Monitoring System Design of Underground Repository for Radioactive Wastes – In Situ Demonstrator

This paper describes the qualification of sensors envisioned for Cigeo, the planned deep disposal center for French radioactive waste. More precisely, it describes an in situ demonstrator, similar with the system planned to monitor intermediate level long lived radioactive wastes cells. These cells would be a tunnel, located 490 m deep, with 9 m in diameter, with concrete liners realized in three steps. The demonstrator was instrumented in 2011 in the Andra's Underground Research Laboratory. The instruments provide useful information on sensors' adaptability to the environment; robustness and technology comparisons (accordance and discrepancies). As an example, accordance between localized sensors and distributed measurements for strains, by optical fiber sensors and vibrating wire extensometers and temperatures, by optical fiber sensors and platinum probe, was verified. After 3 years more than 95% of sensors still provide measurements and show no drift over time.