• The Journal of Engineering Geology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.35-51
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• 2002

This study aims to establish the methodology for design of an optimum water curtain system of the unlined underground oil storage cavern satisfying the requirements of hydrodynamic performance in a volcanic terrain of the south coastal area. For the optimum water curtain system in the storage facility, the general characteristics of groundwater flow system in the site are quantitatively described, i.e. distribution of hydraulic gradients, groundwater inflow rate into the storage caverns, and hydrogeologic influence area of the cavern. In this study, numerical models such as MODFLOW, FracMan/MAFIC and CONNECTFLOW are used for calculating the hydrogeological stability parameters. The design of a horizontal water curtain system requires considering the distance between water curtain and storage cavern, spacing of the water curtain boreholes, and injection pressure. From the numerical simulations at different scales, the optimum water curtain systems satisfying the containment criteria are obtained. The inflow rates into storage caverns estimated by a continuum model ranged from about 120 m$^3$/day during the operation stage to 130~140m$^3$/day during the construction stage, whereas the inflow rates by a fracture network model are 80~175m$^3$/day. The excavation works in the site will generate the excessive decline of groundwater level in a main fracture zone adjacent to the cavern. Therefore, the vertical water curtain system is necessary for sustaining the safe groundwater level in the fracture zone.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.4
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• pp.265-282
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• 2008

Based on the site characterization works in a low and intermediate level waste(LILW) repository site, the numerical simulations for groundwater flow were carried out in order to understand the groundwater flow system of repository site. To accomplish the groundwater flow modeling in the repository site, the discrete fracture network(DFN) model was constructed using the characteristics of fracture zones and background fractures. At result, the total 10 different hydraulic conductivity(K) fields were obtained from DFN model stochastically and K distributions of constructed mesh were inputted into the 10 cases of groundwater flow simulations in FEFLOW. From the total 10 numerical simulation results, the simulated groundwater levels were strongly governed by topography and the groundwater fluxes were governed by locally existed high permeable fracture zones in repository depth. Especially, the groundwater table was predicted to have several tens meters below the groundwater table compared with the undisturbed condition around disposal silo after construction of underground facilities. After closure of disposal facilities, the groundwater level would be almost recovered within 1 year and have a tendency to keep a steady state of groundwater level in 2 year.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.229-243
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• 2013

An in situ solute migration system was designed and installed in KAERI Underground Research Tunnel (KURT) constructed in the site of Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) in order to investigate the migration and retardation of non-sorbing and sorbing tracers through a rock fracture. The system is composed of three main parts including injection, extraction, and data treatment. For the selection of a water-conducting fracture, boreholes were drilled. The fractures in the drilled boreholes were investigated using borehole image analysis using borehole image processing system (BIPS). The results of BIPS analysis showed that borehole YH 3-1 and YH 3-2 were connected each other. Moreover, hydraulic tests were carried out to determine the test section with connectivity for the in situ experiments. The in situ solute migration experiments were accomplished to understand the migration of solutes through fractures in KURT using non-sorbing tracers which were fluorescein sodium, eosin-B, bromide and sorbing tracers which were rubidium, nickel, zirconium, and samarium.

• 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2005.09a
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• pp.83-92
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• 2005

Fluid conductivity logging has been applied in the boreholes to identify the permeable fi:actures and estimate the origin of saline groundwater in coast area. Fluid replacement technique measures the fluid electrical conductivity with depth at different times in a well after the borehole is first washed out with different water by passing a tube to the borehole bottom. Then formation water flows into the borehole through aquifer such as permeable fractures or porous formation during ambient or pumping condition. Measured conductivity profiles with times therefore indicate the locations of permeable zone or fractures within the open hole or the fully slotted casing hole. As a result of fluid conductivity logging for three boreholes in the study area, it is interpreted that saline groundwater is caused by seawater intrusion through fractured rock, although the effect by land reclamation partially remains. We are planning the quantitative analysis to estimate the hydraulic characteristics using fluid replacement technique, and this approach might be usefully utilized for assessing the characteristics of seawater intrusion, the design of optimal pumping, and estimating the hydraulic properties in coastal aquifer.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 2014

The steam generator tubes of nuclear power plants have various types of corrosion failures during the plant operation. The stress corrosion cracking which occurs on the outer surface of tube is called the secondary side stress corrosion cracking and mainly occurs in the expansion-transition area of tube. The causes are the concentration of impurities by the sludge pile-up related to the geometry of its region and the residual stress by tube expansion in the process of steam generator manufacturing. Especially the directionality and sizes of residual stresses are differed according to the tube expansion methods and the direction and the frequency of tube cracks depend on their characteristics. In bases on the plant experiences, it is notified that circumferential cracks of tubes expanded with explosive expansion method are dominantly occurred compared to those of tubes done with hydraulic expansion one. Therefore in this study, according to tube expansion methods frequencies and sizes of tube cracks with specific direction are compared by means of accelerated immersion test and also the crack morphology and the specific chemicals from water-chemistry environment are observed through the fracture surface examination.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.13-21
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• 2011

To characterize the site specific properties of a study area for high-level radioactive waste disposal research in KAERI, the several geological investigations such as surface geological surveys and borehole drillings were carried out since 1997. Especially, KURT (KAERI Underground Research Tunnel) was constructed to understand the further study of geological environments in 2006. As a result, the first geological model of a study area was constructed by using the results of geological investigation. The objective of this research is to construct a hydrogeological model around KURT area on the basis of the geological model. Hydrogeological data which were obtained from in-situ hydraulic tests in the 9 boreholes were estimated to accomplish the objective. And, the hydrogeological properties of the 4 geological elements in the geological model, which were the subsurface weathering zone, the log angle fracture zone, the fracture zones and the bedrock were suggested. The hydrogeological model suggested in this study will be used as input parameters to carry out the groundwater flow modeling as a next step of the site characterization around KURT area.

• 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.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.306-319
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• 2020

Characterizations of Excavation Damage Zone (EDZ), which is hydro-mechanical degrading the host rock, are the important issues on the geological repository for the spent nuclear fuel. In the DECOVALEX 2019 project, Task G aimed to model the fractured rock numerically, describe the hydro-mechanical behavior of EDZ, and predict the change of the hydraulic factor during the lifetime of the geological repository. Task G prepared two-dimensional fractured rock model to compare the characteristics of each simulation tools in Work Package 1, validated the extended three-dimensional model using the TAS04 in-situ interference tests from Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory in Work Package 2, and applied the thermal and glacial loads to monitor the long-term hydro-mechanical response on the fractured rock in Work Package 3. Each modelling team adopted both Finite Element Method (FEM) and Discrete Element Method (DEM) to simulate the hydro-mechanical behavior of the fracture rock, and added the various approaches to describe the EDZ and fracture geometry which are appropriate to each simulation method. Therefore, this research can introduce a variety of numerical approaches and considerations to model the geological repository for the spent nuclear fuel in the crystalline fractured rock.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.299-308
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• 2009

A magentotelluric (MT) survey at the Uiseong area has been performed for the site investigation of pilot scale $CO_2$ sequestration. The purpose of the MT survey is to delineate deeply extended fracture systems that can act as a leakage path of injected $CO_2$ Plume. Since the target area is extremely noisy in electromagentic sense, low frequency data below 1 Hz cannot be used for inversion. Two- and three-dimensional interpretation of the MT data showed a very clear conductive anomaly, which has the direction of $N55\sim65^{\circ}W$ and is extended roughly down to 1.6 km. It have the same direction with the strike-slip faults, the Gaeum and Geumcheon Faults. On the contrary, the eastern part of the survey area shows relatively homogeneous to the depth of 2 km though some small fractures at shallow depths can be found. Test drilling and high-definition borehole surveys should be followed at the eastern part of the survey area and hydraulic fracturing is required for injection of $CO_2$, because mean porosity of the sedimetary rock in the area is only 1.47%.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.33-44
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• 2005

On the basis of a stepwise and careful integration of various field and laboratory methods the analysis of groundwater flow characterization was performed with five boreholes (BH-1, -2, -3, -4, -5) on a pilot site of Natural Forest Park in Guemsan-gun, Chungcheongbook-do, Korea. The regional lineaments of NW-SE are primarily developed on the area, which results in the development of many fractures of NW-SE direction around boreholes made in the test site for the study. A series of surface geological survey, core logging, geophysical logging, tomography, tracer tests, and heat-pulse flowmeter logging were carried out to determine fracture characteristics and fracture connectivity between the boreholes. In the result of fracture connectivity analysis BH-1 the injection well has a poor connectivity with BH-2 and BH-3, whereas a good with BH-4 and BH-5. In order to analyse the hydraulic connectivity between BH-1 and BH-5, in particular, a conspicuous groundwater outflux in the depth of 12 m and influx in the depth of 65 m and 70 m, but partly in/outflux occurred in other depths in BH-5 were observed as pumping from BH-1. On the other hand, when pumping from BH-5 the strong outflux in the depths of 17 m and 70 m was occurred. The spatial connectivity between the boreholes was examined in the depth of 15 m, 67 m, and 71 m in BH-1 as well as in the depth of 15 m, 17 m, 22 m, 72 m, and 83 m in BH-5.