The development of a safety assessment model for spent nuclear fuel disposal with special emphasis on radiolytic corrosion of the copper fuel waste container

The project will involve a partnership between the Western University, where the intern is enrolled in the Chemistry PhD program, and the Surface Science Western (SSW). The SSW is a commercial organization which does contract research and problem-solving for industrial companies and is contracted to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) to support the development of corrosion models for copper waste containers. The intern will participate in tasks related to the development of performance assessment models for nuclear waste disposal, particularly on the justification that radiolytic corrosion will not threaten container integrity. The generation of a model to assess the influence of radiolysis is a part of the contracted research to NWMO. In addition, he will interact with the experimental research program designed to generate the data base required to develop and validate such a model. By participating in the project, the intern will widen his understanding of the waste management safety assessment process and develop his computational modeling skills. The NWMO will benefit from the partnership by addressing specific technical topics of interest to them and contribute to their goal of developing effective working relationships with Canadian universities.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Clara Wren

Student:

Linda Wu

Partner:

Surface Science Western

Discipline:

Chemistry

Sector:

Mining and quarrying

University:

Western University