Feature on the Grimsel Test Site on 10vor10
The FEBEX experiment (Full-scale Engineered Barriers Experiment) was installed at the Grimsel Test Site in 1997 under the lead of the Spanish waste management organisation ENRESA. It consists of a 1:1 demonstration experiment of an emplacement tunnel for high-level waste. As it is not permitted to use radioactive waste in the experiments at the Grimsel Test Site, the heat production of the high-level waste was simulated using heater elements.
This experiment provides us with important data on the mechanical, physical and chemical behaviour of the bentonite backfill material», explains Kober. The data are used to verify the results of computer modelling. «We use the models to make accurate predictions for new experiments – including experiments in the Opalinus Clay – and finally for a future geological repository.»