Funding for a project to test the feasibility of safe and reliable storage and retrieval of spent fuel from a commercial nuclear reactor was approved by the Department of Energy on June 2, 1978. By May 28, 1980, 11 spent-fuel assemblies had been emplaced 420 m below the surface in the Climax granitic stock at the Nevada Test Site. Design and construction of the Spent Fuel Test-Climax, including fuel emplacement, had taken less than two years, at a total cost of $18.4 million. Construction activities were preceded by geologic exploration using four cored holes and existing underground workings. The sinking of a 0.76-m-diam shaft to the 420-m level initiated construction at the site. Effective rates of sinking varied from 0.16 m/h with a rotary tricone drill to 0.5 m/h with a hammer drill. Underground excavation included a central canister-storage drift 4.6 x 6.1 x 64 m long, two parallel 3.4 x 3.4-m heater drifts, and a tail drift. About 6700 m{sup 3} were excavated at an average rate of 2 m{sup 3}/h, and 178 cored holes, with diameters from 38 to 152 mm, were drilled. A total length of nearly 1100 m was drilled at rates ranging from 0.4 m/h …

This document is a report of activities performed by Westinghouse Advanced Energy Systems Division-Nevada Operations at the E-MAD Facility, Area 25, Nevada Test Site, in meeting subtask objectives during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 1981. These activities include the receipt and setup of the Plasma Welder for weld development; continuation of the Drywell Interaction Tests and the 2 kw Drywell Test; completion of the 2 kw Fuel Temperature Test and the 3 kw Soil Temperature Test; major overhaul of the Wall Mounted Handling System; installation of the major part of the Remote Air Monitor (RAM) System; and disassembly and packaging of the Reactor Maintenance, Assembly and Disassembly Building (R-MAD) windows.

A generic test of retrievable geologic storage of spent fuel assemblies in an underground chamber is being conducted at the Nevada Test Site. The horizontal shrinkage of the pillars is not explainable, but the vertical pillar stresses are easily understood. A two-phase project was initiated to estimate the in-situ deformability of the Climax granite and to refine the in-situ stress field data, and to model the mine-by. (DLC)

This report summarizes the results of a near-surface heater experiment operated at a depth of 23 m in argillite within the Eleana Formation on the Nevada Test Site (NTS). The test geometrically simulated emplacement of a single canister of High-Level Waste (HLW) and was operated at a power level of 2.5 kW for 21 days, followed by 3.8 kW to 250 days, when the power was turned off. Below 85 to 100{sup 0}C, there was good agreement between modeled and measured thermal results in the rock and in the emplacement hole, except for transient transport of water in the heater hole. Above 100{sup 0}C, modeled and measured thermal results increasingly diverged, indicating that the in-situ rock-mass thermal conductivity decreased as a result of dehydration more than expected on the basis of matrix properties. Correlation of thermomechanical modeling and field results suggests that this decrease was caused by strong coupling of thermal and mechanical behavior of the argillite at elevated temperatures. No hole-wall decrepitation was observed in the experiment; this fact and the codrrelation of modeled and measured results at lower temperatures indicate that there is no a priori reason to eliminate argillaceous rocks from further consideration as a host rock …

A theoretical and experimental basis is being developed for analysis of radionuclide transport in jointed geologic media. Batch equilibration and rate experiments involving samples of Eleana argillite and Tertiary silicic tuffs in contact with solutions containing Cs, Sr or Pm indicated that most radionuclide sorption is associated with the surfaces of very small intergranular regions and that the rate of sorption is controlled by diffusion of the nuclides into such regions. Based on these experimental results, the continuity equations for radionuclides in the mobile and immobile phases were reduced to a model analogous to Rosen`s equations for packed beds and were solved similarly to Rosen`s solutions. Using the model and experimental data, limited radionuclide transport analyses were made which indicated that important parameters controlling transport include the intergranular porosity and nuclide penetration depth, fracture plate spacing and length, fluid velocity, and sorption distribution coefficient.

This document discusses the potential of the Climax pluton, at the Nevada Test Site, as the host for a granite mechanics test facility related to the geologic disposal of high-level nuclear waste. The Climax granitic pluton has been the site of three nuclear weapons effects tests: Hard Hat, Tiny Tot, and Piledriver. Geologic exploration and mapping of the granite body were performed at the occasion of these tests. Currently, it is the site Spent Fuel Test (SFT-C) conducted in the vicinity of and at the same depth as that of the Piledriver drifts. Significant exploration, mapping, and rock mechanics work have been performed and continue at this Piledriver level - the 1400 (ft) level - in the context of SFT-C. Based on our technical discussions, and on the review of the significant geological and rock mechanics work already achieved in the Climax pluton, based also on the ongoing work and the existing access and support, it is concluded that the Climax site offers great opportunities for a rock mechanics test facility. It is not claimed, however, that Climax is the only possible site or the best possible site, since no case has been made for another granite test facility in …

Raw data for the calibration study tests for the IRAD GAGE vibrating wire stressmeter are presented.

Mapping of geologic discontinuities has been done in several phases at the Spent Fuel Test-Climax (SFT-C) in the granitic Climax stock at the Nevada Test Site. Mapping was carried out in the tail drift, access drift, canister drift, heater drifts, instrumentation alcove, and receiving room. The fractures mapped as intersecting a horizontal datum in the canister and heater drifts are shown on one figure. Fracture sketch maps have been compiled as additional figures. Geologic mapping efforts were scheduled around and significantly impacted by the excavation and construction schedules. Several people were involved in the mapping, and over 2500 geologic discontinuities were mapped, including joints, shears, and faults. Some variance between individuals` mapping efforts was noticed, and the effects of various magnetic influences upon a compass were examined. The examination of compass errors improved the credibility of the data. The compass analysis work is explained in Appendix A. Analysis of the fracture data will be presented in a future report.

The MC3642 is a dual channel thermal battery used on the DE1010/W85 Command Disable Controller. It utilizes the CalCaCrO{sub 4} electrochemical system. The electrical requirements of this battery are as follows: RISE TIME PEAK VOLTAGE ACTIVE LIFE LOAD Channel 1 - 1.0 Sec. Max. 34 Volts 10 Sec. Min. 40.0 Ohms to 20 Volts above 20 Volts Channel 2 - .350 Sec. Max. 42 Volts 10 MSec. Min. 6.5 Ohms to 23 Volts above 23 Volts The battery consists of 14 cells connected in series (Channel 2) and 12 cells connected in series (Channel 1). Each cell is composed of an anode fabricated from a bimetallic sheet (0.005{double_prime} thick calcium on 0.005{double_prime} thick iron substrate), a depolarizer-electrolyte-binder (DEB) pellet and a heat pellet. Activation is achieved by mechanical primer. Optimum battery performance is achieved with a 35155/10 DEB pellet weighing .80g and a heat pellet, weighing 1.30 grams, of 88/12 heat powder.

The purpose of this Public Participation Plan is to explain the Department of Energy`s plan for involving the public in the decision-making process related to the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project. This project was authorized by Congress in the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act of 1978. The Act provides for a cooperative effort with affected states and Indian tribes for the eventual cleanup of abandoned or inactive uranium mill tailings sites, which are located in nine western states and in Pennsylvania. Section 111 of the Act states, ``in carrying out the provisions of this title, including the designation of processing sites, establishing priorities for such sites, the selection of remedial actions and the execution of cooperative agreements, the Secretary (of Energy), the Administrator (of the Environmental Protection Agency), and the (Nuclear Regulatory) Commission shall encourage public participation and, where appropriate, the Secretary shall hold public hearings relative to such matters in the States where processing sites and disposal sites are located.`` The objective of this document is to show when, where, and how the public will be involved in this project.