Summary of results and conclusions from the cooperative project at Stripa between Sweden and the United States during 1977-1980

This paper presents a summary of the three year cooperative field testing program that was conducted in the Stripa test facility from 1977 through 1980. These field tests were planned to examine the thermomechanical and hydrological properties of fractured, saturated granite for application to conditions expected in the disposal of nuclear wastes in crystalline rock geologic repositories. The cooperative program was carried out under a Bilateral Agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel Supply Company. The tests were conducted by the U.S. Lawrence Berkelely Laboratory and the Swedish Nuclear Fuel Safety Program. This paper presents the conclusions of several tests including a time-scaled heater test that investigated the long-term thermomechanical response of the granite to thermal loading; a full-scale heater test that simulated the short-term, near-field effects of the thermal pulse of emplaced nuclear wastes; and hydrological tests that examined borehole and large-scale measurements of the hydraulic conductivity of the fractured rock mass. This series of tests laid the foundation of knowledge upon which the OECD/NEA Stripa project Phase 1 and II was based