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Modelling the Mont Terri HE-D experiment for the Thermal–Hydraulic–Mechanical response of a bedded argillaceous formation to heating

Journal Article · · Environmental Earth Sciences
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [7];  [7];  [8];  [9];  [9];  [10];  [10];  [10];  [11];  [11];  [12]
  1. NAGRA, Wettingen (Switzerland)
  2. Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa (Canada)
  3. Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, Fontenay-aux-Roses (France)
  4. Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate, Brugg (Switzerland)
  5. Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea)
  6. Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Hokkaido (Japan)
  7. Center for Nuclear Waste Regulatory Analyses, San Antonio, TX (United States)
  8. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, D.C. (United States)
  9. Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan (China)
  10. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  11. Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig (Germany)
  12. Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Hanover (Germany)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Coupled thermal–hydrological–mechanical (THM) processes in the near field of deep geological repositories can influence several safety features of the engineered and geological barriers. Among those features are: the possibility of damage in the host rock, the time for re-saturation of the bentonite, and the perturbations in the hydraulic regime in both the rock and engineered seals. Within the international cooperative code-validation project DECOVALEX-2015, eight research teams developed models to simulate an in situ heater experiment, called HE-D, in Opalinus Clay at the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory in Switzerland. The models were developed from the theory of poroelasticity in order to simulate the coupled THM processes that prevailed during the experiment and thereby to characterize the in situ THM properties of Opalinus Clay. The modelling results for the evolution of temperature, pore water pressure, and deformation at different points are consistent among the research teams and compare favourably with the experimental data in terms of trends and absolute values. The models were able to reproduce the main physical processes of the experiment. In particular, most teams simulated temperature and thermally induced pore water pressure well, including spatial variations caused by inherent anisotropy due to bedding.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Nuclear Energy (NE)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1393231
Journal Information:
Environmental Earth Sciences, Journal Name: Environmental Earth Sciences Journal Issue: 9 Vol. 76; ISSN 1866-6280
Publisher:
Springer-VerlagCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (1)

Fault Stability Perturbation by Thermal Pressurization and Stress Transfer Around a Deep Geological Repository in a Clay Formation journal August 2019

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Anisotropy
Argillacceous sedimentary rock
Coupled THM processes
Geological disposal