Construction of Full-scale Shaft Seals in Crystalline Rock

Abstract

The Underground Research Laboratory (URL) was constructed to investigate concepts related to geological disposal of used nuclear fuel. This involved investigating the rock mass by undertaking in situ experiments using a multi disciplinary technical approach. The decision was made in 2003 to close the URL. Part of the closure process involved installing seals in the access and ventilation shafts at locations where they intersected an ancient thrust fault (Fracture Zone 2 - FZ2). FZ2 is an active hydraulic pathway in the Lac du Bonnet batholith and this feature is the dominating structural and hydrogeological feature at the URL site. Above FZ2 the groundwater has a low salinity and is dominated by surface-related processes. With increasing depth in the batholith, surface-related effects decrease and the salinity of the groundwater increases to 90 g/L total dissolved solids. The decision to install the seals was made as part of the due diligence for the site closure to ensure that the saline groundwater located at depth down strike and below the thrust fault would not enter the closed underground openings and mix with less saline shallow groundwater. The construction of each seal involved the installation of a heavily reinforced low alkalinity concrete component keyed into the surrounding rock. The concrete supported and restrained a central clay-sand component, which was capped by an unreinforced concrete component. The clay-sand component spans the exposure of the thrust fault in each shaft.

This paper describes the construction of the main shaft seal and the ventilation shaft seal. The construction of the shaft seals at the URL was part of the Nuclear Legacy Liabilities Program (NLLP) being funded by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).