Progress in Waste Package and Engineered Barrier System Performance Assessment and Design

Abstract

ABSTRACTAs part of the U.S. Department of Energy's evaluation of site suitability for a potential high-level radioactive waste repository, long-term interactions between the engineered barrier system and the site must be determined. This requires a waste-package/engineered-system design, a description of the environment around the emplacement zone, and models that simulate operative processes describing these engineered/natural system interactions. Candidate designs are being evaluated, including a more robust, multi-barrier waste package, and a drift emplacement mode. Tools for evaluating designs and emplacement mode are the currently available waste-package/engineered-system performance assessment codes developed for the project. For assessments that support site suitability, environmental impact, or licensing decisions, more capable codes are needed. Code capability requirements are being written, and existing codes are to be evaluated against those requirements. Recommendations are being made to focus waste-package/engineered-system code-development.