ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES THRUST AREA, OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND INTERNATIONAL: ANNUAL REPORT 2005

The purpose of the Advanced Technologies Thrust (ATT) is to: (1) identify/develop technologies and processes; (2) reduce the cost of proposed repository development, construction, and operation with the application of these new technologies and processes; and (3) provide the data necessary to demonstrate feasibility of new technologies and processes. Fiscal Year 2005 was the inaugural year for this thrust. Several of the projects were already under way when this thrust team was formed; however, it was not until this year that a focused approach to managing these projects was established. The nine projects supporting the initiatives listed below are described: (1) The Evaluation of Improved Waste Package Materials and Fabrication Processes; (2) Advanced Approaches for Improved Waste Package Closure Welds; (3) Advanced Tunneling Technology; and (4) Improved Understanding of Extreme Ground Motions Predicted Using Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Analysis