Publications

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This report provides a detailed analysis of the physical and chemical properties of three liquid hydrocarbon fuels: heptane, Bakken crude, and a diluted bitumen, that were subsequently tested in a series of 2-m pool fire experiments at Sandia National Laboratories for the National Research Council Canada. Properties such as relative density, vapor pressure (VPCR_x), composition, and heat of combustion were evaluated. The heptane analysis, with relative density = 0.69 (at 15°C), confirmed that the material tested was consistent with high-purity (>99%) n-heptane. The Bakken crude, with a relative density = 0.81 (at 15°C), exhibited a vapor pressure by VPCR_0.2 (37.8°C) in the range 120-157 kPa. The dilbit, with a relative density = 0.92 (at 15°C) exhibited a vapor pressure by VPCR 0.2 (37.8°C) in the range 85-98 kPa. Solids remaining in the test pans after the pool fires were also collected and weighed. No detectable solids were left after the heptane burns. In contrast, the crude oils left some brittle, black solid residue. On average, dilbit pool fires left about 40 more residue by mass than Bakken pool fires for equivalent mass of fuel feed.

This analysis shows that when lower density crude oil is injected into the top of an underground salt storage cavern containing more dense crude, separate oil phases can form and coexist indefinitely. This has been observed at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in spite of geothermal heating and natural convection, which tend to mix the contents of containers with significant vertical extent subjected to wall and bottom heating. Such persistent layering can create operational challenges for meeting delivery specifications if high-value, low-vapor pressure oil becomes trapped below incoming low-density, high-vapor pressure oil, effectively blocking access to the lower layers until the top layer is removed. Previous conceptual models assumed that the oil injection process mixed incoming oil with resident oil in a storage cavern, forming a single oil phase with relatively homogeneous properties. Here, a review of historical data from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve revealed that several caverns contain multiple oil layers. As a result, oil layering needs to be another variable considered when planning oil movements at SPR in order to optimize low-vapor pressure oil availability to assist in oil delivery blending.

This report explores the effects of tubing size reductions on natural gas flow from representative depleted reservoir underground storage wells and fields using basic models for coupled reservoir and pipe flow. This work was motivated by interest at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, in evaluating the effects of tubing and packer as a potential safety upgrade to implement double-barrier systems to existing underground natural gas storage wells. Reservoir and well flow models were developed from widely accepted industry equations, verified against a commercial process simulator model, and validated against field data. The study utilized U.S. operator survey data to provide context and assure that modeling parameters including aver age deliverability rates for wells and fields, operating pressures, well depths, and storage capacities were all carefully considered to keep the modeling relevant to the known range of U.S. operations. The models generally found that wells and fields with inherently low deliverability were relatively insensitive to reductions in tubing diameter, primarily because the hydraulics in those cases were controlled by reservoir properties. For the high-producing wells and fields, the models found that reducing tubing diameter could produce significant reductions in deliverability, both at the field- and well-level. When put into context with occurrence data regarding average deliverability of fields and wells, it appears that most wells and most fields across the U.S. would experience deliverability reductions on the low end of what was simulated here, generally below 20%. For fields with moderate to high deliverability, reductions were generally larger, and could reach as high as 60% for the highest-producing wells and fields.

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The Crude Oil Characterization Research Study is designed to evaluate whether crude oils currently transported in North America, including those produced from “tight” formations, exhibit physical or chemical properties that are distinct from conventional crudes, and how these properties associate with combustion hazards that may be realized during transportation and handling. The current report presents results from Task 2, investigating which commercially available methods can accurately and reproducibly collect and analyze crude oils for vapor pressure and composition, including dissolved gases. This issue, Revision 1 – Winter Sampling, incorporates additional seasonal data and compositional analysis results that have become available since publication of a prior report, SAND2017-12482, released in December 2017. Both reports compare performance of commercially available methods to that of a well-established mobile laboratory system that currently serves as the baseline instrument system for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Crude Oil Vapor Pressure Program. The experimental matrix evaluates the performance of selected methods for (i) capturing, transporting, and delivering hydrocarbon fluid samples from the field to the analysis laboratory, coupled with (ii) analyzing for properties related to composition and volatility of the oil, including vapor pressure, gas-oil ratio, and dissolved gases and light hydrocarbons. Several combinations of sample capture and analysis were observed to perform well in both summer and winter sampling environments, though conditions apply that need to be considered carefully for given applications. Methods that perform well from Task 2 will then be utilized in subsequent Task 3 (combustion studies) and Task 4 (compositional analyses of multiple crude types), to be addressed in subsequent reports.

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The Crude Oil Characterization Research Study is designed to evaluate whether crude oils currently transported in North America, including those produced from "tight" formations, exhibit physical or chemical properties that are distinct from conventional crudes, and how these properties associate with combustion hazards with may be realized during transportation and handling.

Sandia National Laboratories is seeking access to crude oil samples for a research project evaluating crude oil combustion properties in large-scale tests at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM. Samples must be collected from a source location and transported to Albuquerque in a tanker that complies with all applicable regulations for transportation of crude oil over public roadways. Moreover, the samples must not gain or lose any components, to include dissolved gases, from the point of loading through the time of combustion at the Sandia testing facility. In order to achieve this, Sandia designed and is currently procuring a custom tanker that utilizes water displacement in order to achieve these performance requirements. The water displacement procedure is modeled after the GPA 2174 standard “Obtaining Liquid Hydrocarbons Samples for Analysis by Gas Chromatography” (GPA 2014) that is used routinely by crude oil analytical laboratories for capturing and testing condensates and “live” crude oils, though it is practiced at the liter scale in most applications. The Sandia testing requires 3,000 gallons of crude. As such, the water displacement method will be upscaled and implemented in a custom tanker. This report describes the loading process for acquiring a ~3,000 gallon crude oil sample from commercial process piping containing single phase liquid crude oil at nominally 50-100 psig. This document contains a general description of the process (Section 2), detailed loading procedure (Section 3) and associated oil testing protocols (Section 4).

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This report summarizes the work performed in the prioritization of cavern access wells for remediation and monitoring at the Bayou Choctaw Strategic Petroleum Reserve site. The grading included consideration of all 15 wells at the Bayou Choctaw site, with each active well receiving a separate grade for remediation and monitoring. Numerous factors affecting well integrity were incorporated into the grading including casing survey results, cavern pressure history, results from geomechanical simulations, and site geologic factors. The factors and grading framework used here are the same as those used in developing similar well remediation and monitoring priorities at the Big Hill, Bryan Mound, and West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites.

A Hydrostatic Column Model (HCM) was developed to help differentiate between normal "tight" well behavior and small-leak behavior under nitrogen for testing the pressure integrity of crude oil storage wells at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. This effort was motivated by steady, yet distinct, pressure behavior of a series of Big Hill caverns that have been placed under nitrogen for extended period of time. This report describes the HCM model, its functional requirements, the model structure and the verification and validation process. Different modes of operation are also described, which illustrate how the software can be used to model extended nitrogen monitoring and Mechanical Integrity Tests by predicting wellhead pressures along with nitrogen interface movements. Model verification has shown that the program runs correctly and it is implemented as intended. The cavern BH101 long term nitrogen test was used to validate the model which showed very good agreement with measured data. This supports the claim that the model is, in fact, capturing the relevant physical phenomena and can be used to make accurate predictions of both wellhead pressure and interface movements.

Bryan Mound 5 ( BM5 ) and West Hackberry 9 ( WH9 ) have the potential to create a significant amount of new storage space should the caverns be deemed "leach - ready". This study discusses the original drilling history of the caverns, surrounding geology, current stability, and, based on this culmination of data, makes a preliminary assessment of the leach potential for the cavern. The risks associated with leaching BM5 present substantial problems for the SPR . The odd shape and large amount of insoluble material make it difficult to de termine whether a targeted leach would have the desired effect and create useable ullage or further distort the shape with preferential leaching . T he likelihood of salt falls and damaged or severed casing string is significant . In addition, a targeted le ach would require the relocation of approximately 27 MMB of oil . Due to the abundance of unknown factors associated with this cavern, a targeted leach of BM5 is not recommended. A targeted leaching of the neck of WH 9 could potentially eliminate or diminis h the mid - cavern ledge result ing in a more stable cavern with a more favorable shape. A better understanding of the composition of the surrounding salt and a less complicated leaching history yields more confidence in the ability to successfully leach this region. A targeted leach of WH9 can be recommended upon the completion of a full leach plan with consideration of the impacts upon nearby caverns .

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This report summarizes the work performed in the prioritization of cavern access wells for remediation and monitoring at the Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve site. The grading included consideration of all 47 wells at the Bryan Mound site, with each well receiving a separate grade for remediation and monitoring. Numerous factors affecting well integrity were incorporated into the grading including casing survey results, cavern pressure history, results from geomechanical simulations, and site geologic factors. The factors and grading framework used here are the same as those used in developing similar well remediation and monitoring priorities at the Big Hill Strategic Petroleum Reserve Site.

This report summarizes the work performed in the prioritization of cavern access wells for remediation and monitoring at the West Hackberry Strategic Petroleum Reserve site. The grading included consideration of all 31 wells at the West Hackberry site, with each well receiving a separate grade for remediation and monitoring. Numerous factors affecting well integrity were incorporated into the grading including casing survey results, cavern pressure history, results from geomechanical simulations, and site geologic factors. The factors and grading framework used here are the same as those used in developing similar well remediation and monitoring priorities at the Big Hill and Bryan Mound Strategic Petroleum Reserve Sites.

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U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) oil storage cavern West Hackberry 117 was tested under extended nitrogen monitoring following a successful mechanical integrity test in order to validate a newly developed hydrostatic column model to be used to differentiate between normal "tight" well behavior and small-leak behavior under nitrogen. High resolution wireline pressure and temperature data were collected during the test period and used in conjunction with the hydrostatic column model to predict the nitrogen/oil interface and the pressure along the entire fluid column from the bradenhead flange nominally at ground surface to bottom of brine pool. Results here and for other SPR caverns have shown that wells under long term nitrogen monitoring do not necessarily pressurize with a relative rate (P N2 /P brine) of 1. The theoretical relative pressure rate depends on the well configuration, pressure and the location of the nitrogen-oil interface and varies from well to well. For the case of WH117 the predicted rates were 0.73 for well A and 0.92 for well B. The measured relative pressurization rate for well B was consistent with the model prediction, while well A rate was found to be between 0.58-0.68. A number of possible reasons for the discrepancy between the model and measured rates of well A are possible. These include modeling inaccuracy, measurement inaccuracy or the possibility of the presence of a very small leak (below the latest calculated minimum detectable leak rate).

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This presentation describes crude oils, their phase behavior, the SPR vapor pressure program, and presents data comparisons from various analytical techniques. The overall objective is to describe physical properties of crude oil relevant to flammability and transport safety

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SANSMIC is solution mining software that was developed and utilized by SNL in its role as geotechnical advisor to the US DOE SPR for planning purposes. Three SANSMIC leach modes - withdrawal, direct, and reverse leach - have been revalidated with multiple test cases for each mode. The withdrawal mode was validated using high quality data from recent leach activity while the direct and reverse modes utilized data from historical cavern completion reports. Withdrawal results compared very well with observed data, including the location and size of shelves due to string breaks with relative leached volume differences ranging from 6 - 10% and relative radius differences from 1.5 - 3%. Profile comparisons for the direct mode were very good with relative leached volume differences ranging from 6 - 12% and relative radius differences from 5 - 7%. First, second, and third reverse configurations were simulated in order to validate SANSMIC over a range of relative hanging string and OBI locations. The first-reverse was simulated reasonably well with relative leached volume differences ranging from 1 - 9% and relative radius differences from 5 - 12%. The second-reverse mode showed the largest discrepancies in leach profile. Leached volume differences ranged from 8 - 12% and relative radius differences from 1 - 10%. In the third-reverse, relative leached volume differences ranged from 10 - 13% and relative radius differences were %7E4 %. Comparisons to historical reports were quite good, indicating that SANSMIC is essentially the same as documented and validated in the early 1980's.

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This report summarizes the work performed in developing a framework for the prioritization of cavern access wells for remediation and monitoring at the Big Hill Strategic Petroleum Reserve site. This framework was then applied to all 28 wells at the Big Hill site with each well receiving a grade for remediation and monitoring. Numerous factors affecting well integrity were incorporated into the grading framework including casing survey results, cavern pressure history, results from geomechanical simulations, and site geologic factors. The framework was developed in a way as to be applicable to all four of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve sites.

Metastable water-in-crude-oil emulsion formation could occur in a Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) cavern if water were to flow into the crude-oil layer at a sufficient rate. Such a situation could arise during a drawdown from a cavern with a broken-hanging brine string. A high asphaltene content (> 1.5 wt %) of the crude oil provides the strongest predictor of whether a metastable water-in-crude-oil emulsion will form. However there are many crude oils with an asphaltene content > 1.5 wt % that don't form stable emulsions, but few with a low asphaltene content that do form stable emulsions. Most of the oils that form stable emulsions are "sour" by SPR standards indicating they contain total sulfur > 0.50 wt %.

The storage caverns of the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) exhibit creep behavior resulting in reduction of storage capacity over time. Maintenance of oil storage capacity requires periodic controlled leaching named remedial leach. The 30 MMB sale in summer 2011 provided space available to facilitate leaching operations. The objective of this report is to present the results and analyses of remedial leach activity at the SPR following the 2011 sale until mid-January 2013. This report focuses on caverns BH101, BH104, WH105 and WH106. Three of the four hanging strings were damaged resulting in deviations from normal leach patterns; however, the deviations did not affect the immediate geomechanical stability of the caverns. Significant leaching occurred in the toes of the caverns likely decreasing the number of available drawdowns until P/D ratio criteria are met. SANSMIC shows good agreement with sonar data and reasonably predicted the location and size of the enhanced leaching region resulting from string breakage.

The U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve implemented the first stage of a leach plan in 2011-2012 to expand storage volume in the existing Bryan Mound 113 cavern from a starting volume of 7.4 million barrels (MMB) to its design volume of 11.2 MMB. The first stage was terminated several months earlier than expected in August, 2012, as the upper section of the leach zone expanded outward more quickly than design. The oil-brine interface was then re-positioned with the intent to resume leaching in the second stage configuration. This report evaluates the as-built configuration of the cavern at the end of the first stage, and recommends changes to the second stage plan in order to accommodate for the variance between the first stage plan and the as-built cavern. SANSMIC leach code simulations are presented and compared with sonar surveys in order to aid in the analysis and offer projections of likely outcomes from the revised plan for the second stage leach.

A very important aspect of the Department of Energys (DOEs) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program is regulatory compliance. One of the regulatory compliance issues deals with limiting the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted into the atmosphere from brine wastes when they are discharged to brine holding ponds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has set limits on the amount of VOCs that can be discharged to the atmosphere. Several attempts have been made to quantify the VOC emissions associated with the brine ponds going back to the late 1970s. There are potential issues associated with each of these quantification efforts. Two efforts were made to quantify VOC emissions by analyzing VOC content of brine samples obtained from wells. Efforts to measure air concentrations were mentioned in historical reports but no data have been located to confirm these assertions. A modeling effort was also performed to quantify the VOC emissions. More recently in 2011- 2013, additional brine sampling has been performed to update the VOC emissions estimate. An analysis of the statistical confidence in these results is presented here. Arguably, there are uncertainties associated with each of these efforts. The analysis herein indicates that the upper confidence limit in VOC emissions based on recent brine sampling is very close to the 0.42 ton/MMB limit used historically on the project. Refining this estimate would require considerable investment in additional sampling, analysis, and monitoring. An analysis of the VOC emissions at each site suggests that additional discharges could be made and stay within current regulatory limits.

This report addresses recent well integrity issues related to cavern 114 at the Big Hill Strategic Petroleum Reserve site. DM Petroleum Operations, M&O contractor for the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, recognized an apparent leak in Big Hill cavern well 114A in late summer, 2012, and provided written notice to the State of Texas as required by law. DM has since isolated the leak in well A with a temporary plug, and is planning on remediating both 114 A- and B-wells with liners. In this report Sandia provides an analysis of the apparent leak that includes: (i) estimated leak volume, (ii) recommendation for operating pressure to maintain in the cavern between temporary and permanent fixes for the well integrity issues, and (iii) identification of other caverns or wells at Big Hill that should be monitored closely in light of the sequence of failures there in the last several years.

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This report documents the progression of crude oil phase behavior modeling within the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve vapor pressure program during the period 2004-2009. Improvements in quality control on phase behavior measurements in 2006 coupled with a growing body of degasification plant operations data have created a solid measurement baseline that has served to inform and significantly improve project understanding on phase behavior of SPR oils. Systematic tuning of the model based on proven practices from the technical literature have shown to reduce model bias and match observed data very well, though this model tuning effort is currently in process at SPR and based on preliminary data. The current report addresses many of the steps that have helped to build a strong baseline of data coupled with sufficient understanding of model features so that calibration is possible.

This report comprises an annual summary of activities under the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) Vapor Pressure Committee in FY2009. The committee provides guidance to senior project management on the issues of crude oil vapor pressure monitoring nd mitigation. The principal objectives of the vapor pressure program are, in the event of an SPR drawdown, to minimize the impact on the environment and assure worker safety and public health from crude oil vapor emissions. The annual report reviews key program areas ncluding monitoring program status, mitigation program status, new developments in measurements and modeling, and path forward including specific recommendations on cavern sampling for the next year. The contents of this report were first presented to SPR senior anagement in December 2009, in a deliverable from the vapor pressure committee. The current SAND report is an adaptation for the Sandia technical audience.

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Crude oil stored at the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) requires mitigation procedures to maintain oil vapor pressure within program delivery standards. Crude oil degasification is one effective method for lowering crude oil vapor pressure, and was implemented at the Big Hill SPR site from 2004-2006. Performance monitoring during and after degasification revealed a range of outcomes for caverns that had similar inventory and geometry. This report analyzed data from SPR degasification and developed a simple degas mixing (SDM) model to assist in the analysis. Cavern-scale oil mixing during degassing and existing oil heterogeneity in the caverns were identified as likely causes for the range of behaviors seen. Apparent cavern mixing patterns ranged from near complete mixing to near plug flow, with more mixing leading to less efficient degassing due to degassed oil re-entering the plant before 100% of the cavern oil volume was processed. The report suggests that the new cavern bubble point and vapor pressure regain rate after degassing be based on direct in-cavern measurements after degassing as opposed to using the plant outlet stream properties as a starting point, which understates starting bubble point and overstates vapor pressure regain. Several means to estimate the cavern bubble point after degas in the absence of direct measurement are presented and discussed.

This report presents a model to estimate the spallings releases for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Performance Assessment (WIPP PA). A spallings release in the context of WIPP PA refers to a portion of the solid waste transported from the subsurface repository to the ground surface due to inadvertent oil or gas drilling into the WIPP repository at some time after site closure. Some solid waste will be removed by the action of the drillbit and drilling fluid; this waste is referred to as cuttings and cavings. If the repository is pressurized above hydrostatic at the time of intrusion, solid waste material local to the borehole may be subject to mechanical failure and entrainment in high-velocity gases as the repository pressure is released to the borehole. Solid material that fails and is transported into the wellbore and thus to the surface comprise the spallings releases. The spallings mechanism is analogous to a well blowout in the modern oil and gas drilling industry. The current spallings conceptual model and associated computer code, DRSPALL, were developed for the 2004 recertification because the prior spallings model used in the 1996 WIPP Compliance Certification Application (CCA) was judged by an independent peer review panel as inadequate (DOE 1996, 9.3.1). The current conceptual model for spallings addresses processes that take place several minutes before and after a borehole intrusion of a WIPP waste room. The model couples a pipe-flow wellbore model with a porous flow repository model, allowing high-pressure gas to flow from the repository to the wellbore through a growing cavity region at the well bottom. An elastic stress model is applied to the porous solid domain that allows for mechanical failure of repository solids if local tensile stress exceeds the tensile strength of the waste. Tensile-failed solids may be entrained into the wellbore flow stream by a fluidized bed model, in which case they are ultimately transported to the land surface comprising a release. In July 2003, DOE/SNL presented the spallings conceptual model to a independent peer review panel in accordance with NUREG 1297 guidelines (NRC, 1988). The panel ultimately judged the model as adequate for implementation in WIPP PA (Yew et al., 2003). This report documents the spallings model history from 1997 to the implementation of DRSPALL in the 2004 Compliance Recertification Application (CRA) (DOE, 2004). The scope of this report includes descriptions of the conceptual model, numerical model, verification and validation techniques, model sensitivity studies, and WIPP PA spallings results as presented in the 2004 CRA.

Crude oil storage caverns at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are solution-mined from subsurface salt domes along the U.S. Gulf Coast. While these salt domes exhibit many attractive characteristics for large-volume, long-term storage of oil such as low cost for construction, low permeability for effective fluids containment, and secure location deep underground, they also present unique technical challenges for maintaining oil quality within delivery standards. The vapor pressures of the crude oils stored at SPR tend to increase with storage time due to the combined effects of geothermal heating and gas intrusion from the surrounding salt. This presents a problem for oil delivery offsite because high vapor-pressure oil may lead to excessive atmospheric emissions of hydrocarbon gases that present explosion hazards, health hazards, and handling problems at atmospheric pressure. Recognizing this potential hazard, the U.S. Department of Energy, owner and operator of the SPR, implemented a crude oil vapor pressure monitoring program that collects vapor pressure data for all the storage caverns. From these data, DOE evaluates the rate of change in vapor pressures of its oils in the SPR. Moreover, DOE implemented a vapor pressure mitigation program in which the oils are degassed periodically and will be cooled immediately prior to delivery in order to reduce the vapor pressure to safe handling levels. The work described in this report evaluates the entire database since its origin in 1993, and determines the current levels of vapor pressure around the SPR, as well as the rate of change for purposes of optimizing both the mitigation program and meeting safe delivery standards. Generally, the rate of vapor pressure increase appears to be lower in this analysis than reported in the past and, problematic gas intrusion seems to be limited to just a few caverns. This being said, much of the current SPR inventory exceeds vapor pressure delivery guidelines and must be degassed and cooled in order to meet current delivery standards.

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Oil caverns at the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are subjected to geothermal heating from the surrounding domal salt. This process raises the temperature of the crude oil from around 75 F upon delivery to SPR to as high as 130 F after decades of storage. While this temperature regime is adequate for long-term storage, it poses challenges for offsite delivery, with warm oil evolving gases that pose handling and safety problems. SPR installed high-capacity oil coolers in the mid-1990's to mitigate the emissions problem by lowering the oil delivery temperature. These heat exchanger units use incoming raw water as the cooling fluid, and operate only during a drawdown event where incoming water displaces the outgoing oil. The design criteria for the heat exchangers are to deliver oil at 100 F or less under all drawdown conditions. Increasing crude oil vapor pressures due in part to methane intrusion in the caverns is threatening to produce sufficient emissions at or near 100 F to cause the cooled oil to violate delivery requirements. This impending problem has initiated discussion and analysis of alternative cooling methods to bring the oil temperature even lower than the original design basis of 100 F. For the study described in this report, two alternative cooling methods were explored: (1) cooling during a limited drawdown, and (2) cooling during a degas operation. Both methods employ the heat exchangers currently in place, and do not require extra equipment. An analysis was run using two heat transfer models, HEATEX, and CaveMan, both developed at Sandia National Laboratories. For cooling during a limited drawdown, the cooling water flowrate through the coolers was varied from 1:1 water:oil to about 3:1, with an increased cooling capacity of about 3-7 F for the test cavern Bryan Mound 108 depending upon seasonal temperature effects. For cooling in conjunction with a degas operation in the winter, cavern oil temperatures for the test cavern Big Hill 102 were cooled sufficiently that the cavern required about 9 years to return to the temperature prior to degas. Upon reviewing these results, the authors recommended to the U.S. Department of Energy that a broader study of the cooling during degas be pursued in order to examine the potential benefits of cooling on all caverns in the current degasification schedule.

A new conceptual model has been developed for drilling intrusion into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The model is implemented in a new code, DRSPALL, which captures the physics of the spallings release phenomena. The new conceptual model and code required parallel development of a family of parameters that adequately describe the properties of the system. This report introduces the various parameters implemented in the new spallings model, and provides justification for values and ranges of new parameters not currently in the performance assessment database.

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