Modeling heterogeneous unsaturated porous media flow at Yucca Mountain
- Spectra Research Inst., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Geologic systems are inherently heterogeneous and this heterogeneity can have a significant impact on unsaturated flow through porous media. Most previous efforts to model groundwater flow through Yucca Mountain have used stratigraphic units with homogeneous properties. However, modeling heterogeneous porous and fractured tuff in a more realistic manner requires numerical methods for generating heterogeneous simulations of the media, scaling of material properties from core scale to computational scale, and flow modeling that allows channeling. The Yucca Mountain test case of the INTRAVAL project is used to test the numerical approaches. Geostatistics is used to generate more realistic representations of the stratigraphic units and heterogeneity within units is generated using sampling from property distributions. Scaling problems are reduced using an adaptive grid that minimizes heterogeneity within each flow element. A flow code based on the dual mixed-finite-element method that allows for heterogeneity and channeling is employed. In the Yucca Mountain test case, the simulated volumetric water contents matched the measured values at drill hole USW UZ-16 except in the nonwelded portion of Prow Pass.
- Research Organization:
- Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC04-94AL85000
- OSTI ID:
- 145200
- Report Number(s):
- SAND-94-0185; CONF-940553-18; ON: DE94008612; TRN: 94:011939
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: International high-level radioactive waste management conference, Las Vegas, NV (United States), 22-26 May 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
99 MATHEMATICS
COMPUTERS
INFORMATION SCIENCE
MANAGEMENT
LAW
MISCELLANEOUS
58 GEOSCIENCES
TUFF
FLUID FLOW
HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES
UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL
YUCCA MOUNTAIN
HETEROGENEOUS EFFECTS
GROUND WATER
GEOLOGIC FAULTS
STRATIGRAPHY
WATER SATURATION
EQUATIONS
Yucca Mountain Project