Open AccessTotal System Performance Assessment- License Appication Design Selection (LADS) Phase 1 Analysis for Post-Closure Ventilation (Design Alternative 3)
Author(s) -
N. Erb
Publication year - 1999
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/894056
Subject(s) - closure (psychology) , ventilation (architecture) , airflow , environmental science , engineering , relative humidity , simulation , mechanical engineering , meteorology , physics , economics , market economy
The objective of this report is to evaluate the effect of potential changes to the TSPA-VA base case design on long-term repository performance. The design changes that are evaluated in this report include two configurations for post-closure ventilation. bow tie and open loop (Design Alternative 3 or D3). The following paragraphs briefly describe the motivation for evaluating post-closure ventilation. The bow tie configuration for post closure ventilation has been identified as a design alternative to the TSPA-VA base case model (CRWMS M&O, 1998a) that may provide improved performance by reducing the temperature and relative humidity within the waste package drifts. The bow tie configuration for post-closure ventilation is a closed-loop design. In this design. cross drifts are placed in pairs with each drift angling up on opposite sides of the repository. From the side, the cross drifts and side drifts form the shape of a bow tie. Movement of air through the system is driven by convective heating from the waste packages in the cross drifts. The open loop configuration is also being considered for its potential to improve post-closure performance of the repository. As with the bow tie configuration, the open loop is designed to decrease temperature and relative humidity within the waste package drifts. For the open loop configuration, air is drawn into the drifts from outside the mountain. The configuration for the repository with open-loop ventilation is similar to the base case repository design with a few added shafts to increase air flow through the drifts. This report documents the modeling assumptions and calculations conducted to evaluate the long-term performance of Design Alternative 3. The performance measure for this evaluation is dose rate. Results are presented that compare the dose-rate time histories with the new design alternatives to that for the TSPA-VA base case calculation (CRWMS M&O, 1998a)