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Projects

Engineered Barrier System R&D

The objective of EBS Disposal R&D is to address the technical elements necessary to evaluate EBS design concepts specific to the select host media. Emphasis includes analysis and study of thermal, mechanical, and chemical processes that influence the performance of EBS and developing modeling capability for reliable assessment of these processes and ultimately supporting the Generic Disposal System Analysis (GDSA) model with detailed coupled THMC process models.

Funded by DOE-NE-Nuclear Energy

Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Induced Seismicity

Induced seismicity associated with energy production and waste disposal will become an increasingly important issue (geothermal, CO2 sequestration, and oil and gas, etc.) as energy production in a climate-constrained earth progresses. Although induced seismicity has been noted for many years and associated with a variety of causes, recent attention has been focused on oil and gas, geothermal, and potential CO2 sequestration sites...

ENIGMA

ENIGMA— Ecosystems and Networks Integrated with Genes and Molecular Assemblies—seeks to advance understanding of microbial biology and the impact of microbial communities on their ecosystems. Team members collaborate closely to generate detailed quantitative understanding across scales—from molecular to cellular and community levels. Scientists within ENIGMA have the technological and scientific skills and experience to link environmental microbiological field-studies to both highly advanced field and laboratory meta-functional genomic and genetics tools.

Funded by DOE-SC-Biological and Environmental Research

Exploring a Changing Arctic Environment Using Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing Methods (DoD–SERDP)

LBNL-ESD and the U.S. Army Core of Engineers—Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (USACE—CRREL) are collaborating to explore the use of distributed fiber-optic sensors to monitor the state of permafrost underlying transportation infrastructure, such as roads, runways, and rail lines.

Funded by DOE-SC-Biological and Environmental Research

Fukushima: JAEA-LBNL Collaboration on Repository Geoscience and Technology Development

In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan in 2011, LBNL-EESA and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have collaborated to develop numerical methodologies for understanding and predicting the long-term transport of radionuclides within and among different surface-environmental compartments (farmland and forest soils, water bodies, soil pore water and groundwater systems) in Japan. This research, initiated in June 2014, also contributes to the R&D activities related to environmental remediation and decommissioning after the accident.

Funded by DOE-SC-Biological and Environmental Research

Generic Disposal R&D

The objective of this activity is to develop a methodology and toolsets for integrating complex, coupled models (such as THMC or THC) into the GDSA model for evaluating disposal system performance for nuclear waste. Because the GDSA model is designed for the entire repository with a thousand emplacement tunnels, a systematic methodology is needed on how to simplify some coupled processes/parameters.

Funded by DOE-NE-Nuclear Energy

Geo-TES Project

The Geologic Thermal Energy Storage (GeoTES) Project involves three main components: (1) Convert excess electricity to hot water and pump it into a deep sedimentary reservoir, (2) Store the thermal energy in the subsurface, and (3) When needed, recover hot water for energy generation or direct use applications.

Nicolas Spycher
Pat Dobson
Funded by DOE-EERE-GTO-Geothermal Energy Office

Geophysical detection and monitoring of fluids, faults and coupled processes in the earth’s crust

The overall goal of this research is to understand in a quantitative way the coupling between flow and deformation and damage so that measurements of the deformation and damage along with changes in geophysical rock properties may be used to determine where the fluid is flowing and what processes the flow is provoking.

Funded by DOE-SC-Basic Energy Sciences

Ground-Motion Analysis and Soil-Structure-Interaction (SSI) Modeling

LBNL-ESD researchers are currently supporting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's need for further technical information about a set of related technical topics. The main objective of the project is to develop the technical basis for new NRC staff guidance to applicants and licensees on critical issues related to the seismic analysis and design of new nuclear power plants (NPPs), in the broad area of time-domain soil-structure-interaction (SSI) modeling.

Robert J. Budnitz portrait. Cr. Roy Kaltschmidt, Berkeley Lab. Photos.lbl.gov, XBD201408-01063-02.tiff