Estimated heat load using the average vapor space temperatures for the Hanford site underground storage tanks

A better method for estimating the heat load from the Hanford Site underground high-level radioactive waste storage tanks has been developed. This method is based on correlating the seasonal atmospheric temperature variations to the measured vapor space waste temperatures inside the tank. The seasonal variations in the atmospheric temperature can be used to estimate the thermal conductivity of the soil surrounding the underground tank. The daily surface temperature oscillations, from day to night, do not affect the soil more than 1 m below the surface while the yearly temperature oscillations, from summer to winter, affects the soil up to depths of 20 m. By evaluating the amplitude or the phase shifts from the atmospheric temperature variations with respect to the vapor space temperature variations, the thermal conductivity of the soil surrounding the underground storage tanks can be determined. Using the thermal conductivity of the soil and geometrical properties of the tanks, the total heat load for each underground storage tank can be estimated