Large scale buffer material test: Mock-up experiment at CIEMAT
Section snippets
Introduction: FEBEX Project
ENRESA has undertaken in 1994 the task of demonstrating the feasibility of installing a clayey-engineered barrier surrounding a simulated canister in a gallery excavated in granite (Grimsel Test Site), in accordance with the ENRESA's AGP Granite reference concept (ENRESA, 1994, ENRESA, 1995).
An experiment at almost full scale and under controlled boundary conditions, the mock-up test was proposed as a complementary step. In contrast to the in situ test, full steady state conditions, both
Test operation: phases, performance, incidents and modifications
The installation phase of the mock-up has been carried out between October 96' and January 97'.
Test evolution: boundary conditions and THM behaviour
The data show good homogeneity throughout the test, between zones A and B and between points located at similar radial distances, which is the main requirement to be worth to validate and verify the models. Then, the dismantling of the mock-up and the study of the clay barrier within will supply more information to validate the conceptual THM and THG models and to verify and optimise the fitting between model predictions and the actual geochemical evolution at large scale.
Discussion and conclusions
The mock-up test was initially planned to last three years, but the reliability of all the test components (instruments, heaters and control systems) and high amount and quality of the data being generated persuaded us to prolong the operational phase to get as close as possible to the full saturation of the buffer.
This experiment allowed us to obtain knowledge about how to construct the different elements that constitute the test; how to control the conditions and to record the main parameters
Acknowledgements
This research work has been carried out in the context of the FEBEX Project, financed by ENRESA (Spanish National Agency for Waste Management) and the European Commission under contracts FI4W-CT-95-0006 and FIKW-CT-2000-0016.
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