Simulations of Water Flow in Relation to a Steady Criticality in an Unsaturated Alluvial Repository

Abstract

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is examining the conditions under which a criticality event could be ruled out for large packages placed in an unsaturated alluvial repository. This work specifically examines the water level in a stylized waste package that is assumed (1) to fail on the top, and (2) to empty as water is driven away-not by boiling-but by fluid flow phenomena driven by thermal gradients.