Three‐dimensional thermal modeling and dimensioning design in the nuclear waste repository
Xiangyun Zhou, Luqiang He, De’an Sun
Abstract
Abstract A mathematical model is established by using the cylindrical heat source to simulate the temperature field in the nuclear waste repository. By means of the integral transformation method, the partial differential equations of heat conduction were transformed into ordinary differential equations to obtain the semi‐analytical solutions to temperature change. The radial temperature distribution around the nuclear waste canister was analyzed and compared with other analytical models. The built model was applied to determine the canister spacing with variable tunnel spacing for different type canister panel. Then, the quantitative effects of decay heat power at initial installation and of other parameters on the canister spacing were specified. The results show that the built model can predict the near‐field and far‐field temperature around the waste canister at the same time. The decay heat power at the initial installation and thermal properties of buffer layer and surrounding rock have strong effects on the canister spacing.