Architecture and management of a geological repository - Andra

4 – Waste disposal PackagesThe second variant ("package 2" [43]) only relates to compacted hulls and end caps (CSD-C). Itsatisfies a containment need of 60,000 years. This disposal package consists of a metallic compartmentcontaining six primary packages, poured within a ultra high-performance fibre-reinforced concretemonolith (200 MPa). The internal voids in the metallic compartment are filled. Its dimensionscorrespond to a cube with sides of about 1.8 metres. It weighs 13 tonnes. The package is designed toresist isostatic stress of 13.5 MPa.This design has given rise to a technological demonstration programme. Monoliths without fissuringcontaining dummy, non-irradiating waste packages have been produced at reduced scale (600 mm) bycontinuous poring of ultra high-performance concrete.• Swiss design (Nagra)The Opalinus Clay project [44] run by the Swiss agency Nagra 26 relates to a B type waste (known asintermediate level waste ILW) repository feasibility study in a clay medium.Nagra also envisages waste over-packing in a concrete disposal container. The packages beingconsidered are parallelepipedal concrete boxes stackable over 2 to 3 levels. Their dimensionscorrespond to a cube with sides of about 2.40 metres. They hold nine primary packages of compactedhulls and end caps (CSD-C) or eighteen 220-litre drums containing bituminized sludges.The primary waste is placed in a pre-fabricated box. Mortar is used to fill the voids in the disposalcontainer and to create a lid poured over the waste.The hydrogen produced by radiolysis or corrosionis evacued through a free volume corresponding toconcrete porosity of 25%.Figure 4.1.4Waste disposal containers studied by RWMC and Nagra26National Cooperative for the Disposal of Radioactive WasteDOSSIER 2005 ARGILE -ARCHITECTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF A GEOLOGICAL DISPOSAL SYSTEM115/495