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PROJECT RESULTS / Annual Technical Results

Year 3 : ESDRED TECHNICAL RESULTS to January 2007

• Presentation
• Module 1
• Module 2
• Module 3
• Module 4

Module 3 : Heavy Load Emplacement technology for Horizontal Disposal Concepts

Summary :

During the third year of the Project three (3) industrial scale heavy load emplacement machines, including test bench and related equipment, were fabricated and commissioned. At La Seyne-sur-Mer, France CNIM, on behalf of SKB and Posiva, designed and built the KBS-3H Demonstrator based on water cushion technology. Elsewhere, at Beaumont-Hague, Mécachimie designed and built Andra’s Spent Fuel (CU1) Emplacement Demonstrator and Bentonite Rings Emplacement Demonstrator both of which are based on using air cushion technology

Work completed :

• Fabrication & final assembly of KBS-3H deposition equipment completed early February 2006.
• Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) completed end of February 2006.
• Equipment transported to Äspö HRL in Sweden for assembly in the niche on 220 m level. The test rig used at the workshop for the FAT is illustrated below.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The installation of the KBS-3H deposition equipment in the niche at Äspö HRL, Sweden, is shown in the photo below.
  
  
  



• Testing & commissioning of the Spent Fuel (CU1) Emplacement Demonstrator completed in September 2006.
  
  The photo below shows the installation of the deposition equipment for the Spent Fuel Emplacement installed at Mécachimie’s premises in Beaumont-Hague (France) for CU1 spent fuel canisters (43t).
  

  

  
  

• Testing & commissioning of Bentonite Rings Emplacement Demonstrator completed January 2007.
  The photo below shows the installation of the deposition equipment for Bentonite rings (17 t) at Mécachimie’s premises in Beaumont-Hague (France).

  

   

  The photo below shows handling of the mock-up bentonite rings during the FAT-SAT testing in the workshop.
  
  
  

Important Events Planned for 2007 :

• Completion of the Site Acceptance Tests and the demonstration of the KBS-3H deposition equipment at Äspö HRL, Sweden.
• Reporting on the commissioning and demonstration (FAT and SAT) of the 3 full scale demonstrators. The demonstration for the KBS-3H deposition equipment will be done at Äspö HRL (Sweden) in an excavated drift. The demonstration for the Bentonite Rings and Spent emplacement has already been done in a surface workshop at Mécachimie in Beaumont- Hague (France).