A deep geological repository involving a multi-barrier system constitutes one of the most promising options to isolate high-level radioactive waste from the human environment. In order to certify the efficiency of waste isolation, it is essential to understand the behavior of the confining geomaterials under a variety of environmental conditions. The efficiency of an Engineered Barrier System (EBS) is largely based on a combination of bentonite and host rock characteristics. To contribute to a better understanding of the processes involved in the EBS, a case study for sensitivity analysis has been defined and is studied using a thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) finite element approach including a consistent thermo-plastic constitutive model for unsaturated soils. The model also features a coupled THM approach of the water retention curve for bentonite, using the ACMEG-TS constitutive model. Regarding rock parameters, intrinsic permeability and relative permeability effects are evaluated. Two regimes are found regarding the importance of the estimation of rock permeability: in the first one, precise assessment is unnecessary due to water inflow control by bentonite, while in the second one, a precise assessment is necessary to correctly estimate resaturation time. This study highlights the effects that need to be taken into consideration for a correct assessment of EBS behavior, from bentonite characteristics to the correct quantification of the thermo-hydro-mechanical couplings in host rock.
Skip Nav Destination
47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium
June 23–26, 2013
San Francisco, California
ISBN:
978-0-9894844-0-4
Significance of Rock THM Parameters in Geological Nuclear Waste Storage Simulation
Fabrice Dupray;
Fabrice Dupray
école Polytechnique Fédérale De Lausanne (<acronym>EPFL</acronym>)
Search for other works by this author on:
Lyesse Laloui
Lyesse Laloui
id - King Abdulaziz University
Search for other works by this author on:
Paper presented at the 47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, San Francisco, California, June 2013.
Paper Number:
ARMA-2013-280
Published:
June 23 2013
Citation
Dupray, Fabrice, Li, Chao, and Lyesse Laloui. "Significance of Rock THM Parameters in Geological Nuclear Waste Storage Simulation." Paper presented at the 47th U.S. Rock Mechanics/Geomechanics Symposium, San Francisco, California, June 2013.
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Personal Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Pay-Per-View Access
$20.00
Advertisement
1
Views
Advertisement
Suggested Reading
Advertisement