Simulation of ventilation efficiency, and pre-closure temperatures in emplacement drifts at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, using Monte Carlo and composite thermal-pulse methods
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Abstract
Predictions of waste canister and repository driftwall temperatures as functions of space and time are important to evaluate pre-closure performance of the proposed repository for spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Variations in the lithostratigraphic features in densely welded and crystallized rocks of the 12.8-million-year-old Topopah Spring Tuff, especially the porosity resulting from lithophysal cavities, affect thermal properties. A simulated emplacement drift is based on projecting lithophysal cavity porosity values 50 to 800 m from the Enhanced Characterization of the Repository Block cross drift. Lithophysal cavity porosity varies from 0.00 to 0.05 cm3/cm3 in the middle nonlithophysal zone and from 0.03 to 0.28 cm3/cm3 in the lower lithophysal zone. A ventilation model and computer program titled "Monte Carlo Simulation of Ventilation" (MCSIMVENT), which is based on a composite thermal-pulse calculation, simulates statistical variability and uncertainty of rock-mass thermal properties and ventilation performance along a simulated emplacement drift for a pre-closure period of 50 years. Although ventilation efficiency is relatively insensitive to thermal properties, variations in lithophysal porosity along the drift can result in a range of peak driftwall temperatures can range from 40 to 85??C for the preclosure period. Copyright ?? 2004 by ASME.
Suggested Citation
Case, J., Buesch, D., 2004, Simulation of ventilation efficiency, and pre-closure temperatures in emplacement drifts at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, using Monte Carlo and composite thermal-pulse methods, in Proceedings of the ASME Heat Transfer/Fluids Engineering Summer Conference 2004, HT/FED 2004, v. 2 B, Charlotte, NC, 11 July 2004 through 15 July 2004, p. 1109-1115.
| Publication type | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Conference Paper |
| Title | Simulation of ventilation efficiency, and pre-closure temperatures in emplacement drifts at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, using Monte Carlo and composite thermal-pulse methods |
| Volume | 2 B |
| Year Published | 2004 |
| Language | English |
| Contributing office(s) | Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of the ASME Heat Transfer/Fluids Engineering Summer Conference 2004, HT/FED 2004 |
| First page | 1109 |
| Last page | 1115 |
| Conference Title | 2004 ASME Heat Transfer/Fluids Engineering Summer Conference, HT/FED 2004 |
| Conference Location | Charlotte, NC |
| Conference Date | 11 July 2004 through 15 July 2004 |