MOnitoring equipment and DAta Treatment for Safe repository operation and staged closure (MODATS)

Major highlights (June 2022 - May 2023)

–    URL survey deliverable was published in September 2022: Seventeen experiments in eight different European URLs were surveyed, including five Reference Experiments that are central to the MODATS research and development activities; Overall, the lessons learned from the survey relate to a range of monitoring topics, including monitoring system designs and performance, as well as monitoring data acquisition, management, and analysis. This document focusses on the lessons learned about monitoring data acquisition, specifically monitoring system quality assurance / quality control (QA / QC) and installation.
–    Stakeholders workshop in Nancy: The workshop contributed to the establishment of a mutual understanding between representatives from European experts (operators, institutional technical experts and research units) and representatives of civil society (students, researchers in social sciences, experts from non-governmental organizations) on the challenges and issues of monitoring systems and their socio-technical interpretations. 
–    (FEPs) analysis to identify and describe monitoring systems interactions with multi-barrier systems were developed. Monitoring system components are broadly considered to include data acquisition technologies, power technologies, data transmission technologies and data loggers, while the multi-barrier systems are considered to include both engineered materials and the repository host rock. This FEP analysis research will provide an understanding of the impacts of monitoring systems, which could be used to aid monitoring system design optimisation, for example.

Forward look

The next period will be the final year of the project in which all the remaining deliverables will be  published .
–    Dissemination activities: the MODATS project will start to produce results and  toand to maximize theirs impact the MODATS project  intends to increase dissemination activities inside and outside Eurad.
–    Digital twin prototype: in the final year of the program, we all expect to have a first digital twin prototype by the end of 2023.  The prototype will be based on the ALC1605 demonstrators localized in the ULR CMHM in Bure district. This prototype should provide us with evidence about the digital twin dedicated to geological disposal facility.
–    Finalize all deliverables.
–    Final development on the monitoring technologies.
–    QAPP Quality assurance project plan guidance 
–    Develop argumentation and evidence about the data treatment. 

'What'

The ambition of the MODATS WP is to consolidate the implementation strategy for monitoring systems by developing methods through which confidence can be demonstrated in the data acquired and benefits derived for repository implementation. Repository monitoring also presents challenges related to evaluation of multi-modal data, i.e. data that is measured by different sensors, resulting in a range of independent parameters, at different locations and at varying spatial and temporal sampling. The WP will undertake R&D into data acquisition, data management and presentation, and use of data in system understanding. The WP want also to push forward what is possible in terms of monitoring, it is crucial to stay abreast with the technological development to apply and adapt emerging technologies to waste repository monitoring and develop new technologies that are suitable for the specific requirements of repository monitoring.

'Why'

The MODATS WP covers three main topics of the Eurad Roadmap with two consider as high priority.
Monitoring is a broad research area with many aspects. International collaborative research on monitoring has focused activities in a few projects that have typically addressed high-level topics. This research has helped to develop the general principals applying to repository monitoring, and to establish an international community of experts in the subject The work in the MODATS WP would provide a mechanism for this international community to commence the development of the more detailed aspects of monitoring, in particular building confidence in the acquisition, treatment and management of data. By engaging in this work now, the knowledge, experience and expertise of the monitoring community can be used in developing solutions to detailed questions associated with monitoring data. This information will be of use to programmes that are close to the start of operations and less mature programmes just setting out in the repository implementation process. The expected outputs from the WP are captured in the following:
-    Learning from the monitoring of URL experiments to provide lessons for repository monitoring design and safety case implications.
-    Improving monitoring technologies: especially by measuring challenging monitoring parameters.
-    Investigate the impact of monitoring  technology on the performance of a range of disposal systems
-    Improving data treatment methods and tools (example: digital twin…) in support the elaboration of the monitoring plan.
-    Documents and guidances describing a set of case studies of how monitoring data might be validated and enhance system understanding if collected during repository operation.
-    Use of monitoring data to support dialogues with stakeholders.