Radionuclide transport coupled with bentonite extrusion in a saturated fracture system

The study in this dissertation focuses on the characterization of radionuclide migration in a water saturated fracture. The near field of a high level radioactive waste repository contains the engineered barrier system, which provides manufactured components designed to limit radionuclide releases to the environment. A major component in this system involves the utilization of bentonite as a buffer to protect the degraded waste package and limit release of radionuclides into intersecting fractures that pose possible pathways for transport to the environment.;A model is derived for radionuclide migration through this fracture. The model incorporates the features of bentonite: extrusion into the fracture, sorption, and the effect of bentonite swelling on groundwater flow. The resulting derivation of this model is a coupled system of differential equations. The differential equation describing the mass conservation of radionuclides is coupled to the equation system for bentonite extrusion. The models are coupled through the parameters in the radionuclide transport model, which are dependent on the spatial distribution of solid material in the domain.;Numerical evaluations of the solution to this radionuclide transport model were conducted for neptunium, a weakly sorbing radionuclide and americium, a strongly sorbing radionuclide. Results were presented in terms normalized spatial distribution of radionuclide concentration in the fluid phase and normalized radionuclide release rate in the fluid phase.;Major findings of the study conducted for this dissertation are provided. (1) Bentonite extrusion affects fluid phase advection resulting in groundwater flow countercurrent to the direction of extrusion to the direction of radionuclide migration. (2) The sorption distribution coefficient is the most important parameter affecting radionuclide behavior in this system for this model. (3) Simulations of the model for americium, a highly sorbing radionuclide, indicate that radionuclide concentration in the fluid phase exceeds the constant source concentration prescribed on the boundary. (4) Results for the americium simulations also indicate that radionuclides remain contained in the region of extruding bentonite and that containment is also affected by the countercurrent water flow.