Numerical study of the THM effects on the near-field safety of a hypothetical nuclear waste repository - BMT1 of the DECOVALEX III project. Part 2: Effects of THM coupling in continuous and homogeneous rocks

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11/06/2005

Millard, A.(a) , Rejeb, A.(b ), Chijimatsu, M.(c) , Jing, L.(d) , De Jonge, J.(e) , Kohlmeier, M.(f ), Nguyen, T.S.(g) , Rutqvist, J.(h) , Souley, M(.i) , Sugita, Y.(j)
International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences
Volume 42, Issue 5-6 SPEC. ISS., July 2005, Pages 731-744

Type de document > *Article de revue
Mots clés publication scientifique > faille/fracture , modélisation , radionucléides , stockage
Unité de recherche > IRSN/DEI/SARG/BEHRIG
Auteurs > REJEB Amel

An evaluation of the importance of the thermo-hydro-mechanical couplings (THM) on the performance assessment of a deep underground radioactive waste repository has been made as a part of the international DECOVALEX III project. It is a numerical study that simulates a generic repository configuration in the near field in a continuous and homogeneous hard rock. A periodic repository configuration comprises a single vertical borehole, containing a canister surrounded by an over-pack and a bentonite layer, and the backfilled upper portion of the gallery. The thermo-hydro-mechanical evolution of the whole configuration is simulated over a period of 100 years. The importance of the rock mass's intrinsic permeability has been investigated through scoping calculations with three values: 10-17, 10-18 and 10-19 m2. Comparison of the results predicted by fully coupled THM analysis as well as partially coupled TH, TM and HM analyses, in terms of several predefined indicators of importance for performance assessment, enables us to identify the effects of the different combinations of couplings, which play a crucial role with respect to safety issues. The results demonstrate that temperature is hardly affected by the couplings. In contrast, the influence of the couplings on the mechanical stresses is considerable.


a CEA/DM2S/LM2S, CEN Saclay, 91191 Gif, Yvette, France
b Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, Paris, France
c Hazama Corporation, 2-5-8 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-8658, Japan
d Royal Institute of Technology, KTH, Stockholm, Sweden
e University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
f University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany
g Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, Ont., Canada
h Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, United States
i INERIS-LAEGO, Ecole des Mines de Nancy, Nancy, France
j Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute, Ibaraki, Japan

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