Preliminary Evaluation of Drift Closure and Closure Rate Response with Respect to the Effects of Gas Occurrences within the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

摘要

As part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) research and development program, a gas testing program has been developed to investigate the naturally occurring gases in the WIPP horizon rocks, and to evaluate their effect on the safe operations and performance of WIPP. This report presents a comparison of the structural response (closure and closure rates) of a drift drilled with pressure relief holes to the structural response of a drift drilled without pressure relief holes. The drifts under consideration are the E300 drift (mined with pressure relief holes) and the W170 drift (mined without pressure relief holes) located south of the waste handling shaft. For the short-term (less than two years), differences between measured closures for the two drifts are negligible. The closure rate comparisons also indicate that the two drifts, thus far, are responding similarly. (ERA citation 12:003500)