PORFLO-3: A mathematical model for fluid flow, heat, and mass transport in variably saturated geologic media. Theory and numerical methods, Version 1.0.

摘要

Discharging radioactive and chemical wastes to the subsurface has been a widespread and common waste disposal practice at US Department of Energy (DOE) installations. Some of the discharges of wastes have been planned; others have been accidental. Needs have been identified for future discharges. For example, future disposal of commercially derived, high-level nuclear wastes is planned at the Yucca Mountain Site in southern Nevada. Disposal of low-level radioactive and mixed (radioactive and chemical) wastes is planned at the Hanford Site in south-central Washington State and at other DOE sites. To evaluate the safety of the proposed actions and the effectiveness of methods slated for cleanup of sites contaminated by past disposal practices, predictions of the future performance of waste isolation systems must be made. Mathematical models are analytical tools used to make these predictions and evaluations. The PORFLO-3 is one such mathematical model, the theory of which is the subject of this report. Development of a saturated-flow version of PORFLO-3 was begun in 1986 by the staff of the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP), managed by Rockwell Hanford Operations (Rockwell) for the DOE. The objective of the development work was to obtain the means to assess the performance of a proposed high-level nuclear waste repository in basalt flows beneath the Hanford Site. A two-dimensional version of PORFLO-3, known simply as PORFLO (Runchal et al. 1985; Kline et al. 1983; Eyler and Budden 1984), was in use at the BWIP from 1981 until the project was canceled by Congress in December 1987. 74 refs., 59 figs., 5 tabs.