Results of the Single Heater Test at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Technical Report · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1997

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/650098· OSTI ID:650098

Ballard, S; Francis, N D; Sobolik, S R

The Yucca Mountain Project conducted a Single Heater Test (SHT) in the Exploratory Studies Facility at Yucca Mountain. During the nine month-long heating phase, approximately 4 m{sup 3} of in situ, fractured, 92% saturated, welded tuff was heated to temperatures above 100 C by a 5 m long, 3.8 kW, horizontal, line heater. In this paper, the thermal data collected during the test (Sandia National Laboratories, 1997) are compared to three numerical simulations (Sobolik et al., 1996) in order to gain insight into the coupled thermal-hydrologic processes. All three numerical simulations rely on the Equivalent Continuum Model (ECM) for reasons of computational efficiency. The ECM assumes that the matrix and the fractures are in thermodynamic equilibrium which allows the thermal and hydrologic properties of the matrix and the fractures to be combined into single, bulk values. The three numerical simulations differ only in their bulk permeabilities and are referred to as the High, Low and Matrix Permeability Models, respectively. In the Matrix Permeability Model, the system behaves as an unfractured porous medium with the properties of the rock matrix.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 650098
• Report Number(s): SAND--97-3050C; CONF-980516--; ON: DE98001481; BR: NM2690200
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
FLOW MODELS
HYDROLOGY
RADIOACTIVE WASTE FACILITIES
RESERVOIR ROCK
SITE CHARACTERIZATION
THEORETICAL DATA
THERMAL ANALYSIS
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
YUCCA MOUNTAIN