Risk communication activity which used "YUME Chisoukan" in the Horonobe Underground Research Center (FY 2018)

Nogami, Toshinobu; Hoshino, Masato; Tokunaga, Hiroaki*; Horikoshi, Hidehiko*

JAEA-Review 2020-005, 120 Pages, 2020/07

JAEA-Review-2020-005.pdf:4.31MB

Horonobe Underground Research Center managed by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) is the Japan's best environment to understand the project of geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste, because there is an Underground Research Laboratory (URL) in the center besides an exhibition facility which explains the content of research conducted in the URL. In the area of the center, there is also an exhibition facility for the full-scale model of engineered barrier system of geological disposal. JAEA takes advantage of this opportunity to conduct public hearing including questionnaire research regarding the questions, anxieties and comments by the visitors for geological disposal project. This report summarizes the result of statistical analysis of 3,349 visitors from April 2018 to January 2019.

Poro-elastic parameter acquisition test using siliceous mudstone (Wakkanai formation)

Aoki, Tomoyuki*; Tani, Takuya*; Sakai, Kazuo*; Koga, Yoshihisa*; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Ishii, Eiichi

JAEA-Research 2020-002, 83 Pages, 2020/06

JAEA-Research-2020-002.pdf:8.25MB
JAEA-Research-2020-002-appendix(CD-ROM).zip:6.63MB

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has conducted with the Horonobe Underground Research Project in Horonobe, Teshio-gun, Hokkaido for the purpose of research and development related to geological disposal technology for high-level radioactive wastes in sedimentary soft rocks. The geology around the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (HURL) is composed of the Koetoi diatomaceous mudstone layer and the Wakkanai siliceous layer, both of which contain a large amount of diatom fossils. Since these rocks exhibit relatively high porosity but low permeability, it is important to investigate the poro-elastic characteristics of the rock mass. For this objective, it is necessary to measure parameters based on the poro-elastic theory. However, there are few measurement results of the poro-elastic parameters for the geology around HURL, and the characteristics such as dependence on confining pressure are not clearly understood. One of the reasons is that the rocks show low permeability and the pressure control during testing is difficult. Therefore, a poro-elastic parameter measurement test was conducted on the siliceous mudstone of the Wakkanai formation to accumulate measurement results on the poro-elastic parameters and to examine the dependence of the parameters on confining pressure. As a result, some dependency of the poro-elastic parameters on confining pressure was observed. Among the measured or calculated poro-elastic parameters, the drained bulk modulus increased, while the Skempton's pressure coefficient, and the Biot-Wills coefficient in the elastic region decreased with the increase in confining pressure. The measurement results also inferred that the foliation observed in the rock specimens might impact a degree of dependency of those parameters on confining pressure.

Determination of humic substances in deep groundwater from sedimentary formations by the carbon concentration-based DAX-8 resin isolation technique

Terashima, Motoki; Endo, Takashi*; Miyakawa, Kazuya

Journal of Nuclear Science and Technology, 57(4), p.380 - 387, 2020/04

https://doi.org/10.1080/00223131.2019.1688730

Study of groundwater sampling casing for monitoring device

Okihara, Mistunobu*; Yahagi, Ryoji*; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Takeuchi, Ryuji; Murakami, Hiroaki

JAEA-Technology 2019-021, 77 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Technology-2019-021.pdf:5.33MB

One of the major subjects of the ongoing geoscientific research program, the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project in the Tono area, central Japan, is accumulation of knowledge on monitoring techniques of the geological environment. In this report, the conceptual design of the monitoring system for groundwater pressure and water chemistry was carried out. The currently installed and used system in research galleries at various depths was re-designed to make it possible to collect groundwater and observe the water pressure on the ground.

Visualization of fractures in an excavation damaged zone in the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory, 2 (Joint research)

Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Chen, Y.*; Ishii, Eiichi; Sakurai, Akitaka; Miyara, Nobukatsu; Ishida, Tsuyoshi*

JAEA-Research 2019-011, 50 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Research-2019-011.pdf:3.48MB

In this research, we performed the resin injection experiment at the 350 m Gallery of Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory in order to identify the distribution of fractures induced around the gallery owing to excavation. We also observed the rock cores obtained around the resin injection borehole under ultraviolet light. As a result, the extent of the development of EDZ fracture was 0.9 m from the gallery wall. In the depth within 0.4 m from the gallery wall, the density of the EDZ fracture is higher than the depth more than 0.4 m from the gallery wall. As a result of the analysis on the fracture aperture by image processing, the fractures with a large aperture (1.02 mm in maximum) were observed within 0.3 m from the gallery wall, while the maximum aperture was 0.19 mm in the depth more than 0.3 m from the gallery wall.

Hydraulic tests for the excavation damaged zone around the 350m niches in the Horonobe Underground Research Project, 2

Samata, Yoichi; Ishii, Eiichi

JAEA-Data/Code 2019-020, 69 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Data-Code-2019-020.pdf:4.0MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2019-020-appendix1(DVD-ROM).zip:86.89MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2019-020-appendix2(DVD-ROM).zip:232.04MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2019-020-appendix3(DVD-ROM).zip:369.23MB

In Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project, hydraulic tests for the excavation damaged zone have been performed in order to characterize the hydrological properties of the zone. This report summarized the results of the hydraulic tests and pore-pressure monitoring which have been done from April 2016 to March 2019.

A Study for a fire gas behavior by using a vertical shaft model (Contract research)

Abe, Hironobu; Hatakeyama, Nobuya; Yamazaki, Masanao; Okuzono, Akihiko*; Sakai, Tetsuo*; Inoue, Masahiro*

JAEA-Research 2009-019, 192 Pages, 2020/02

JAEA-Research-2009-019.pdf:8.07MB

Construction of the underground facility is on going at the Horonobe Underground Research Center, a division of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. The facility is consisted of three shafts and horizontal drifts at the completion of construction and it is excavated in geological environment with methane gas, so it is important to secure the workers and visitors security in case of fire in the underground. However, it is known that the fire gas such as methane shows a complicated behavior by drift effect and so on and very difficult to predict its behavior, even if under enforced ventilation. In order to construct new prediction method of the fire gas behavior, the model scaled experiments were conducted by using the basic model which consists of shafts and drifts. As a results, fundamental data of the fire gas behavior was grasped and complicated behavior of the fire gas such as three-dimensional backflow and main flow inversion phenomena at the underground structure were ascertained. A new fire gas behavior analysis system has been designed and a prototype system has been programmed which is able to simulate the phenomena noted above. Coupling analysis method is adapted to the system, which consists of mainly one-dimensional ventilation network analysis and simplified computational fluid dynamics program named M-CFD. To minimize calculation time, M-CFD was designed as two-dimensional calculation with simulators multi area analysis system. Using the prototype system, several experimented models representing typical behavior of fire gas have been simulated for model scaled experiments. The system qualitatively reappeared the phenomena such as back flow or main flow inversion, and most of calculations completed in expected time. This indicates appropriateness of the prototype system, but some upgrade such as heat conductivity analysis in the wall rock mass transfer calculation, user friendly interface system and others will be required.

Result of seismic motion observation from ground surface to 500m depth at Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory and its detailed analysis

Matsui, Hiroya; Watanabe, Kazuhiko*; Mikake, Shinichiro; Niimi, Katsuyuki*; Kobayashi, Shinji*; Toguri, Satohito*

Dai-47-Kai Gamban Rikigaku Ni Kansuru Shimpojiumu Koenshu (Internet), p.293 - 298, 2020/01

Japan Atomic Energy Agency has been observed seismic motions induced by earthquakes, at ground surface, galleries at 100m, 300m and 500m depth of Mizunami underground research laboratory for over 10 years. The results suggested that the amplitude of the seismic motion decreases with depth as the previous study on crystalline rock at Kamaishi mine indicated. Detailed analysis on the observed seismic motions shows that the Fourier amplitude and the phase difference of the earthquake occurred near epicenter correspond with the one calculated by one-dimensional multiple reflection theory.

The In-situ experiment for performance confirmation of engineered barrier system at Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory; Installation of engineered barrier system and backfilling the test niche at the 350m gallery

Nakayama, Masashi; Ono, Hirokazu

JAEA-Research 2019-007, 132 Pages, 2019/12

JAEA-Research-2019-007.pdf:11.29MB
JAEA-Research-2019-007-appendix(CD-ROM).zip:39.18MB

The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project has being pursued by Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary formation at Horonobe, northern Hokkaido. The URL Project consists of two major research areas, "Geoscientific Research" and "Research and Development on Geological Disposal Technologies". The in-situ experiment for performance confirmation of engineered barrier system (EBS experiment) had been prepared from 2013 to 2014 fiscal year at GL-350m gallery, and heating by electric heater in simulated overpack had started in January, 2015. One of objectives of the EBS experiment is acquiring data concerned with Thermal-Hydrological-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) coupled behavior. These data will be used in order to confirm the performance of engineered barrier system. This report shows following works had carried out at the GL-350 m gallery. Excavation of a test niche and a test pit, Setting buffer material blocks and a simulated overpack into the test pit, Backfilling the niche by compaction backfilling material and setting backfilling material blocks, Casting concrete type plug and contact grouting, Consolidate measurement system and start measuring.

Visualization of fractures induced around the gallery wall in Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Chen, Y.*; Ishii, Eiichi; Sakurai, Akitaka; Ishida, Tsuyoshi*

Proceedings of 5th ISRM Young Scholars' Symposium on Rock Mechanics and International Symposium on Rock Engineering for Innovative Future (YSRM 2019 and REIF 2019) (USB Flash Drive), 6 Pages, 2019/12

In the excavation of a repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal, it is important to understand the hydro-mechanical characteristics of the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) induced around the gallery because EDZ can lead to the migration pathway of radionuclides. Thus, we performed the resin injection experiment at the 350 m gallery of Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory in Japan to investigate the characteristics of fractures induced around the gallery wall in excavation. In the experiment, we developed a low viscosity resin mixed with a fluorescent substance and injected to the borehole drilled about 1 m in length. After the experiment, we overcored around the injection borehole. The observation on the cut surface of the overcore under ultraviolet light revealed that the fractures were distributed within 0.8 m from the gallery wall. Fractures are interconnected each other in particular within 0.25 m from the niche wall. Furthermore, fractures with large aperture (about 1.0 mm) were developed in that region. These observed results will be fundamental information for understanding of the fracturing process in the EDZ.