A Correlation to Predict the Thermal Conductivity of Buffer and Backfill Material for a High-Level Waste Repository

In the present design concept of a high-level waste repository, the bentonite and bentonite-sand mixture are considered as the buffer and backfill material. For the Kyungju bentonite which is a candidate material, the thermal conductivities of compacted bentonite and bentonite-sand mixture were measured. A correlation has been proposed to predict the thermal conductivity of the Kyungju bentonite and the bentonite-sand mixture as a function of the dry density, the water content and the sand fraction. The proposed correlation can predict the thermal conductivity with a difference less than 10% under the experimental conditions.