REGIONALNI PODZEMNI ISTRAŽIVAČKI CENTAR JOSEF

The Josef Gallery, located in the central Bohemia region of the Czech Republic was first excavated in 1981 as an exploration complex for the potential mining of gold. In 2007, the gallery was substantially reconstructed to house the Josef Underground Educational Facility (Josef UEF), which subsequently became an autonomous workplace under the direction of the Czech Technical University in Prague. At the beginning of 2010, the UEF was renamed the Josef Regional Underground Research Centre (Josef URC) which, along with the extensive underground complex, features modern above-ground facilities. One of the most important roles of this research center is to provide practical in-situ instruction in the fields of geotechnical engineering, geology, geochemistry, radiochemistry and radioecology. The training of future experts in this authentic underground setting involves the participation of several other Czech universities and numerous experienced specialists from outside the academic sphere. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has added the Josef URC to its prestigious list of international training canters involved in the “Training in and Demonstration of Waste Disposal Technologies in Underground Research Facilities – A Network of Centers of Excellence” project.U rudniku Josef, čija je lokacija u centralnom području regije Bohemia, Češka, prva iskapanja su provedena 1981. u svrhu istraživanja za moguće vađenje zlata. Godine 2007. rudnik je znatno rekonstruiran da bi primio podzemni edukacijski objekt (PEO) Josef, koji je nakon toga postao zasebna jedinica pod upravom Češkog tehničkog sveučilišta u Pragu. Početkom 2010. PEO je preimenovan u Regionalni podzemni istraživački centar (RPIC) Josef koji, zajedno s velikom mrežom, podzemnih prostorija, predstavlja moderni istraživački objekt. Jedna od najvećih uloga ovog istraživačkog centra je praktična in situ obuka na polju geotehničkog inženjerstva, geologije, geokemije, radiokemije i radioekologije. Obuka budućih eksperata u ovom autentičnom podzemnom okolišu uključuje participaciju nekoliko drugih čeških sveučilišta i brojnih iskusnih specijalista van akademskih krugova. Međunarodna agencija za nuklearnu energiju (IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency) dodala je Josef svojoj prestižnoj listi međunarodnih centara za obuku uključenih u projekt „Obuka i demonstriranje tehnologija za odlaganje otpada u podzemnim istraživačkim objektima – mreža centara izvrsnosti“ (Training in and Demonstration of Waste Disposal Technologies in Underground Research Facilities – A Network of Centers of Excellence)

REAKCIJA TUNELSKE OBLOGE NA TERMALNO OPTEREĆENJE

The long-term functionality, i.e. stability of the lining of disposal tunnels is a precondition for the safe removal and reprocessing of spent nuclear waste from deep underground repositories in the near or more distant future. The reason for removing containers with radioactive waste from such repositories lies in the potential development of presently unavailable “perfect” technology for its reprocessing. The stability problems of the tunnel lining exposed to the long-term thermal load generated by the waste in the disposal container was the subject of one task of the European TIMODAZ project (Thermal Impact on the Damaged Zone around a Radioactive Waste Disposal in Clay Host Rocks). Research was carried out by means of physical modeling. Although the project was terminated in September 2010, recorded data is being further analyzed. This paper describes the design, construction and results of an in-situ model which has been built at the Underground Research Centre Josef in the Czech Republic.Dugotrajna funkcionalnost, odnosno stabilnost obloge tunela za oblaganje je preduvjet za sigurno uklanjanje i reprocesiranje nuklearnog otpada iz dubokih geoloških odlagališta u bližoj ili daljnjoj budućnosti. Razlog za uklanjanje spremnika s radioaktivnim otpadom iz odlagališta leži u potencijalnom razvoju trenutno ne raspoloživih „savršenih“ tehnologija za njegovo reprocesiranje. Problem stabilnosti tunelske obloge izložene dugotrajnom termičkom opterećenju, koje nastaje djelovanjem otpada u spremniku, bili su jedan od zadataka projekta TIMODAZ (Thermal Impact on the Damaged Zone around a Radioactive Waste Disposal in Clay Host Rocks – Termičko opterećenje oštećene zone oko odlagališta radioaktivnog otpada u glinama). Istraživanje provelo metodom fizičkog modeliranja. Premda je projekt završen u rujnu 2010, zabilježeni podaci su i dalje analizirani. Ovaj članak opisuje dizajn, konstrukciju i rezultate in situ modela koji je izgrađen u podzemnom istraživačkom centru Josef u Češkoj

THE RESPONSE OF TUNNEL LINING ON THERMAL LOADING

The long-term functionality, i.e. stability of the lining of disposal tunnels is a precondition for the safe removal and reprocessing of spent nuclear waste from deep underground repositories in the near or more distant future. The reason for removing containers with radioactive waste from such repositories lies in the potential development of presently unavailable “perfect” technology for its reprocessing. The stability problems of the tunnel lining exposed to the long-term thermal load generated by the waste in the disposal container was the subject of one task of the European TIMODAZ project (Thermal Impact on the Damaged Zone around a Radioactive Waste Disposal in Clay Host Rocks). Research was carried out by means of physical modeling. Although the project was terminated in September 2010, recorded data is being further analyzed. This paper describes the design, construction and results of an in-situ model which has been built at the Underground Research Centre Josef in the Czech Republic

THE JOSEF REGIONAL UNDERGROUND RESEARCH CENTRE (JOSEF URC)

The Josef Gallery, located in the central Bohemia region of the Czech Republic was first excavated in 1981 as an exploration complex for the potential mining of gold. In 2007, the gallery was substantially reconstructed to house the Josef Underground Educational Facility (Josef UEF), which subsequently became an autonomous workplace under the direction of the Czech Technical University in Prague. At the beginning of 2010, the UEF was renamed the Josef Regional Underground Research Centre (Josef URC) which, along with the extensive underground complex, features modern above-ground facilities. One of the most important roles of this research center is to provide practical in-situ instruction in the fields of geotechnical engineering, geology, geochemistry, radiochemistry and radioecology. The training of future experts in this authentic underground setting involves the participation of several other Czech universities and numerous experienced specialists from outside the academic sphere. The IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has added the Josef URC to its prestigious list of international training canters involved in the “Training in and Demonstration of Waste Disposal Technologies in Underground Research Facilities – A Network of Centers of Excellence” project