SCHEDULING THE DISPOSAL OF NUCLEAR WASTE MATERIAL IN A GEOLOGIC REPOSITORY USING THE TRANSPORTATION MODEL

An optimal disposal schedule for the burial of spent nuclear fuel from boiling-water and pressurized-water power reactors in a geologic repo sitory has been developed using the classical transportation model fro m linear programming. Optimization is achieved by minimizing the total area required to absorb and dissipate the dynamic, yet highly predict able, quantity of heat produced by the nuclear waste. Costs associated with burying the spent power-reactor fuel can be measured in terms of the ''area required per ton of waste material.' This thermal cost is a time-varying quantity governed by the principles of radioactive deca y. The resultant schedule provides for equivalent thermomechanical eff ects over the entire repository region following adjustments for the t ype and burnup level of the spent fuel while accommodating predetermin ed capacity specifications.