Abstract
During deep geological disposal of high-level and long-lived radioactive waste, underground water erosion into buffer materials, such as bentonite, and gas production around the canister are unavoidable. Therefore, understanding water and gas migration into buffer materials is important when it comes to determining the sealing ability of engineered barriers in deep geological repositories. The main aim of our study is to provide insights into the water/gas transport in a compacted bentonite sample under constant volume conditions. The results of our study indicate that water saturation is obtained after 450 hours, which is similar to experimental results. Gas migration testing shows that the degree of water saturation in the samples is very sensitive to the gas pressure. As soon as 2 MPa or higher gas pressure was applied, the water saturation degree decreased quickly. Laboratory experiments indicate that gas breakthrough occurs at 4 MPa, with water being expelled from the downstream side. This indicates that gas pressure has a significant effect on the sealing ability of Gaomizozi (GMZ) bentonite.
Highlights
IntroductionEnergy shortages are a serious problem in China. In recent years, the Chinese state has vigorously developed its nuclear power
At present, energy shortages are a serious problem in China
The management and storage of these high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW) have become an important issue ([1,2,3]; Liu et al, 2020a; [4]). When it comes to the final disposal of HLRW, a useful method adopted by many countries is to store these wastes in deep geological repositories, including natural geological barriers and engineered barrier systems (EBS) [1, 5,6,7]
Summary
Energy shortages are a serious problem in China. In recent years, the Chinese state has vigorously developed its nuclear power. The management and storage of these high-level radioactive wastes (HLRW) have become an important issue ([1,2,3]; Liu et al, 2020a; [4]). When it comes to the final disposal of HLRW, a useful method adopted by many countries is to store these wastes in deep geological repositories, including natural geological barriers and engineered barrier systems (EBS) [1, 5,6,7]. A natural geological barrier is generally composed of the host rock, such as granite in China, COx argillite in France, Opalinus clay in Switzerland, and Boom clay in Belgium. An engineered barrier system stores waste in repositories such as waste storage vessels and buffer/backfill material [8,9,10,11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call