• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.55 no.11
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• pp.4083-4095
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• 2023

Currently, various research institutes in Korea are conducting research to develop a safety case for deep geological repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). In the past, low and intermediate-level waste (LILW) was approved by a regulatory body by performing a post-closure safety assessment, but HLW has different disposal characteristics and safety objectives are different. Therefore, in the case of HLW, safety assessment should be performed based on these changed conditions, and specific procedures are also under development. In this paper, the regulatory status of prior research institutes, feature, event and process (FEP) and scenario development cases were investigated for well-organized FEP and scenario development methodologies. In addition, through the results of these surveys, the requirements and procedures necessary for the FEP and scenario development stage during the safety assessment of repository for HLW were presented. These review results are expected to be used to identify the overall status of previous studies in conducting post-closure risk assessment for HLW repository, starting with identifying regulatory requirements, the most basic element.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.683-690
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• 2007

Because of increasing concerns regarding global warming and the longevity of oil and gas reserves, the importance of nuclear energy as a major source of sustainable energy is gaining recognition worldwide. To make nuclear energy truly sustainable, it is necessary to ensure not only the sustainability of the fuel supply but also the sustained availability of waste repositories, especially those for high-level radioactive waste (HLW). From this perspective, the effort to maximize the waste loading density in a given repository is important for easing repository capacity problems. In most cases, the loading of a repository is controlled by the decay heat of the emplaced waste. In this paper, a comparison of the decay heat characteristics of HLW is made among the various fuel cycle options. It is suggested that, for a future fast breeder reactor (FBR) cycle, the removal and burning of minor actinides (MA) would significantly reduce the heat load in waste and would allow for a reduction of repository size by half.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2008

A swelling clay should remain physically and chemically stable for a long time to perform its functions as a buffer material of a high-level waste (HLW) repository. The longevity issues in the swelling clay were reviewed to evaluate their importance in the performance of a repository. The review results suggest that an elevated temperature due to decay heat, groundwater chemistry, high pH environment by concrete, organic matter and microbes, radiation, and mechanical disturbance might significantly affect the long-term performance of a swelling clay as a buffer material. This paper will be used as basic informations to design the swelling clay buffer for a HLW repository.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.136-148
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• 2020

Nuclear power plants have been operated in Korea since 1978, thus the high-level radioactive waste (HLW) produced from the plants has been accumulated accordingly. Hence, it is urgent to secure a final repository for HLW disposal, however, siting process should be preceded, which usually takes long time, as it requires broad and precise investigation. The investigation is generally carried out in stages, which consists of multidisciplinary approaches. In this study, the case studies mainly pertaining to rock mechanics were conducted. Rock mechanical aspects required in each stage and their applications were investigated and corresponding R&D researches were presented as well. At the same time, current research status in Korea was presented, followed by a brief future research plan with regard to the site investigation. The future research aims to produce fundamental information for siting process, and the compiled cases in this study will be utilized as references in the research.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2005.11b
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• pp.236-244
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• 2005

Radioactive wastes arising from a wide range of human activities are in many different physical and chemical forms, contaminated with varying radioactivity. Their common feature is the potential hazard associated with their radioactivity and the need to manage them in such a way as to protect the human environment. The geological disposal is regarded as the most reasonable and effective way to safely disposal high-level radioactive wastes in the world. The conceptual model of geological disposal in China is based on a multi-barrier system that combines an isolating geological environment with an engineered barrier system. The buffer is one of the main engineered barriers for HLW repository. The buffer material is expected to maintain its low water permeability, self-sealing property, radio nuclides adsorption and retardation property, thermal conductivity, chemical buffering property, overpack supporting property, stress buffering property over a long period of time. Benotite is selected as the main content of buffer material that can satisfy above. GMZ deposit is selected as the candidate supplier for Chinese buffer material of High Level Radioactive waste repository. This paper presents geological features of GMZ deposit and basic property of GMZ Na bentonite. GMZ bentonite deposit is a super large scale deposits with high content of Montmorillonite (about $75\%$) and GMZ-l, which is Na-bentonite produced from GMZ deposit is selected as reference material for Chinese buffer material study.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2022

The mechanical and thermal properties of the rock masses can affect the performance associated with both the isolating and retarding capacities of radioactive materials within the deep geological disposal system for High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW). In this study, the essential parameters for the site descriptive model (SDM) related to the rock mechanics and thermal properties of the HLW disposal facilities site were reviewed, and the technical background was explored through the cases of the preceding site descriptive models developed by SKB (Swedish Nuclear and Fuel Management Company), Sweden and Posiva, Finland. SKB and Posiva studied parameters essential for the investigation and evaluation of mechanical and thermal properties, and derived a rock mechanics site descriptive model for safety evaluation and construction of the HLW disposal facilities. The rock mechanics SDM includes the results obtained from investigation and evaluation of the strength and deformability of intact rocks, fractures, and fractured rock masses, as well as the geometry of large-scaled deformation zones, the small-scaled fracture network system, thermal properties of rocks, and the in situ stress distribution of the disposal site. In addition, the site descriptive model should provide the sensitivity analysis results for the input parameters, and present the results obtained from evaluation of uncertainty.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.11
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• pp.4005-4012
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• 2022

As high-level radioactive waste (HLW) generated from nuclear power plants is harmful to the human body, it must be safely disposed of by an engineered barrier system consisting of disposal canisters and buffer and backfill materials. A gap exists between the canister and buffer material in a HLW repository and between the buffer material and natural rock-this gap may reduce the water-blocking ability and heat transfer efficiency of the engineered barrier materials. Herein, the basic characteristics and thermal properties of granular bentonite, a candidate gap-filling material, were investigated, and their effects on the temperature change of the buffer material were analyzed numerically. Heat transfer by air conduction and convection in the gap were considered simultaneously. Moreover, by applying the Korean reference disposal system, changes in the properties of the buffer material were derived, and the basic design of the engineered barrier system was presented according to the gap filling material (GFM). The findings showed that a GFM with high initial thermal conductivity must be filled in the space between the buffer material and rock. Moreover, the target dry density of the buffer material varied according to the initial wet density, specific gravity, and water content values of the GFM.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.264-273
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• 2011

Bentonite buffer is one of the major components of an engineered barrier for an HLW (High-Level Waste) repository. The bentonite buffer is significantly exposed to the decay heat from radioactive wastes, the inflow of groundwater from the surrounding rock of the repository, and the high swelling pressure of densely-compacted bentonite that comes in contact with the groundwater. Therefore, it is essential to understand the THM (Thermal-Hydro-Mechanical) behavior of the bentonite buffer and to acquire the input data of its related constitutive models for the performance and safety assessment of an HLW repository. This paper analyzed the THM properties which have been obtained by conducting laboratory tests with a candidate buffer material for a Korean HLW repository. Moreover the formulation recipe of the reference bentonite buffer was defined on the basis of functional criteria, thus suggesting the THM properties which correspond to the formulation recipe of the reference bentonite buffer.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.06a
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• pp.194-198
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• 2004

The thermo-hydro-mechanical (T-H-M) process is one of major issues in the performance assessment of a high level waste (HLW) repository. An engineering-scale test was planned and its experimental set-up has being installed, to validate the T-H-M behavior in the buffer of a reference disposal system. The experimental set-up consists of 4 major components: the confining cylinder with its hydration water tank, the bentonite block, the heating system, and the sensors and instruments. The monitoring and data acquisition system is employed to control the heater to maintain the temperature of $95^{\circ}C$ at the interface of the heater and bentonite blocks and to collect signals from sensors and instruments installed in the bentonite blocks.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2004.02a
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• pp.51-59
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• 2004

The geological research as a part of HLW disposal program in Korea is carried out to provide necessary data for the establishment of the reference repository system in term of design and safety assessment in the crystalline rock terrains. Six deep boreholes were drilled to obtain hydrogeological and hydrochemical data from Jurassic granites in the Yuseong area, Korea. The core observation, televiewer logging and hydraulic testing were carried out during and after drilling and multi-packer system were installed in the boreholes of 500m depth for hydraulic and hydrochemical monitoring including environmental isotopes. The integration of hydrogeochemical and hydrodynamic data would be built greater confidence for the understanding of groundwater system in fractured rock mass. This geoscientific program could be possible to suggest a general guideline to develop the reference disposal concept of high-level radioactive waste in Korea.