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Title: WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) intermediate scale borehole test: A pretest analysis

Conference ·
OSTI ID:5801438

A three-dimensional finite element structural analysis of the Intermediate Scale Borehole Test at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) has been performed. The analysis provides insight into how a relatively new excavation in a creeping medium responds when introduced into an existing pillar which has been undergoing stress redistribution for 5.7 years. The stress field of the volume of material in the immediate vicinity of the borehole changes significantly when the hole is drilled. Closure of the hole is predicted to be larger in the vertical direction than in the horizontal direction, leading to an ovaling of the hole. The relatively high stresses near the hole persist even at the end of the simulation, 2 years after the hole is drilled. 12 ref., 10 figs.

Research Organization:
Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (USA)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE, Washington, DC (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-76DP00789
OSTI ID:
5801438
Report Number(s):
SAND-90-2423C; CONF-910728-3; ON: DE91008192
Resource Relation:
Conference: 32. US symposium on rock mechanics, Norman, OK (USA), 10-12 Jul 1991
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English