Grimsel Test Site - Phase VI: Review of Accomplishments and Next Generation of In-Situ Experiments Under Repository Rele
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Grimsel Test Site - Phase VI: Review of Accomplishments and Next Generation of In-Situ Experiments Under Repository Relevant Boundary Conditions Ingo Blechschmidt, Stratis Vomvoris, Joerg Rueedi and Andrew James Martin Nagra (National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste) 5430 Wettingen, Switzerland ABSTRACT The Grimsel Test Site owned and operated by Nagra is located in the Swiss Alps (www.grimsel.com). The Sixth Phase of investigations was started in 2003 with a ten-year planning horizon. With the investigations and projects of Phase VI the focus has shifted more towards projects assessing perturbation effects of repository implementation and projects evaluating and demonstrating engineering and operational aspects of the repository system. More than 17 international partners participate in the various projects, which form the basic organisational "elements" of Phase VI. Scientific and engineering interaction among the different projects is ensured via an annual meeting and several experimental team meetings throughout the year. On-going projects include: evaluation of full-scale engineered systems under simulated heat production and long-term natural saturation (NF-Pro/FEBEX), gas migration through engineered barrier systems (GMT, finished this year), emplacement of a shotcrete low-pH plug (ESDRED/Module IV), testing and evaluation of standard monitoring techniques (TEM). Numerous in-situ experiments with inactive tracers and radionuclides were successfully carried out over the past few years at the Grimsel Test Site (GTS). For the GTS Phase VI, three major projects have been initiated to simulate the long-term behaviour of contamination plumes in the repository near-field and the surrounding host rock: • The CFM (Colloid Formation and Migration) project, which focuses on colloid generation and migration from a bentonite source doped with radionuclides; • The LCS (Long-Term Cement Studies) project, which aims at improving the understanding of low-pH cement interaction effects in water conducting features; • The LTD (Long-Term Diffusion) project, which aims at in-situ verification of long-term diffusion concepts for radionuclides. As Phase VI approaches its mid-term point, what are the next steps planned? The accomplishments assessed to date and the opportunities with the on-going projects as well as new projects – currently under discussion – are presented herein. INTRODUCTION In 1983, Nagra (the Swiss National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive Waste; www.nagra.ch) initiated a wide range of in-situ experiments in its underground rock laboratory, the Grimsel Test Site (GTS), located in the crystalline rocks of the Aare Massif of the Swiss Alps [1, 2, 3]. This facility, which is not considered for waste disposal, provides convenient horizontal access to the rock 450 m below the flanks of the Juchlistock Mountain and allows experiments to be carried out within a network of tunnels and caverns, with infrastructure and services found in a normal surface laboratory. In particular, the GTS include
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