Analysis of transient history of underground excavations for radioactive waste isolation

The constraints and phenomena which must be modeled in realizing a rational prediction of temperature history in a radioactive waste repository are presented. The effects of conductive and radiative heat transfer between the waste package and host rock are presented. Results of numerical investigations are utilized to present specific situations wherein analytical approximations to the waste canister geometry may be utilized. The paper also presents the results of approximations to the mean underground repository temperatures. The reliability of both methods of predicting temperatures is assessed through the comparison of predicted temperatures with measured temperatures from the Project Salt Vault field experiment. The design of experiments for model verification is discussed and a specific heater experiment which has been proposed is presented