Download the new SIMULIA Tech Brief

Spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive for centuries and underground burial is one of the most promising disposal methods. Different approaches for waste burial are being researched and the integrity of a nuclear waste burial site must be maintained for several millennia. The physical processes taking place at an underground disposal facility include heat generation from residual radioactivity, groundwater seep-age, heat transfer, and material swelling. These processes induce stress in the waste containment structure and must be understood in order to develop safe long-term disposal schemes.

In this new SIMULIA Technology Brief we show how the coupled multiphysics simulation capabilities of Abaqus/Standard can be used to analyze design options for nuclear waste burial.