Water, vapour and heat transport in concrete cells for storing radioactive waste

Water is collected from a drain situated at the centre of a concrete cell that stores radioactive waste at ‘El Cabril’, which is the low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility of Spain. This indicates flow of water within the cell. 2D numerical models have been made in order to r...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Chaparro Sánchez, Maria Carme, Saaltink, Maarten Willem|||0000-0003-0553-4573
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/100635
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/100635
https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.advwatres.2016.05.004
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Radioactive waste disposal--Environmental aspects
Vapour diffusion
Multiphase flow
Concrete
Numerical model
Residus radioactius -- Emmagatzematge
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Enginyeria ambiental::Tractament dels residus
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Energies::Energia nuclear
Descripción
Sumario:Water is collected from a drain situated at the centre of a concrete cell that stores radioactive waste at ‘El Cabril’, which is the low and intermediate level radioactive waste disposal facility of Spain. This indicates flow of water within the cell. 2D numerical models have been made in order to reproduce and understand the processes that take place inside the cell. Temperature and relative humidity measured by sensors in the cells and thermo-hydraulic parameters from laboratory test have been used. Results show that this phenomenon is caused by capillary rise from the phreatic level, evaporation and condensation within the cell produced by temperature gradients caused by seasonal temperature fluctuations outside. At the centre of the cell, flow of gas and convection also play a role. Three remedial actions have been studied that may avoid the leakage of water from the drain.