• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1998

Effects of pH, bentonite and Portland cement on the leaching of the simulated waste glass were investigated. The simulated waste glass showed the low leach rate in the neutral pH region, while the leach rate in both acidic and alkaline regions increased. Addition of bentonite to the leachant enhanced the leaching of the waste glass. When the waste glass was leached at 72$^{\circ}C$ for 36 days in the ground water with gel state Na-bentonite, approximately 2.2${\mu}{\textrm}{m}$ of the surface was corroded out and the large amount of Ti, Nd, and Zr was observed on the surface. The amount of B leached from the simulated waste glass in the presence of domestic bentonite was about three times higher than that in the presence of Aldrich bentonite as well as Portland cement.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.207-213
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• 2010

The effect of temperature on swelling pressure was observed with a Korean domestic Ca-bentonite which has been considered as a potential buffer material in the engineering barrier of a high level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal system. The Ca-bentonite was compacted to a dry density of 1.6 g/$cm^3$, and then de-ionized water was supplied into it with a constant pressure of 0.69 MPa. The equilibrium swelling pressures were measured with different temperatures of $25^{\circ}C$, $30^{\circ}C$, $40^{\circ}C$, $50^{\circ}C$, $60^{\circ}C$, $70^{\circ}C$, respectively. The Ca-bentonite showed a sufficiently high swelling pressure of 5.3 MPa at room temperatures. Then it was clearly showed that the equilibrium swelling pressure was decreased with an increase of temperature. Interestingly, there were some differences in temperature effect on the equilibrium swelling pressure when the environmental temperature is increasing or decreasing. For further clarifying the swelling behaviour of a Korea domestic Ca-bentonite, the change of a compaction level, and the composition variation of a supplied water would be needed to use in conceptual design of HLW disposal system.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.439-455
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• 2019

A buffer is the major component of a high level radioactive waste repository. Due to their thermal conductivity and low permeability, bentonites have been considered as a key component of a buffer system in most countries. The deep geological condition generates ground water inflow and results in swelling pressure in the buffer and backfill. Investigation of swelling pressure of bentonite buffer is an important task for the safe disposal system. The swelling pressure that can be critical is affected by mechanical and hydro properties of the system. Therefore, in this study, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the effect of hydro-mechanical (HM) behaviors in the MX-80 bentonite. Based on the results of the swelling pressure generation with HM model parameters, a coupled HM analysis of an unsaturated buffer and backfill in a deep geological repository was also carried out to investigate the major factor of the swelling pressure generation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2018.05a
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• pp.155-156
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• 2018

• Proceedings of the Korean Radioactive Waste Society Conference
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• 2017.10a
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• pp.145-146
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• 2017

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.59-77
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• 2022

Currently, the design reference temperature of the buffer material for disposing of high-level radioactive waste is less than 100℃, so if the heat dissipation capacity of the buffer material is improved, the spacings of the disposal tunnel and the deposition hole in the repository can be reduced. First of all, this study tries to analyze the criteria for thermal-hydraulic-mechanical performance of the buffer materials and to investigate the researches regarding the enhanced buffer materials with improved thermal conductivity. First, the thermal conductivity should be as high as possible and is affected by dry density, water content, temperature, mineral composition, and bentonite type. the organic content of the buffer material can have a significant effect on the corrosion performance of a canister, so the organic content should be low. In addition, hydraulic conductivity of the buffer material should be less than that of near-field rock and swelling pressure should be appropriate for buffer materials to function properly. For the development of enhanced buffer materials, additives such as sand, graphite, and graphite oxide are typically used, and a thermal conductivity can be greatly improved with a very small amount of graphite addition compared to sand.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.71-83
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• 2018

Compacted bentonites were chosen as the backfill material and buffer in high level nuclear waste disposal due to its high swelling pressure, high ion adsorption capacity and low permeability. It is essential to estimate the swelling pressure in design and considering the safety of the nuclear repositories. The swelling pressure model of expansive clay colloids was developed based on Gouy-Chapman diffuse double layer theory. However, the diffuse double layer model is effective in predicting low compaction dry density (low swelling pressure) for certain bentonites, and invalidation in simulating high compaction dry density (high swelling pressure). In this paper, the new relationship between nondimensional midplane potential function, u, and nondimensional distance function, Kd, were established based on the Gouy-Chapman theory by considering the variation of void ratio. The new developed model was constructed based on the published literature data of compacted Na-bentonite (MX80) and Ca-bentonite (FoCa) for sodium and calcium bentonite respectively. The proposed models were applied to re-compute swelling pressure of other compacted Na-bentonites (Kunigel-V1, Voclay, Neokunibond and GMZ) and Ca-bentonites (FEBEX, Bavaria bentonite, Bentonite S-2, Montigel bentonite) based on the reported experimental data. Results show that the predicted swelling pressure has a good agreement with the experimental swelling pressure in all cases.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

Bentonite is the most probable candidate to be used as a buffer in a deep geological repository with high swelling properties, hydraulic conductivity, thermal conductivity, and radionuclide sorption ability. Among them, the radionuclide sorption ability prevents or delays the transport of radionuclides into the nearby environment when an accident occurs and the radionuclide leaks from the canister, so it needs to be strengthened in terms of long-term disposal safety. Here, we proposed a surface modification method in which some inorganic additives were added to form NaP zeolite on the surface of the bentonite yielded at Yeonil, South Korea. We confirmed that the NaP zeolite was well-formed on the bentonite surface, which also increased the sorption efficiency of Cs and Sr from groundwater conditions. Both NaP and NaX zeolite can be produced and we have demonstrated that the generation mechanism of NaX and NaP is due to the number of homogeneous/heterogeneous nucleation sites and the number of nutrients supplied from an aluminosilicate gel during the surface modification process. This study showed the potential of surface modification on bentonite to enhance the safety of deep geological radioactive waste repository by improving the radionuclide sorption ability of bentonite.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.145-154
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• 2007

In hydrothermal reaction tests, smectite-to-illite conversion was identified using a domestic bentonite which is favorably considered as a buffer material, and its dependency on various hydrothermal conditions was investigated. The analysis results of the XRD and Si concentration indicated that the smectite-to-illite conversion was a major process of bentonite alteration under the hydrothermal conditions. The temperature, potassium concentration in solution, and pH were observed to significantly affect the smectite-to illite conversion. A model of conversion reaction rate was suggested to evaluate the long-term stability of smectite composing a major constituent of bentonitic buffer. It was expected from the evaluation results that the smectite would keep its integrity for very long disposal time under a normal condition, whitens it might be converted to illite by 50 percent after over $5{\times}10^4$ year of disposal time under a conservative condition and consequently lose its swelling capacity as a buffer material of a repository.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2020

An engineered barrier system (EBS) for the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) consists of a disposal canister packed with spent fuel, buffer material, backfill material, and gap-filling material. The buffer material fills the space between the canister and the near-field rock, thus serving to restrain the release of radionuclides and protect the canister from groundwater penetration. Furthermore, as significant amounts of heat energy are released from the canister to the surrounding rock, the thermal conductivity of the buffer plays an important role in maintaining the safety of the entire disposal system. Therefore, given the high levels of heat released from disposal canisters, this study measured the thermal conductivities of compacted bentonite buffers from Gyeongju under temperature variations ranging 25 to 80~90℃. There was a 5~20% increase in thermal conductivity as the temperature increased, and the temperature effect increased as the degree of saturation increased.