Emplacement Room Mock-up Structure for Testing the Placement of Nuclear Waste Within a Deep Geologic Repository - 19271

摘要

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has conceptualized a unique method of long-term storage for spent nuclear waste. The concept encompasses all aspects of the end-of-life process from the point the spent fuel is no longer in-service; including handling, shipping, containing, storing, monitoring, and finally decommissioning. The equipment developed for each process is unique and designed specifically for each operation. Since these methods have not been implemented before, it is required to prove each process and the related equipment through simulations and eventually practical tests to evaluate performance and to confirm effective and safe operation. The spent fuel will be stored in an underground repository several hundred meters below the surface using autonomous machinery. Considering the significant investment and labour involved in creating full-scale tests underground, it would be impractical at this project stage to attempt tests of the newly developed machinery and methods in other than a surface setting. Therefore, our scope was to provide a customizable mock-up structure to simulate the conditions and constraints an underground repository would present.