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Fusion Science and Technology
Latest News
Retrieval of nuclear waste canisters from a borehole
Borehole disposal of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level waste (HLW) uses off-the-shelf directional drilling technology developed and commercialized by the oil and gas sectors. It is a technology that has been gaining traction in recent years in the nuclear industry. Disposal can be done in one or more boreholes (including an array) drilled into suitable sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic host rocks. Waste is encapsulated in specialized corrosion-resistant canisters, which are placed end to end in disposal sections of relatively small-diameter boreholes that have been cased and fluid-filled. After emplacement, the vertical access hole is plugged and backfilled as an engineered barrier.
J. D. Simpson, J. K. Hoffer, L. R. Foreman
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 21 | Number 2 | March 1992 | Pages 330-333
Safety; Measurement and Accountability; Operation and Maintenance; Application | doi.org/10.13182/FST92-A29766
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
We have examined two of the variables that affect the beta-layering process in which nonuniform layers of solid deuterium-tritium (DT) are driven toward uniformity by beta-decay induced sublimation. For these experiments, a 9 mm diameter polycarbonate sphere was partially filled with a 50-50 mix of DT liquid, frozen, and then held at 17 K. We measured the equilibration time constant τ as functions of solid layer thickness, 4He exchange gas pressure, and age. Solid layer thicknesses ranged from 200 µm to 650 µm, exchange gas pressures from 0 to 600 torr, and age from 0 to 104 days. Results show a significant final solid layer anisotropy with exchange gas pressures above 5 torr, and τ values that increased with age by 0.01 min/day for 200 µm-thick layers, and by 0.5 min/day for 650 µm-thick layers. The time constant is shown to be a weak function of exchange gas pressure.