Near-drift thermal analysis including combined modes of conduction, convection, and radiation

摘要

The performance of waste packages containing high-level nuclear wastes at underground repositories such as the potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, depends, in part, on the thermodynamic environment immediately surrounding the buried waste packages. For example, degradation of the waste packages can be caused by corrosive and microbial processes, which are influenced by both the relative humidity and temperature within the emplacement drifts. In this paper, the effects of conduction, convection, and radiation are investigated for a heat-generating waste package in an empty-drift. Simulations explicitly modeling radiation from the waste package to the drift wall are compared simulations using only conduction. Temperatures, relative humidities, and vapor mass fractions are compared at various locations within the drift. In addition, the effects of convection on relative humidity and moisture distribution within the drift are presented.