Summary of the Ming Blade Tracer-Gas Chimney Pressurization Studies.

Peterson, Eric W.; Lagus, P.L.; Lie, K.

doi:10.21236/ada056319

Cited by 4 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Brine testing from the facility horizon indicates permeabilities consistent with the gas test values, but also a substantial pore or formation pressure (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987a).…”

Section: -800supporting

confidence: 53%

“…Followup measurements approximately one year after seal emplacement revealed that the flow paths previously observed had shut down--no tracer made it through any of the seals even after being introduced behind the seals at 2 MPa for 12 days (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987b). Pressure measurements within the concrete seals indicate the development of relatively high radial stresses near the interface over the course of the year (Labreche and Van Sambeek, 1987), consistent with the concept of concrete/rock healing.…”

Section: Sealing the Salado Rockmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…There was no breakthrough of brine during a 140-day test at 3.5 MPa driving pressure on the 60 cm long seal (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987b).…”

Section: Concrete Designmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Fluid flow measurements indicate that the seals are excellent barriers to fluid flow (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987b). Both brine and gas flow tests determined that five of the six seals hd eyermeabilities of less than 10-m .…”

Section: Concrete Designmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The performance of the ESC material has been adequate structurally (Stormont, 1987;Labreche and Van Sambeek, 1987) and exceptional as a fluid barrier (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987b) in the field tests.…”

Section: Concretesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Preliminary seal design evaluation for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Stormont¹

1988

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Brine testing from the facility horizon indicates permeabilities consistent with the gas test values, but also a substantial pore or formation pressure (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987a).…”

Section: -800supporting

confidence: 53%

Section: Sealing the Salado Rockmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…There was no breakthrough of brine during a 140-day test at 3.5 MPa driving pressure on the 60 cm long seal (Peterson, Lagus, and Lie, 1987b).…”

Section: Concrete Designmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Concrete Designmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Concretesmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Preliminary seal design evaluation for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Stormont¹

1988

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gas transport across the low-permeability containment zone of an underground nuclear explosion

Carrigan

Sun

Hunter

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the nature of gas transport from an underground nuclear explosion (Une) is required for evaluating the ability to detect and interpret either on-site or atmospheric signatures of noble gas radionuclides resulting from the event. We performed a pressure and chemical tracer monitoring experiment at the site of an underground nuclear test that occurred in a tunnel in nevada to evaluate the possible modes of gas transport to the surface. the site represents a very well-contained, low gaspermeability end member for past Unes at the nevada national Security Site. However, there is very strong evidence that gases detected at the surface during a period of low atmospheric pressure resulted from fractures of extremely small aperture that are essentially invisible. our analyses also suggest that gases would have easily migrated to the top of the high-permeability collapse zone following the detonation minimizing the final distance required for migration along these narrow fractures to the surface. this indicates that on-site detection of gases emanating from such low-permeability sites is feasible while standoff detection of atmospheric plumes may also be possible at local distances for sufficiently high fracture densities. Finally, our results show that gas leakage into the atmosphere also occurred directly from the tunnel portal and should be monitored in future tunnel gas sampling experiments for the purpose of better understanding relative contributions to detection of radioxenon releases via both fracture network and tunnel transport.

show abstract

Evaluating the Importance of Barometric Pumping for Subsurface Gas Transport Near an Underground Nuclear Test Site

Bourret

Kwicklis

Miller

et al. 2019

Vadose Zone Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Core Ideas Gas transport modeling can estimate ground surface breakthrough after an underground nuclear explosion. Comparison tracer‐injection experimental and model results reveals parameter sensitivity. Barometric pumping may explain gas breakthrough following an underground nuclear explosion. Amplitude and period of barometric pressure signal are key in controlling breakthrough. An underground nuclear explosion (UNE) generates and distributes radioactive gases that can be transported to the ground surface though preexisting and explosion‐induced fractures over timescales of hours to months. If detected, the presence of short‐lived radionuclides in gas is evidence of a recent UNE. Numerical modeling can provide estimates of surface arrival times that can help inform gas monitoring strategies at suspected foreign test sites. Efforts are underway at historic US UNE sites to better understand subsurface gas‐transport processes following a UNE by geologic characterization of the near‐field damage structures, field‐scale tracer experiments, and subsurface air pressure monitoring. The development of numerical models using historical and experimental datasets from former UNE sites can improve predictions by testing conceptual models, highlighting key processes, and constraining parameter ranges. The models developed in this study represent the U20az site at the Nevada National Security Site where the Barnwell device was expended in December 1989. A two‐phase (water and air), dual‐permeability flow and transport model of the U20az site was built to investigate gas transport processes under recent experimental conditions and following the Barnwell nuclear event. Results indicate that the model can explain both the lack of arrival of radioactive gas tracers in a 2013 field experiment as well as the observed arrival of radioactive gases following the 1989 Barnwell event using barometric pressure records from the respective periods, even when additional advective processes associated with the Barnwell detonation are ignored. The results demonstrate that the character of the barometric records may be a key factor in explaining the differences in transport behavior.

show abstract

Summary of the Ming Blade Tracer-Gas Chimney Pressurization Studies.

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Preliminary seal design evaluation for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Preliminary seal design evaluation for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Gas transport across the low-permeability containment zone of an underground nuclear explosion

Evaluating the Importance of Barometric Pumping for Subsurface Gas Transport Near an Underground Nuclear Test Site

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About