Development of a Synthetic Rock Mass for Repository Geomechanics

加拿大核废物管理组织和瑞典核燃料和废物管理公司调查各自国家管理用过的核燃料和处置所有放射性废物的办法。西北气象组织还负责通过监管审批程序实施低、中放射性废物深层地质处置库项目。随着每一次核事故的发生，推动核废料处理解决方案的压力越来越大。NWMO和SKB相互依赖，共同开发实施处置解决方案所需的技术。然而，SKB和NWMO将使用的地质介质是不同的，因此，该技术必须针对这些非常不同的地质条件进行修改和调整。加拿大无法独自承担这种规模的核研究。挑战太大，需要的时间太长。本CRD中提出的研究将支持西北气象组织和SKB的任务，加拿大将受益于实施处置解决方案所需的技术共享。 对我们预测包含这些储存库的岩体热-水-力学响应的能力的要求远远超过了地下民用或采矿项目的传统设计预期。因此，对数值模拟和预测有很大的依赖。这项研究将推进我们的数值模拟方法，利用嵌入在合成岩体中的概念，并将证明该方法的有效性，利用从实验室和现场测试程序，已进行了由SKB和NWMO在过去10年的结果。这项工作的结果将用于提高我们解决许多与核废料储存库相关的长期问题的能力，并制定与观察方法（包括监测和优化）兼容的核废料储存库地下设计和建设协议。

Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel and Waste Management Company (SKB) investigate approaches for managing used nuclear fuel and disposing of all radioactive wastes in their respective countries. NWMO is also responsible for taking the Deep Geological Repository project for low- and intermediate-level waste through the regulatory approvals process. With each nuclear accident, there is mounting pressure to move the solutions for nuclear waste disposal forward. NWMO and SKB rely on each other to share the development of the technology required to implement the disposal solution. However, the geological mediums that will be used by SKB and NWMO are different, and hence, the technology must be modified and adapted for these very different geological conditions. Canada cannot afford to conduct nuclear research at this scale alone. The challenges are too great and time required too long. The research proposed in this CRD will support NWMO's and SKB's mandate, and Canada will benefit from the sharing of the technology needed for implementing the disposal solution. The requirements placed on our ability to forecast the rock mass thermal-hydro-mechanical response containing these repositories far exceed the traditional design expectations for underground civil or mining projects. Consequently, there is a significant reliance on numerical modelling and prediction. This research will advance our numerical modelling approach utilizing the concepts embedded in the synthetic rock mass and will demonstrate the validity of the approach utilizing the results from laboratory and field testing programs that have been carried out at by SKB and NWMO over the past 10 years. The results from this work will be used to advance our ability to address many of the long-term issues associated with nuclear waste repositories and establish protocols for underground design and construction of nuclear waste repositories that are compatible with the Observational Method including monitoring and optimization.