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The Importance of Verification and Validation Testing of Engineering Designs in Underground Rock Laboratories

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2012

Eleanor M. Scourse ,
Wolfgang Kickmaier ,
Ian G. McKinley ,
Hideki Kawamura  and
Samuel T. Stephens
Eleanor M. Scourse
Affiliation:
MCM, Baden, Switzerland
Wolfgang Kickmaier
Affiliation:
MCM, Baden, Switzerland
Ian G. McKinley
Affiliation:
MCM, Baden, Switzerland
Hideki Kawamura
Affiliation:
Obayashi, Tokyo, Japan
Samuel T. Stephens
Affiliation:
Atkins, Bristol, UK
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Abstract

Several national programs for geological disposal of higher activity radioactive waste will initiate siting via a call for volunteers. This is probably furthest advanced in Japan (NUMO) and the UK (NDA RWMD). In both these cases, rather than focusing on a reference repository concept, a catalogue of options has been developed. This requires a process to tailor design options to sites and compare particular design/site combinations as part of the site selection process. As has been noted in the longer-running Japanese program, the assessment of options must be as realistic as possible, rather than conservative, as in past nominating approaches to siting. Past demonstration work has focused on feasibility, showing that it is possible to implement a design. Determining practicality, which incorporates many more complex factors, is more difficult. Extensive desk studies can form a basis for such analysis but these must be rigorously tested, which makes full-scale tests in Underground Rock Laboratories (URLs) an essential component of any program. This paper highlights the importance of such demonstration projects and illustrates how they are vital in both improving understanding of the engineered barrier system and stakeholder engagement.

Keywords

Higher activity wasteRepository designConcept testingURLVolunteer siting
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1475: Symposium NW – Scientific Basis for Nuclear Waste Management XXXV , 2012 , imrc11-1475-nw35-p31
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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