Evaluation of thermo-hydrological performance in support of the thermal loading systems study

Heat generated as a result of emplacing spent nuclear fuel will significantly affect the pre- and post-closure performance of the Mined Geological Disposal System (MGDS) at the potential repository site in Yucca Mountain. Understanding thermo-hydrological behavior under repository thermal loads is essential in (a) planning and conducting the site characterization and testing program, (b) designing the repository and engineered barrier system, and (c) assessing performance. The greatest concern for hydrological performance is source of water that would contact a waste package, accelerate its failure rate, and eventually transport radionuclides to the water table. The primary sources of liquid water are: (1) natural infiltration, (2) condensate generated under boiling conditions, and (3) condensate generated under sub-boiling conditions. Buoyant vapor flow, occurring either on a sub-repository scale or on a mountain scale, any affect the generation of the second and third sources of liquid water. A system of connected fractures facilitates repository-heat-driven gas and liquid flow as well as natural infiltration. With the use of repository-scale and sub-repository-scale models, the authors analyze thermo-hydrological behavior for Areal Mass Loadings (AMLs) of 24.2, 35.9, 55.3, 83.4, and 110.5 MTU/acre for a wide range of bulk permeability. They examine the temporal and spatial extent of the temperature and saturation changes during the first 100,000 yr. They also examine the sensitivity of mountain scale moisture redistribution to a range of AMLs and bulk permeabilities. In addition, they investigate how boiling and buoyant, gas-phase convection influence thermo-hydrological behavior in the vicinity of emplacement drifts containing spent nuclear fuel

Status of thermal loading evaluations for a potential repository

The effect that thermal loading has on the natural and engineered systems needs to be understood and demonstrated with reasonable assurance in the Viability Assessment and the License Application process for a potential underground high level waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Thermal loading can be defined in a number of ways but it basically is the amount of decay heat from the spent nuclear fuel produced per unit area and is related to the emplacement density of fuel. This paper provides an overview of the status of the development of the technical basis for a thermal loading decision for a potential repository at Yucca Mountain and emphasizes recent analyses conducted

Fiscal Year 1993

The ability to meet the overall performance requirements for the proposed Mined Geology Disposal System at Yucca Mountain, Nevada requires the two major subsystem (natural barriers and engineered barriers) to positively contribute to containment and radionuclide isolation. In addition to the postclosure performance the proposed repository must meet preclosure requirements of safety, retrievability, and operability. Cost and schedule were also considered. The thermal loading strategy chosen may significantly affect both the postclosure and preclosure performance of the proposed repository. Although the current Site Characterization Plan reference case is 57 kilowatts (kW)/acre, other thermal loading strategies (different areal mass loadings) have been proposed which possess both advantages and disadvantages. The objectives of the FY 1993 Thermal Loading Study were to (1) place bounds on the thermal loading which would establish the loading regime that is ``too hot`` and the loading regime that is ``too cold``, to (2) ``grade`` or evaluate the performance, as a function of thermal loading, of the repository to contain high level wastes against performance criteria and to (3) evaluate the performance of the various options with respect to cost, safety, and operability. Additionally, the effort was to (4) identify important uncertainties that need to be resolved by tests and/or analyses in order to complete a performance assessment on the effects of thermal loading. The FY 1993 Thermal Loading Study was conducted from December 1, 1992 to December 30, 1993 and this final report provides the findings of the study. Volume 1 contains the Introduction; Performance requirements; Input and assumptions; Near-field thermal analysis; Far-field thermal analysis; Cost analysis; Other considerations; System analysis; Additional thermal analysis; and Conclusions and recommendations. 71 refs., 54 figs

Evaluation of thermo-hydrological performance in support of the thermal loading systems study

Heat generated as a result of emplacing spent nuclear fuel will significantly affect the pre- and post-closure performance of the Mined Geological Disposal System (MGDS) at the potential repository site in Yucca Mountain. Understanding thermo-hydrological behavior under repository thermal loads is essential in (a) planning and conducting the site characterization and testing program, (b) designing the repository and engineered barrier system, and (c) assessing performance. The greatest concern for hydrological performance is source of water that would contact a waste package, accelerate its failure rate, and eventually transport radionuclides to the water table. The primary sources of liquid water are: (1) natural infiltration, (2) condensate generated under boiling conditions, and (3) condensate generated under sub-boiling conditions. Buoyant vapor flow, occurring either on a sub-repository scale or on a mountain scale, any affect the generation of the second and third sources of liquid water. A system of connected fractures facilitates repository-heat-driven gas and liquid flow as well as natural infiltration. With the use of repository-scale and sub-repository-scale models, the authors analyze thermo-hydrological behavior for Areal Mass Loadings (AMLs) of 24.2, 35.9, 55.3, 83.4, and 110.5 MTU/acre for a wide range of bulk permeability. They examine the temporal and spatial extent of the temperature and saturation changes during the first 100,000 yr. They also examine the sensitivity of mountain scale moisture redistribution to a range of AMLs and bulk permeabilities. In addition, they investigate how boiling and buoyant, gas-phase convection influence thermo-hydrological behavior in the vicinity of emplacement drifts containing spent nuclear fuel

Strong and Selective Adsorption of Lysozyme on Graphene Oxide

[Image: see text] Biosensing methods and devices using graphene oxide (GO) have recently been explored for detection and quantification of specific biomolecules from body fluid samples, such as saliva, milk, urine, and serum. For a practical diagnostics application, any sensing system must show an absence of nonselective detection of abundant proteins in the fluid matrix. Because lysozyme is an abundant protein in these body fluids (e.g., around 21.4 and 7 μg/mL of lysozyme is found in human milk and saliva from healthy individuals, and more than 15 or even 100 μg/mL in patients suffering from leukemia, renal disease, and sarcoidosis), it may interfere with detections and quantification if it has strong interaction with GO. Therefore, one fundamental question that needs to be addressed before any development of GO based diagnostics method is how GO interacts with lysozyme. In this study, GO has demonstrated a strong interaction with lysozyme. This interaction is so strong that we are able to subsequently eliminate and separate lysozyme from aqueous solution onto the surface of GO. Furthermore, the strong electrostatic interaction also renders the selective adsorption of lysozyme on GO from a mixture of binary and ternary proteins. This selectivity is confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), fluorescence spectroscopy, and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy