0000000000341290

AUTHOR

Aimo Hautojärvi

Validation of matrix diffusion modeling

Abstract Crystalline rock has been chosen as the host medium for repository of highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel in Finland. Radionuclide transport takes place along water-carrying fractures, and matrix diffusion has been indicated as an important retarding mechanism that affects the transport of mobile fission and activation products. The model introduced here for matrix diffusion contains a flow channel facing a porous matrix with stagnant water into which tracer molecules advected in the channel can diffuse. In addition, the possibility of a finite depth of the matrix and an initial tracer distribution (‘contamination’) in the matrix are included in the model. In order to validate th…

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Bedrock Characterisation of Four Candidate Repository Sites in Finland As Determined by He-Gas Methods

AbstractAt the end of the year 2000, one of four sites will be chosen as the final repository site in Finland. Therefore accurate and comprehensive statistics of the bedrock characteristics such as porosity [% ] and effective diffusion coefficient [m2/s ] of these sites are of importance. Altogether 115 rock samples from the four sites were measured by different He-gas methods to achieve this goal.The results obtained indicate that the average bedrock properties at these sites are quite similar. Variations among individual samples and different rock types within one repository site were larger than variations among the averaged values of the four sites. Some indication of increased microfra…

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Development of a Gas Method for Migration Studies in Fractured and Porous Media.

ABSTRACTA gas method for fast measurements of diffusion properties of porous materials has been developed. Diffusion coefficients in the gas phase are typically four orders of magnitude larger than those in the liquid phase. For samples whose structures do not change much upon drying it is possible to estimate the diffpision properties of the liquid phase when the properties of the gas phase are known. Advantages of the gas method are quick and easy measurements and therefore they can be used to optimize the liquid-phase measurements which may last months or years. For materials with good correlation between the gas and liquid-phase diffusion, the number of liquid phase measurements can be …

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Diffusion Measurements on Crystalline Rock Matrix

AbstractA new gas flow technique is introduced such that experiments on very long samples are possible. This new technique together with increased accuracy of the measurements, allows the observation of power law tails in the break-through curves. Dispersion in these experiments can be controlled in great detail, and therefore the power law tails can be used to determine very accurately the parameters relevant in matrix diffusion. Results for rock and metal samples are shown, and they are fitted with model calculations which include both dispersion and matrix diffusion. The introduced technique, which is designed for ordinary drill cores, is suitable for scanning a large number of samples i…

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