Permeability and fluid chemistry studies of the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff, Nevada Test Site: Part II
The Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush Tuff is being considered as a possible emplacement horizon for the disposal of nuclear waste. The permeability and pore-fluid chemistry of the Topopah Spring Member have been investigated experimentally. The work reported here represents a continuation of previous permeability studies on the Topopah Spring Member. Three experiments were run, to test the effect of pore pressure, sample orientation, and flow direction on permeability and pore fluid chemistry. In the experiments, water flowed either up or down a temperature gradient established across the tuff sample in response to a small pore pressure gradient. The maximum temperature of the gradient was 150{sup 0}C, and the minimum was 43 to 45{sup 0}C. The confining pressure was 100 bars, corresponding to a disposal depth of 400 meters. J13 water was the starting pore fluid. The heated tuff samples showed few changes in permeability from their initial, room-temperature values. In addition, the fluids discharged from both the low and high-temperature sides of the tuff samples were dilute, nearly neutral solutions whose compositions did not differ greatly from the starting J13 compositions. 16 refs., 14 figs., 4 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 59361
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-15667; SANL-126-016; ON: DE85012967
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: DN: Open-File Report 84-848; PBD: Mar 1985
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Changes in permeability and fluid chemistry of the Topopah Spring Member of the Paintbrush tuff (Nevada Test Site) when held in a temperature gradient: summary of results
High-temperature permeability and groundwater chemistry of some Nevada Test Site Tuffs