Reactive Transport Modelling in Cementitious Materials for Radioactive Waste Disposal
Summary
Reactive transport modelling integrates chemical reactions with fluid and solute movement through porous cementitious matrices to predict the evolution of waste encapsulation barriers. Cementitious materials, rich in calcium silicate hydrates and other hydrates, provide an alkaline environment that influences radionuclide speciation, barrier integrity and long-term safety. Models account for leaching of alkaline species, phase transformations, diffusional transport and coupled thermal, hydraulic and mechanical effects. They are essential for designing engineered barrier systems by simulating how pH fronts, gas generation and mineral precipitation alter pore structure, permeability and chemical buffering capacity. By linking laboratory experiments with thermodynamic databases and flow simulations, reactive transport modelling supports performance assessments and safety cases for deep geological repositories worldwide.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Investigations using reactive transport codes have demonstrated that, under anaerobic and water-saturated conditions at elevated temperatures, carbon steel canisters uniformly corrode and rapidly passivate with magnetite without compromising cementitious barrier evolution. Extended experiments at 80 °C revealed that even when thermodynamics allow formation of iron-siliceous hydrogarnets, magnetite remains the dominant stable phase. Coupled hydro-chemical simulations confirmed that temperature-driven changes in porewater composition do not undermine passivation. These findings enhance confidence in the predictiveness of integrated reactive transport and corrosion models for assessing container longevity and barrier performance.
Reactive Transport Modelling in Cementitious Materials for Radioactive Waste Disposal publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in reactive transport modelling in cementitious materials for radioactive waste disposal across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Reactive Transport Modelling: Computational simulation of coupled chemical reactions and fluid/solute flow in porous media.
Cementitious Materials: Construction binders formed by hydration of cement that develop calcium silicate hydrates and other phases.
Engineered Barrier System (EBS): Assemblage of engineered components (e.g. waste containers, cementitious backfill, bentonite) designed to isolate radioactive waste.
Thermodynamic Modelling: Calculation of chemical equilibria and phase stability based on thermodynamic data.
Two-Phase Transport: Concurrent movement of liquid and gas phases through porous materials, affecting reaction and flow dynamics.
References
- Phase changes in cementitious materials exposed to saline solutions. Cement and Concrete Research (2023).
- Interactions between C-steel and blended cement in concrete under radwaste repository conditions at 80 °C. Scientific Reports (2023).
- Two-phase transport in a cemented waste package considering spatio-temporal evolution of chemical conditions. npj Materials Degradation (2021).
- Modelling of the long-term evolution and performance of engineered barrier system. EPJ Nuclear Sciences & Technologies (2022).
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