NEAR-FIELD SOLUTION FOR HEAT AND MASS-TRANSFER FROM BURIED NUCLEAR WASTE CANISTERS

A numerical study of heat and mass transfer from cylindrical container s filled with nuclear waste and buried under the surface of the earth is reported here. For prescribed heat flux and leach rates the tempera ture and concentration distributions on the surface of the containers are determined under a variety of conditions. These conditions include the diffusion limit, the effect of superimposed flow, the multi-canis ter problem and radioactive decay of a parent-daughter chain. The equa tions governing unsteady transport are solved using a Galerkin finite element method. Results computed using this method are compared with t hose obtained from boundary-layer analysis.