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Geosciences & Engineering

Using field, laboratory and computer modeling techniques, Southwest Research Institute continues to expand beyond its core work for the energy industry. Our expertise in nuclear waste technology and petroleum resource exploration has extended to include significant programs in groundwater resource analysis, site characterization and planetary science.

The CNWRA continues studying Alloy 22, the material proposed by the Department of Energy for waste packages, to better understand how it will perform in the repository environment. In 2006, scientists initiated preliminary experiments to evaluate the effects of magma on waste package material by exposing alloy samples to remelted volcanic rock at temperatures up to 1,250 degrees C.

For nearly 20 years, we have operated the federally funded Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, a world renowned technical resource for investigating safe long-term nuclear waste storage and disposal (cnwra-sa.swri.org). The Center is developing technologies to assist the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in evaluating a potential repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev. In addition, SwRI has become the go-to source for technical assistance on an array of other NRC and international programs.

In 2006, activities included improving Total-system Performance Assessment (TPA) and Pre-Closure Safety Analysis codes, sophisticated software packages that will be used to evaluate the complex repository systems at Yucca Mountain. TPA improvements include capabilities to evaluate longer time frames, evolved models of interactions between the drip shields and the waste packages, better assessments of volcanic effects, and extended climate modeling. The assessment encompassed natural events and processes, geomechanical and hydrological responses to excavation and waste emplacement, engineered barrier performance and repository system operations.

Combining field spectroradiometry with satellite spectral data, researchers study how semi-arid regions respond to climate change. Using this information, SwRI is developing methods to estimate the range of climates that may evolve over the next million years in the Yucca Mountain, Nev., area.

Improvements to the Pre-Closure Safety Analysis code include modifications to better evaluate the reliability of active and passive structures, systems, and components and better predict the performance of important safety structures under dynamic earthquake loads. Scientists are also assessing monitoring techniques and technologies for evaluating repository performance during this pre-closure period.

 Internationally, we developed models and techniques to investigate repository sites and advised a Japanese agency on graded dose-constraint standards for radioactive waste disposal. We also developed an innovative model for contaminant transport in fractured rocks for Sweden and evaluated basic scientific research conducted on behalf of the European Commission.

Using our physical analog modeling expertise, we performed laboratory simulations of faulting processes on Ganymede, one of the icy satellites of Jupiter. Using wet clay to simulate deformation (left) reveals the progressive development of an extensional fault system that matches the structural style observed in some grooved terrains on Ganymede.

SwRI’s expanding program in groundwater resource assessment addresses growing global concerns about groundwater supply and quality (karst.swri.org). We completed an assessment of a portion of a major groundwater system in south central Texas, incorporating new data collected as part of the project with existing data on hydrology, geochemistry and structural geology. This study, funded by the Edwards Aquifer Authority, further defines the hydrogeologic relationship between various pools within the western segment of the Edwards Aquifer, providing new insights into the level of sustainable development in south central Texas.

The staff made substantial progress in planetary geology and geophysics this year. SwRI scientists are studying wrinkle ridges associated with martian volcanic terrains to determine their depth and formation mechanisms and explore what these surface features can tell us about tectonic activity in the area (geomatics.swri.org). We are also modeling magnetic anomalies in the Mars crust and conducting geophysical investigations of Earth analogs for Mars surface features, including the desert regions of Egypt and the western United States. The studies advance scientific knowledge of these planetary bodies to contribute to future mission planning.

SwRI also performed geophysical investigations closer to home, applying near-surface geophysical techniques — such as electrical resistivity, ground conductivity and electromagnetic surveying — to identify subsurface caves, geologic faults, oil field mud pits and underground rock layer distribution in central Texas (geophysics.swri.org). New capabilities in three-dimensional imaging helped identify potentially unstable ground conditions, delineate aggregate resources, identify drilling hazards and assess human-induced environmental effects.

Using geochemical, geological and hydrological data, SwRI geoscientists analyze complex groundwater flow systems to improve groundwater resource management. This image illustrates how groundwater chemistry and water well construction data are combined to interpret flow patterns in the Edwards Aquifer in south central Texas.

Visit geosciences-engineering.swri.org for more information or contact Vice President Dr. Wesley C. Patrick at (210) 522-5158 or wpatrick@swri.org

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