Centrifuge modelling - migration of radionuclides from engineered trenches

This report provides an overview of some centrifuge small-scale physical model tests and 1g experimental and theoretical work relating to the sub-surface migration of a model pollutant (sodium chloride) from a notional prototype surface landfill of width 25 metres and depth 3 metres cut into a 20 metre deep layer of nominally uniform soil overlying a more permeable base layer. An introduction is given to the application of geotechnical centrifuge modelling techniques to pollutant migration studies. Experiments performed at 1/100th scale using the Cambridge 10 metre diameter Geotechnical Beam Centrifuge simulating transport through silt over prototype time periods of around 35 years, are summarised. Comparisons of data with calculations using early versions of the POLLUTE and MIGRATE computer codes are presented. An experiment at 1/400th scale using the new Cambridge Geotechnical Drum Centrifuge, involving transport through clay over a prototype time period of around 1000 years, is described. Potential future uses of centrifuge modelling techniques to simulate long-term migration through more complex hydrological environments are also discussed. (author)