On the design of a radioactive waste repository

The research described in this thesis is devoted to the challenging design problem of a radioactive waste repository. The research in the Netherlands has been directed at the disposal potential of rock salt formations as very extensive and widely distributed rock salt formations are encountered in the Netherlands. The thermo-mechanical behaviour of rock salt has to be known to be able to prove that the design requirements are satisfied. Given the length of the period in which the influence of the mining activities and the heat release of a part of the waste is noticeable it is clear that calculation techniques are needed to determine the thermo-mechanical consequences of the waste repository. This thesis is devoted to the calculation techniques for the thermo-mechanical behaviour, the thermo-mechanical experiments, the constitutive relations of rock salt, the uncertainty and sensitivity of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of rock salt, and the post-closure safety analysis of several conceptual designs. (author). 168 refs.; 108 figs.; 22 tabs