Thermal calculations pertaining to a proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository

In support to the Yucca Mountain Project waste package and repository design efforts, LLNL conducted heat-transfer modeling of the volcanic tuff in the repository. The analyses quantify: the thermal response of a finite size, uniformly loaded repository where each panel of emplacement drifts contains the same type of heat source the response given a realistic waste stream inventory to show the effect of inter-panel variations; and the intra-panel response for various realistic distributions of sources within the panel. The calculations, using the PLUS family of computer codes, are based on a linear superposition, in time and in space, of the analytic solution of individual, constant output point sources located in an infinite, isotropic, and homogeneous medium with constant thermal properties. 8 refs., 22 figs., 3 tabs