The presence of technological voids in deep geological repositories for high-level radioactive nuclear waste can have negative effects on the hydro-mechanical properties of the engineered barrier system when groundwater infiltrates from the surrounding rock. This study conducted hydration tests along with image acquisition and X-ray CT analysis on compacted Korean bentonite samples, which simulated technological voids filling to investigate the behavior of fracturing (piping erosion) and cracking deterioration. We utilized a dual syringe pump to inject water into a cell consisting of a bentonite block and technological voids at a consistent flow rate. The results showed that water inflow to fill technological voids led to partial hydration and self-sealing, followed by the formation of an erosional piping channel along the wetting front. After the piping channel generated, the cyclic filling-piping stage is characterized by the repetitive accumulation and drop of water pressure, accompanied by the opening and closing of piping channels. The stoppage of water inflow leads to the formation of macro- and micro cracks in bentonite due to moisture migration caused by high suction pressure. These cracks create preferential flow paths that promote longterm groundwater infiltration. The experimental test and analysis are currently ongoing. Further experiments will be conducted to investigate the effects of different dry density in bentonite, flow rate, and chemical composition of injected water.

When a rapid groundwater inflow is introduced from the adjacent rock mass in the early stage of disposal, hydraulic pressure build-up occurs, which may cause piping erosion at the buffer material itself and the interface of the gap-filling material. Such piping erosion in compacted bentonite buffer via interaction between the buffer and the adjacent rock mass may deteriorate the performance of the buffer material. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the conditions and scenarios in which the piping phenomenon around the buffer material occurs for the long-term health of the repository. In this study, laboratory-scale experimental tests of piping erosion in buffer and interfacial rock was introduced. ø 100 mm × 200 mm height compacted bentonite specimens were placed in a cylindrical acetal cell, and the distilled water was continuously injected at a flow rate of 0.068 L/min using a dual syringe pump. The inflow of water was generated from the bottom and side cell of buffer material. During water injection, injected water pressure and amount were measured with visual observation. The results showed that the external saturation of buffer firstly occurs followed by piping crack generation along the wetting front. The additional piping channels were generated and merged with others. As the injection stopped, the swelling and self-sealing behavior of buffer material were observed. Moreover, X-ray CT scanning of the cell was conducted after the piping simulation to analyze the piping channels and saturation depth. The results highlight the piping erosion phenomenon mainly occurs due to the presence of a gap outside the buffer material. Further experimental cases is need to comprehensively understand piping phenomena in buffer material for assessing the long-term stability of underground radioactive waste disposal systems.

Recently, with the rapid development in the industries such as an iron mill and chemical plants, there is enlarged by the use of the piping. Sepecially, the piping connected with a fluid, if it is increase the speed of running fluid, ought to generate cavitation phenomenon with unbalanced pressure. So, the cavitation phenomenon cause serious damage of the piping, because it generate erosion and corrosion in the piping. In this study, the steel pipe piping water (SPPW) and SPPW on weldment were tested by using of cavitation-erosion test apparatus with nozzle and were investigated under the marine environment of liquid. (specific resistance : 25 Omega. cm) The main results obtained are as follows : 1) The total weight loss and weight loss rate of affected zone of weldment by corrosion-erosion in the sea water are more increased than that of base metal. 2) The electrode potential by corrosion-erosion in the sea water becomes less noble than that of base metal, and current density is more increased. 3) As time goes by, the total weight loss and weight loss rate by cavitation erosion-corrosion in air-liquid 2 phase flow become more increased then those in only liquid solution. but these values turn to be decreased.