• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.215-229
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• 2019

This technical note describes the current status of Finnish radioactive waste disposal project which started to construct the repository for spent nuclear waste for the first time in the world. Finland started operating nuclear power plant in 1977 and is currently operating four nuclear power plants. After detailed site surveys started in 1993, Olkiluoto was finally selected by the parliament of Finland as the site for geological disposal in 2001 followed by a construction license in 2015. If the operating license is approved by the government in the 2020s, it would be the world's first case of geological disposal. In ONKALO, a site-specific underground research facility at the site of Olkiluoto, various studies were conducted to verify the safety of the repository. Finland uses the KBS-3 disposal concept, and Korea considers a similar disposal concept because of similar rock formations. The entire process in Finland including the operation status of intermediate and low-level waste disposal, site investigation and selection stages, and the latest rock mechanics and hydrogeological studies in ONKALO are presented. Suggestions for the radioactive waste disposal in Korea is given based on the Finnish case.

• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.71-83
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• 2002

본 기술보고에서는 미국의 고준위 방사성폐기물 발생 현황 및 최근 에너지성 장관의 최종 추천을 받는 등 활발하게 진행되고 있는 미국 유카산 고준위 방사성폐기물 처분장 후보 부지 선정 과정 및 조사 연구 현황을 요약하였다. 본 기술보고에 요약한 바와 같이 유카산 프로젝트의 자연 환경은 우리 나라와는 매우 상이하다. 그러나 세계 원자력 계에서의 미국의 영향력을 고려할 때 유카산 프로젝트의 성공은 2001년 핀란드 올킬루오토(Olkiluoto) 처분 부지 확보와 함께 원자력 계의 오랜 숙원이었던 고준위 방사성폐기물 처분을 실현시킴으로서 향후 원자력 에너지 사용의 증대와 함께 심부 지질에 대한 이해를 증진시키는데 크게 기여할 것이다.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.293-301
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• 2010

Optical fiber cable, as a sensor, was installed on the wall of KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute) Underground Research Tunnel(KURT) in order to monitor the physical stability of the tunnel, which was constructed for technical development and demonstration of radioactive waste disposal. This monitoring system has two simultaneous measurements of temperature and strain over time using Brillouin backscatter. According to the results of the monitoring from Jan. 2008 to Nov. 2009, there is no significant displacement or movement at the tunnel wall However, the cumulative volume of total strain increased slightly as time passes with the comparison of the reference observation, which was measured in Jan. 2008. The change in cumulative volume of total strain indicates that the strain level had been affected by saturation and de-saturation phenomena due to groundwater fluctuation at several points at KURT. This system is based on the distributed sensing technique concept, not point sensing. By using this system, a displacement can be detected with the range from $20{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ to $28,000{\mu}{\varepsilon}$ every 1m interval in minimum. A temperature variation can be monitored at every 0.5m interval with the resolution of 0.01 in minimum. Based on the study, this monitoring system is potentially applicable to long term monitoring systems for radioactive waste disposal project as well as other structures and underground openings.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.435-444
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• 2023

In the licensing application for the deep geological disposal system of high-level radioactive waste in Finland, the disposal tunnel backfilling has been changed from the block/pellet (for the construction) to the granular type (for the operation). Accordingly, for establishing the design concept for backfilling, it is necessary to examine applicability to the domestic facility through analyzing problems of the existing method and improvements in the alternative design. In this paper, we first reviewed the principal studies conducted for changing the backfill method in the licensing process of the Finnish facility, and identified the expected problems in applying the block/pellet backfill method. In addition, we derived the evaluation factors to be considered in terms of technical and operational aspects for the backfilling solution, and then conducted a comparative analysis for two types of backfill methods. This analysis confirmed the overall superiority of the design change. It is expected that these results could be utilized as the technical basis for deriving the optimum design plan in development process of the Korean-specific deep disposal facility. However, applicability should be reviewed in advance based on the latest technical data for the detailed evaluation factors that must be considered for selecting the backfilling method.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.282-283
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• 1999

핵폐기물 지하처분, 지열개발, 지하 환경의 안전과 제어 등과 관련된 문제에 있어서 암석 및 암반의 역학적 거동 외에 열·수리·화학적 상호작용에 대한 이해가 필요하다. 이미 전세계적으로 국가별로 혹은 공동연구를 통하여 열·수리·역학적 상호작용에 관하여 많은 연구가 진행되었으며 최근 화학적 상호작용에 대한 문제가 추가적으로 제기되고 있다. 특히 장기간의 지하 환경의 안정성에 미치는 중요한 요소로 크립현상과 열·수리 화학적 상호작용 연구에 대한 필요성이 제기된 바 있다. 이 중 열·역학적 상호작용에 대해서는 현장문제에 적용 가능한 만은 연구결과가 제시된 바 있으나 기타 상호작용에 대해서는 다양한시험방법과모델링으로 인하여 아직가지 통일된 의견이 제시된 바 없다. 제 2주제에는 총 92편의 논문이 접수되었으며, 이 논문들의 내용, 성격, 해석방법 등을 간략히 정리하였다.

• Journal of Korean Tunnelling and Underground Space Association
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.175-186
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• 2023

The buffer materials in disposal hole are exposed to the decay heat from spent nuclear fuels and groundwater inflow through adjacent rockmass. Since understanding of thermal-hydro-mechanical-chemical (T-H-M-C) interaction in buffer material is crucial for predicting their long-term performance and safety of disposal repository, it is necessary to investigate the heating-hydration characteristics and consequent T-H-M-C behavior of the buffer materials under disposal conditions considering geochemical factors. In response, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute developed a laboratory-scale 'Lab.THMC' experiment system, which characterizes the T-H-M behavior of buffer materials under different geochemical conditions by analyzing heating-hydration process and stress changes. This technical report introduces the detail design of the Lab.THMC system, summarizes preliminary experimental results, and outlines future research plans.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.257-269
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• 2001

Numerical simulation is performed to understand the structural behavior of an underground radwaste repository, assumed to be located at the depth of 500 m, in a granitic rock mats, in which a fault intersects the roof of the repository cavern. Two dimensional universal distinct element code, UDEC is used in the analysis. The numerical model includes a granitic rock mass, a canister with PWR spent fuels surrounded by the compacted bentonite inside the deposition hole, and the mixed bentonite backfilled in the rest of the space within the repository cavern. The structural behavior of three different cases, each case with a fault of an angle of $33^{\circ},\;45^{\circ},\;and\;58^{\circ}$ passing through the cavern roof-wall intersection, has been compared. And then fro the case with the $45^{\circ}$ fault, the hydro-mechanical, thermo-mechanical, and thermo-hydro-mechanical interaction behavior have been studied. The effect of the time-dependent decaying heat, from the radioactive materials in PWR spent fuels, on the repository and its surroundings has been studied. The groundwater table is assumed to be located 10m below the ground surface, and a steady state flow algorithm is used.

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.129-140
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• 2000

최근들어 핵폐기물 지하처분장을 중심으로 터널굴착에 의한 주변 암반의 손상상태와 암반특성의 변화를 정량적으로 평가하기 위한 시도가 이루어지고 있다. 이는 암반의 지지력을 적극적으로 이용하는 NATM개념에 의해 터널을 시공할 셩우 안정성 해석과 최적 보강설계를 위해 필수적인 사항으로 고려된다. 그러나 현재까지 암반 손상영역을 평가하기 위해 제시된 여러 방법들은 아직까지 그 적용성과 타당성이 충분히 검증되지 못한 실정이다. 이 연구에서는 코어시추, 실험실시험, 발파진동측정, 보어홀 카메라 등의 여러 방법에 의해 손상영역을 정량적으로 평가하고자 하였으며 가 방법의 적용성을 검토하였다. 암반상태 및 발파조건을 달리하여 시험발파를 수행하였으며 발파 후에 터널벽면에 수직하게 시추를 하여 암석코어를 채취한 뒤 손상정도에 따른 암석의 물리적, 역학적 특성들？ 변화를 정량적으로 나타내고자 하였다. 코어 채취후 시축공에 보어홀 카메라를 사용하여 손상영역을 시각적으로 판별하고자 하였으며 발파진동 측정결과로부터 손상영역을 예측하고 채취한 암석시표에 대한 실험실시험 결과와 비교하여 적용성을 검토하였다.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.289-308
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• 2021

This study conducts coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical numerical modeling to investigate the maximum temperature and conditions for securing mechanical stability of the high-level radioactive waste repository when temperature criteria of bentonite buffer are 100℃ and 125℃, respectively. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 100℃, the maximum temperatures at the interface between canister and buffer are calculated to be 99.4℃ and 99.8℃, respectively for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 40 m and deposition hole spacing of 5.5 m and for the other case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 6.5 m. In case of temperature criterion of buffer as 125℃, spacings of disposal tunnel and deposition hole could be decreased to 30 m and 4.5 m, respectively, which reduces the disposal area up to 55% compared to the disposal area of KRS⁺. According to analysis of mechanical stability for various disposal spacings, RMR of rock mass for KRS⁺ should be larger than 72.4 which belongs to good rock in RMR classification to prevent failure of rock mass. As disposal spacing is decreased, required RMR of rock mass is increased. In order to prevent failure of rock mass for a case with disposal tunnel spacing of 30 m and deposition hole spacing of 4.5 m, RMR larger than 87.3 is needed. However, mechanical stability of the repository is secured for all cases with RMR over 75 considering the enhancement of rock strength due to confining stress induced by swelling of the bentonite buffer and backfill.