Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

Details of our upcoming webinars and how to attend them are shown below.

NWS Research Seminar – DECOVALEX & Coupled Process Modelling

The understanding and modelling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems.

Prediction of these coupled effects is an essential part of the performance and safety assessment of the GDF, as well as a broad range of sub-surface engineering activities.

Particular focus will be given to the DECOVALEX (DEvelopment of COupled models and their VALidation against EXperiments) programme, a long running international collaboration, initiated in 1992. This work has yielded in-depth knowledge of coupled THM and THMC processes associated with nuclear waste repositories and wider geo-engineering applications, as well as the suitability of numerical simulation models for quantitative analysis.

Hosted by Prof Kevin Taylor, Professor of Geoscience at the University of Manchester who will provide an introduction to the session ahead of speakers Alex Bond (Quintessa Limited), Gonçalo Cunha (University of Edinburgh) and Gary Couples (Heriot-Watt University) .

If you are interested, please sign up using Eventbrite.

Radiochemistry webinar coming soon

We will be announcing the date and further details of a webinar on the progress in the Radiochemistry discipline very soon.

To be kept informed of our future webinars and other events please sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Twitter.

Previous Webinars

Details and recordings of our previous webinars are shown below.

Research in progress webinar: Engineered Barrier Systems

16th November 2023

This session was focussed on the ongoing research in relation to Engineered Barrier Systems. The engineered barriers play an integral role in the GDF by protecting the waste package and the host rock, and by providing a containment function. In this webinar, the impact of temperature from high heat generating wastes on cementitious materials and bentonite was discussed. Guest speakers included Russell Alexander who discussed the use of natural analogues within the GDF safety case.

Research in progress webinar: Advanced Manufacturing

10th October 2023

This event was focussed around the ongoing research in relation to Advanced Manufacturing. Guest speakers included TWI’s Steve Dodds and colleagues who presented snippets from their work on nuclear canister design, manufacturing technologies and the 100,000 year breach assessment modelling they have undertaken. Arij Asad (RSO PhD) and Matthew Riding (FIND-CDT) also present an update on their research.

Research in progress webinar: Gas migration and reactivity in a GDF

24th November 2022

This event was focussed around on-going research relating to gas migration and reactivity in a GDF. We were joined by speakers that are working on gas evolution within a full-scale heater test, experimental understanding of gas migration through low permeability clay-based materials, and the gas migration properties of alternative backfill materials.

Research in progress webinar: Online games and complex decisions

29th September 2022

This event presented some of the latest developments in the use of games to engage a community relevant to a Geological Disposal Facility. Our speaker was Professor Nils Bunnefeld from the University of Stirling. Professor Bunnefeld works at the interface between biodiversity and society combining natural and social sciences to improve our understanding of decision making from local to global levels in relation to natural resource use, climate change, people’s livelihoods and sustainable development.

Research in progress webinar: Mathematical Models of Coupled Processes

23rd June 2022

This webinar included presentations on some of the latest developments in the Mathematical Modelling of Coupled Processes relevant to a Geological Disposal Facility. The keynote speaker was Victor Vilarrasa of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona. Victor has over fifteen years of experience in modelling subsurface flow processes, and has previously been a researcher at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), and the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). Presentations were also given by researchers from the University of Manchester, and Imperial College London.

Research in progress webinar: Automation and Autonomous Research

25th May 2022

This webinar included presentations on some of the latest developments in the Automation and Autonomous Research relevant to a Geological Disposal Facility. The keynote speakers were Mike Wilson Chief Automation Officer, High Value Manufacturing Catapult and James Davies from RACE.