Study of coupled thermomechanical, thermohydrological and hydromechanical processes associated with a nuclear waste repository in a fractured rock medium

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5962027

Tsang, C F; Noorishad, J; Wang, J S.Y.

It has been recognized that coupled thermomechanical, thermohydrologic, and hydromechanical processes may play an important role in the behavior of the geologic formation around a nuclear waste repository. A numerical code, ROCMAS, was recently developed at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory to calculate coupled heat transfer, fluid flow, and mechanical deformation in a fractured porous medium. Three scoping studies using this model are described in this paper, with the following preliminary conclusions. The thermomechanical simulations of a fractured rock mass show that the fractures can absorb the thermally induced rock deformations, thus possibly explaining the observed behavior of the granite rocks in the experiment at Stripa, Sweden. The variations in fracture aperture profiles in the hydromechanical simulations indicate that the rigid fracture assumptions used in most uncoupled studies may not be a good representation of fracture behavior. The thermohydromechanical model study reveals that perturbations induced by a heater may close a fracture near the heater borehole and stop the water inflow to the borehole.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA
• DOE Contract Number: AC03-76SF00098
• OSTI ID: 5962027
• Report Number(s): CONF-821107-Pt.1
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 15
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

052002* -- Nuclear Fuels-- Waste Disposal & Storage
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
58 GEOSCIENCES
580300 -- Mineralogy
Petrology
& Rock Mechanics-- (-1989)
DEFORMATION
ENERGY TRANSFER
FAILURES
FLUID FLOW
FRACTURED RESERVOIRS
FRACTURES
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
HEAT TRANSFER
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
POROUS MATERIALS
RADIOACTIVE WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE DISPOSAL
WASTE MANAGEMENT