Complementary gas-gun experiments and computational simulations have examined the time-resolved motion and post-mortem deformation of cylindrical metal samples subjected to impact loading. The effect of propagation distance on a compressive waveform generated in a sample by planar impact at one end was determined using a velocity interferometer to track the longitudinal motion at the center of the opposing rear (i.e., free) surface. Samples (25.4-mm diameter) were fabricated from aluminum (types 6061 and 7075), copper (OFHC = oxygen free, high conductivity), stainless steel (type 316), and cobalt alloy L-605 (AMS 5759; also referenced as Haynes®25 alloy). For each material, waveforms obtained for a 25.4-mm long cylinder corresponded to two-dimensional strain at the measurement point. The wave-profile data have been analyzed to (i) establish key dynamic material modeling parameters, (ii) assess the functionality of the Sierra Solid Mechanics-Presto (Sierra/SM) code, and (iii) identify the need for additional testing, material modeling, and/or code development. The results of subsequent simulations have been compared to benchmark recovery experiments that showed the residual plastic deformation incurred by cylinders following end, side, and corner impacts. ∗Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
Sandia is participating in the third phase of an is a contributing partner to a U.S.-German "Joint Project" entitled "Comparison of current constitutive models and simulation procedures on the basis of model calculations of the thermo-mechanical behavior and healing of rock salt." The first goal of the project is to check the ability of numerical modeling tools to correctly describe the relevant deformation phenomena in rock salt under various influences. Achieving this goal will lead to increased confidence in the results of numerical simulations related to the secure storage of radioactive wastes in rock salt, thereby enhancing the acceptance of the results. These results may ultimately be used to make various assertions regarding both the stability analysis of an underground repository in salt, during the operating phase, and the long-term integrity of the geological barrier against the release of harmful substances into the biosphere, in the post-operating phase.
The assurance of a HLW repository’s performance and safety, for the required period of performance, depends on numerical predictions of long-term repository behavior. As a consequence, all aspects of the computational models used to predict the long-term behavior must be examined for adequacy. This includes the computational software used to solve the discretized mathematical equations that represent the geomechanics in the computational models. One way, and perhaps among the best, to evaluate the overall computational software used to solve complex problems with many interacting nonlinearities, such as found in the response of a potential HLW repository in rock salt, is by the use of benchmark calculations whereby identically-defined parallel calculations are performed by two or more groups using independent but comparable capabilities. In this paper, the detailed definitions of two benchmark problems are presented that are consistent with idealizations of two WIPP in-situ full-scale underground experiments—WIPP Rooms B & D. It is hoped that the benchmark problems defined here will be useful to the salt community at large and allow others to benefit from their availability. These problems, or ones similar to these, can be used to assess the current generation of computational software available for modeling potential rock salt repositories.
Because of relatively recent decisions by the current administration and its renewed assessment of the nuclear life- cycle, the various deep geologic disposal medium options are once again open for consideration. This paper focuses on addressing the favorable creep properties and behavior of rock salt, from the computational modeling perspective, as it relates to its potential use as a disposal medium for a deep geologic repository. The various components that make up a computational modeling capability to address the thermo-mechanical behavior of rock salt over a wide range of time and space are presented here. Several example rock salt calculations are also presented to demonstrate the applicability and validity of the modeling capability described herein to address repository-scale problems. The evidence shown points to a mature computational capability that can generate results relevant to the design and assessment of a potential rock salt HLW repository. The computational capability described here can be used to help enable fuel cycle sustainability by appropriately vetting the use of geologic rock salt for use as a deep geologic disposal medium.