that crack initiation, coalescence, and unstable crack occurred at rock uniaxial compressive strengths of 0.45, 0.73, and 0.84, respectively. In addition, moment tensor analysis indicated that during the early stage of loading, tensile cracks were predominant. With increasing applied stress, the number of shear cracks gradually increased. When the applied stress exceeded the stress level required for crack damage, unstable shear cracks which directly result in failure of the rock were generated along the failure plane.