• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.37 no.10
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• pp.5-11
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• 2021

The compacted bentonite buffer is one of the most important components in an engineered barrier system (EBS) to dispose of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) produced by nuclear power generation. The compacted bentonite buffer has a crucial role in protecting the disposal canister against the external impact and penetration of groundwater, so it has to satisfy the thermal-hydraulic-mechanical requirements. Even though there have been various researches on the investigation of thermal-hydraulic properties, few studies have been conducted to evaluate mechanical properties for the compacted bentonite buffer. For this reason, this paper conducted a series of unconfined compression tests and obtained mechanical properties such as unconfined compressive strength, elastic modulus, and void ratio of Korean compacted bentonite specimens with different water content and dry density values. The unconfined compressive strength and elastic modulus increased, and the Poisson's ratio decreased a little with increasing dry density. It showed that unconfined compressive strength and elastic modulus were proportional to dry density. However, there was not a remarkable correlation between mechanical properties and water content.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.101-109
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• 2008

For the Kyungju bentonite which is considered as a candidate material for the buffer and backfill in the high-level waste repository, the thermal conductivities of compacted bentonite and a bentonite-sand mixture were measured. The thermal conductivities of the compacted bentonites with a dry density of 1.2 to $1.8\;Mg/m^3$ and the bentonite-sand mixture with a dry density of 1.6 and $1.8\;Mg/m^3$ were measured within the gravimetric water content range of 10wt% to 20wt% and the sand fraction range of 10 to 30wt%. The thermal conductivity of compacted bentonite and a bentonite-sand mixture increases with increasing dry density and sand weight fraction in the case of constant water weight fraction, and increases with increasing water weight fraction and sand weight fraction in the case of constant dry density. The empirical correlations to describe the thermal conductivity of compacted bentonite and a bentonite-sand mixture as a function of water fraction at each dry density were suggested. These correlations can predict the thermal conductivities of bentonite and a bentonite-sand mixture with a difference below 10%.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.90-103
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• 2002

The thermal and mechanical properties of compacted bentonite and bentonite-sand mixture were collected from the literatures and compiled. The thermal conductivity of bentonite is found to increase almost linearly with increasing dry density and water content of the bentonite. The specific heat can also be expressed as a function of water ontent, and the coefficient of thermal expansion is almost independent on the dry density. The logarithm of unconfined compressive strength and Young’s modulus of elasticity increase linearly with increasing dry density, and in the case of constant dry density, it can be fitted to a second order polynomial of water content. Also the unconfined compressive strength and Young’s modulus of elasticity of the bentonite-sand mixture decreases with increasing sand content. The Poisson’s ratio remains constant at the dry density higher than 1.6 Mg/m$_3$, and the shear strength increases with increasing dry density.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Soil and Groundwater Environment Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.77-77
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• 2005

• Journal of the Korean Geotechnical Society
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• v.35 no.11
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• pp.7-14
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• 2019

The compacted bentonite buffer is one of the major components of an engineered barrier system (EBS) for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), and it is considered the best candidate for the buffer material. The buffer is located between disposal canisters and near-field rock mass, and it interrupts the release of radionuclide from disposal canisters and protect them from the penetration of groundwater. At initial disposal condition, degree of saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer decreases because of high thermal quantities released from the disposal canisters. However, the degree of saturation of the compacted bentonite buffer gradually increases caused by inflow of groundwater. The saturated and unsaturated behavior of the buffer is a very important input data since it can determine the safety performance of EBS. Therefore, this paper investigated water retention capacity (WRC) for the Korean compacted bentonite buffer. The WRC of the compacted bentonite buffer was derived by measuring volumetric water content and water suction when temperature variation was between 24℃~125℃ considering decrease of degree of saturation with respect to temperature increase. The WRC was also derived with the same volumetric water content under the room temperature condition, and it showed 1~15% larger water suction than high temperature condition.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.495-504
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• 2000

This study discussed the optimal use of bentonite and cement for the compacted soil liner of landfill. Techniques employed in this optimization included permeability(by KSF 2322) and compressive strength(by KSF 2314). The optimal amount of these materials to the compacted soil liner was determined in accordance with a regulatory guideline of the government: that is, $k=1{\times}10^{-7}cm/sec$. The testing sods were CL(Clayey Soil) and SM(Sandy Soil), which were classified according to LSCS(Unifed Soil Classify System), The results showed that the optimal amounts of bentonite and cement to mix with the compacted CL soil liner were 5% of bentonite and 5% of cement : namely, $k=9.98{\times}10^{-8}cm/sec$ and ${\sigma}_{28}=1275kg/cm^2$. For the compacted SM soil liner. the optimal amount of bentonite was 15%, in conjunction with 5% of cement : namely, $k=9.86{\times}10^{-8}cm/sec$ and ${\sigma}_{28}=18.72kg/cm^2$. It was concluded that the compacted CL or SM soil liner, with containing the optimal amounts of bentonite and cement showed the acceptable permeability and the compressive strength, referring to a regulatory guideline of the government for construction of the landfill.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.121-127
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• 2002

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.29-36
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• 2019

High-level radioactive waste (HLW) such as spent fuel is inevitably produced when nuclear power plants are operated. A geological repository has been considered as one of the most adequate options for the disposal of HLW, and it will be constructed in host rock at a depth of 500~1,000 meters below ground level with the concept of an engineered barrier system (EBS) and a natural barrier system. The compacted bentonite buffer is one of the most important components of the EBS. As the compacted bentonite buffer is located between disposal canisters with spent fuel and the host rock, it can restrain the release of radionuclides and protect canisters from the inflow of groundwater. Because of inflow of groundwater into the compacted bentonite buffer, it is essential to investigate soil-water characteristic curves (SWCC) of the compacted bentonite buffer in order to evaluate the entire safety performance of the EBS. Therefore, this paper conducted laboratory experiments to analyze the SWCC for a Korean Ca-type compacted bentonite buffer considering dry density, confined or unconfined condition, and drying or wetting path. There was no significant difference of SWCC considering dry density under unconfined condition. Furthermore, it was found that there was higher water suction in unconfined condition that in confined condition, and higher water suction during drying path than during wetting path.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2009

Investigation of resaturation and thermal-hydro-mechanical behavior for the buffer of a repository requires measuring the water content of compacted bentonite. This study investigated the relative humidity of compacted bentonites using a humidity sensor (Vaisala HMT 334) applicable under high temperature and pressure, and then conducted a multi-regression analysis based on the measured results to determine relationships among the water content, relative humidity, and temperature. The relationships for the compacted bentonites with the dry densities of 1,500 $kg/m^3$ and 1,600 $kg/m^3$ were expressed as ${\omega}=0.196RH-0.029T+1.391({r^2=0.96)}$ and ${\omega}=0.199RH-0.029T+2.596({r^2=0.98)}$, respectively. These were then used to interpret the resaturation of bentonite blocks in the KENTEX test.

• Journal of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology(JNFCWT)
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.455-468
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• 2022

Colloid Formation and Migration (CFM) project is being carried out within the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) Phase Ⅵ. Since 2008, the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has joined CFM to investigate the behavior of colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport in a generic Underground Research Laboratory (URL). The CFM project includes a long-term in-situ test (LIT) and an in-rock bentonite erosion test (i-BET) to assess the in-situ colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport through the bentonite erosion in the natural flow field. In the LIT experiment, radionuclide-containing compacted bentonite was equipped with a triple-packer system and then positioned at the borehole in the shear zone. It was observed that colloid transport was limited owing to the low swelling pressure and low hydraulic conductivity. Therefore, a postmortem analysis is being conducted to estimate the partial migration and diffusion of radionuclides. The i-BET experiment, that focuses more on bentonite erosion, was newly designed to assess colloid formation in another flow field. The i-BET experiment started with the placement of compacted bentonite rings in the double-packer system, and the hydraulic parameters and bentonite erosion have been monitored since December 2018.