RD&D-Programme 2004 - SKB

A4.4 Technology development
Prior to the permit application for the deep repository, the development work should generally
have reached a level such that technical solutions – for subsystems and for the whole deep
repository on the site in question – can be shown to be feasible and to satisfy the crucial safety
and environmental requirements. They must furthermore satisfy reasonable requirements on
efficiency and resource-effectiveness in the execution of the deep repository project.
A complete account of status and programme for technology development is given in
Chapter 10. The following development issues can be said to be particularly important for
the site-adapted configuration of the deep repository that is done during the site investigation
phase (cf Table 3b):
• Rock excavation technology (adaptation and development of methods for excavation,
rock stabilization and sealing).
• Engineering materials (for sealing, stabilization and underground installations).
• Rock properties for deposition areas and deposition holes (criteria, methodology, adaptation).
• Deposition technology (machines, handling procedure).
• Buffer (materials, fabrication, application).
• Backfill and closure of deposition holes, tunnels and boreholes (materials and application).
Figure 12 shows a general plan for the development work, with a time horizon of 2008. As
the figure indicates, the results of the development work find their primary application in the
safety assessment and in the stepwise design process. Table 5 provides an overview of the
current “delivery plan” vis-à-vis the implementation plan for the deep repository project. The
table presents interim goals in the form of preliminary requirements on background material
regarding the formulated issues linked to the different design steps. In addition, brief comments
are made on the development situation with references to those sections in the main report
where the RD&D work is described.
The above development activities pertain to the components in the reference concept, i.e. a
repository according to the KBS-3 method with deposition in vertical holes in the tunnel floor.
To this can be added the special development programme for the variant of KBS-3 where
deposition takes place in long horizontal holes (KBS-3H), which is described in section A2.3.5.
394 RD&D-Programme 2004