Characteristic evaluation of colloidal silica grout material developed for a high level radioactive waste geological repository

Kishi, Hirokazu; Kawaguchi, Masanao; Naito, Morimasa ; Hatanaka, Koichiro; Nobuto, Jun*; Sugiyama, Hirokazu*

To reduce amount of groundwater inflow into a geological repository, the grouting is expected to play a very important role because the geological environment in Japan is often characterized by many fractures and abundant groundwater. Basically, cementitious materials are used for grouting, however the resulting highly alkaline plume released from the materials could influence the long-term performance of barrier system as a consequence of alteration of both the buffer material and the host rock. To minimize such effects, JAEA has carried out research and development on three types of grout material with low-pH performance that decreases influence in the alteration. This paper focuses on the Colloidal silica grout, and presents its unique characteristics obtained from laboratory tests on pH, viscosity, leaching and so on. The results indicate that the grout has good performances in pH and viscosity. It is concluded that the grout can be greatly used for the repository.