The present projects runing at the GTS are focusing on :
- Development and optimisation of the technology, transporting, emplacing, quality-assuring, monitoring and, if required, retrieving of radioactive waste.
- Extending past studies of processes in the geosphere (mainly associated with radionuclide mobility) to more closely represent the physical scales (at least 10s of metres) and boundary conditions (e.g. low water velocities) relevant to repository environments. This requires multi-decade duration tests, more than an order of magnitude longer than has been the case in any rock laboratory anywhere in the world to date.
- Monitoring and extending the knowledge and experience available from the present generation of radioactive waste experts by training the next generation who will actually build repositories
CFM Project
The CFM (Colloid Formation and Migration) project aims to enhance understanding of the processes related to colloid formation at the bentonite/host rock interface.
C-FRS Project
The aim of C-FRS (CRIEPI’s Fractured Rock Studies) in-situ experiments at the GTS is to demonstrate the performance of newly developed technology for fracture characterisation and tracer testing.
CIM Project
CIM (Carbon-14 and Iodine-129 Migration in Cement) aims to simulate the transport of C-14 and I-129 through aged cementitious backfill of a L/ILW or TRU waste repository and into the saturated host rock
ESDRED/TEM Project
ESDRED/TEM investigates the efficiency of an existing wireless magneto-inductive (MI) transmission technique and to evaluate seismic tomography as a non-intrusive monitoring technique.
FEBEXe Project
FEBEXe continues FEBEX (Full-scale Engineered Barriers Experiment) and is used to help predict the nearfield evolution in terms of evolution of thermal conductivity of partially saturated buffer, the role of thermal convection, the on-set of corrosion/gas production, gas transport capacity of the nearfield (saturation history) and the geochemical evolution of the nearfield (e.g. iron/bentonite interactions).
FEBEX-DP Project
FEBEX-DP (Full-scale Engineered Barriers Experiment - dismantling) dismantles the FEBEX experiment and is used in characterization of the key physical properties (e.g., density, water content) of the barrier and their distribution and comparison with results from the partial dismantling and model predictions.
FORGE Project
FORGE aims to obtain larger scale (decimetre scale) 2-phase flow properties for host rock and EBS materials.
GAST Project
GAST (Gas-Permeable Seal Test) aims to demonstrate the effective functioning of gas permeable seals at realistic scale and with realistic boundary conditions (‘proof of concept’).
HotBENT Project
HotBENT aims to evaluate current accepted safety functions by investigating the effects of high temperatures on bentonite-based barriers and their safety functions.
ISC Project
ISC (In-situ Stimulation & Circulation Experiment) aims to improve our understanding of geomechanical processes underpinning permeability creation during hydraulic stimulation and related induced seismicity as well as to evaluate the efficiency of the generated underground heat exchanger.
LASMO Project
Large scale monitoring (LASMO) aims to test monitoring systems, technologies or methods and to collect monitoring data in order to identify baseline conditions and disturbing events.
LCS Project
The overall aim of the LCS (Long term Cement Studies) project is to increase the understanding of high-pH cement interaction effects in the repository near field and the geosphere in order to make confident, robust and safety-relevant predictions of future system behaviour, irrespective of repository host rock, engineered barrier system (EBS) and waste type.
LTD Project
The broad objectives of the LTD (long Term Diffusion) project are to provide quantitative information on matrix diffusion in fractured rock under in situ conditions.
MACOTE Project
The Material Corrosion Test (MaCoTe) consists of non-heated and heated experiments to study in-situ corrosion of candidate canister materials embedded in bentonite.
NF-PRO Project
NF-PRO (Near Field Processes) is a laboratory programme performed on two granite cores from the GTS, initiated in 2005, and aimed at optimising both the design of the single hole granite probes and the interpretation of the TDR measurements.
PSG Project
PSG (Pore Space Geometry) studies the changes of rock structural properties during sampling by comparing porosities in samples whose pore space was preserved by in-situ resin impregnation experiment results with those which were drilled and taken to the laboratory before resin impregnation.