Dr. Changsoo Lee Named Scientist of the Month for 'Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal Facility Technology Development'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] A scientist who developed performance evaluation technology for spent nuclear fuel disposal facilities has received the Scientist of the Month Award.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Research Foundation announced on the 6th that Dr. Changsoo Lee of the Storage and Disposal Technology Management Department at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute was selected as the Scientist of the Month for April.

To permanently isolate high-level radioactive waste using a deep geological disposal method, it is necessary to precisely predict the thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled behavior in the surrounding rock and engineered barriers of the disposal site caused by temperature changes in the disposal system, groundwater inflow, and saturation changes of the buffer material surrounding the waste. The thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical behaviors occurring in the disposal system interact with each other and exhibit complex patterns, so comprehensive evaluation is required for site selection and design of the disposal facility.

Dr. Changsoo Lee independently developed a thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled behavior parallel analysis simulator that shortens the long analysis time and improves efficiency, which were drawbacks of existing deep disposal system coupled behavior prediction simulators. Based on five years of field test data conducted at Korea Underground Research Tunnel (KURT), the only underground disposal research facility in Korea, the domestic applicability was evaluated, confirming that the disposal system's performance is maintained for 100,000 years. Additionally, using the developed numerical model and analysis simulator, he proposed a multilayer disposal facility design that maintains the existing disposal system performance while reducing the disposal site area to less than half.

The developed analysis simulator secured international credibility through international joint research involving 52 institutions from 14 countries including Sweden, Switzerland, and Japan, and the excellence of the verification results was published in numerous international academic journals. In the past three years, it has been featured in eight SCIE-level academic papers and 27 domestic papers, and three international joint research reports have also been published.

Dr. Changsoo Lee stated, “This research is significant in that we independently developed a thermo-hydro-mechanical coupled behavior analysis simulator expected for deep geological disposal of radioactive waste,” and added, “We will continue to contribute to the development of element technologies for radioactive waste disposal systems through next-generation innovative technology development.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.