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Title: A literature review of coupled thermal-hydrologic-mechanical-chemical processes pertinent to the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/139247· OSTI ID:139247
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States). Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses

A literature review has been conducted to determine the state of knowledge available in the modeling of coupled thermal (T), hydrologic (H), mechanical (M), and chemical (C) processes relevant to the design and/or performance of the proposed high-level waste (HLW) repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The review focuses on identifying coupling mechanisms between individual processes and assessing their importance (i.e., if the coupling is either important, potentially important, or negligible). The significance of considering THMC-coupled processes lies in whether or not the processes impact the design and/or performance objectives of the repository. A review, such as reported here, is useful in identifying which coupled effects will be important, hence which coupled effects will need to be investigated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission in order to assess the assumptions, data, analyses, and conclusions in the design and performance assessment of a geologic reposit``. Although this work stems from regulatory interest in the design of the geologic repository, it should be emphasized that the repository design implicitly considers all of the repository performance objectives, including those associated with the time after permanent closure. The scope of this review is considered beyond previous assessments in that it attempts with the current state-of-knowledge) to determine which couplings are important, and identify which computer codes are currently available to model coupled processes.

Research Organization:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States). Div. of High-Level Waste Management; Southwest Research Inst., San Antonio, TX (United States). Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses
Sponsoring Organization:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC (United States)
OSTI ID:
139247
Report Number(s):
NUREG/CR-6021; CNWRA-92-011; ON: TI93019109; TRN: 93:019132
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: Jul 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English