THE BELGIAN DEMONSTRATION PROGRAMME RELATED TO THE DISPOSAL OF HIGH LEVEL AND LONG LIVED RADIOACTIVE WASTE:ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE WORKS

摘要

The EIG EURIDICE(European Underground Research Infrastructure for Disposal of Radioactive Waste In a Clay Environment)is in charge of the realisation of large scale and demonstration experiments related to the disposal of High Level Radioactive Waste on behalf of NIRAS/ONDRAF(Belgian Agency for Radioactive Waste and Enriched Fissile Materials). The research infrastructure includes the URF(Underground Research Facility)HADES(High-Activity Disposal Experimental Site)in the Boom Clay geological formation and surface facilities.The achievements are the demonstration of the construction of shafts and galleries at industrial scale,the characterisation of the hydro-mechanical response of the host rock,and the realisation of the"OPHELIE Mock-Up-On-surface Preliminary Heating Simulation Experimenting Later Instruments and Equipment" a large scale hydration test of pre-fabricated bentonite.The future works will consist in the realisation of a large scale heater test within an experimental drift with a diameter about 2 m and a length about 40 m. The large scale heater test has to demonstrate that Boom Clay will behave as predicted under a thermal load representative for the real repository.The combined effect of the excavation and the thermal load will be investigated.The performance of a horizontal plug will be tested in the same experimental drift as well as the installation of a backfill material within an annular space.