Geochemical performance evaluation and characterization of a potential cementitious repository sealing material for application in the Topopah Spring tuff NNWSI investigations

Preliminary geochemical evaluations of some portland cement based materials have been made in Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI), for possible nuclear waste repository sealing applications in welded tuff focused in the Yucca Mountain area. Portland cement based sealing materials have been evaluated in the NNWSI for possible sealing applications in a nuclear waste repository in the Topopah Spring tuff member. Cementitious sealing materials developed for long-term stability should be as nearly as possible in thermodynamic equilibrium with the host rock, or any disequilibrium should not have negative impact upon the integrity of the host rock. A primary step in achieving this equilibrium condition is to minimize the chemical potential between the sealant and the host rock. Two different approaches were evaluated to achieve this compatibility. The one approach utilized indigenous materials for the formulation of the concrete and the other utilized reactive admixtures to adjust the bulk chemical composition of the concrete formulation to approximate the local rock bulk chemistry. Testing of both formulations at conditions that represented the maximum credible temperature and pressure conditions of a repository were completed and show that the use of an indigenous tuff in the formulation without adjusting the matrix chemistry caused alterations which might compromise the performance of the concrete. In contrast, the chemically adjusted cementitious formulation exhibited minimal alteration in the J-13 groundwater of the designed test. 3 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs