6533b832fe1ef96bd129adc1
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Increasing understanding and confidence in THM simulations of engineered barrier systems
Antonio GensMasataka SawadaAnders SjölandDaniel MalmbergAnnika SchäfersQiao YafeiLyesse LalouiDavid HoltonAlfonso Rodriguez-donoVasileios TsitsopoulosSteven BaxterAlessio Ferrarisubject
Engineering CivilBentonite deposits0211 other engineering and technologiesRadioactive waste disposal in the groundEngineering MultidisciplinaryEnvironmental engineeringBentonita -- Propietats mecàniques02 engineering and technology010501 environmental sciencesManagement Monitoring Policy and Law01 natural sciencesTHMGeochemistry and PetrologyEnvironmental ChemistrySensitivity (control systems)Engineering Ocean:Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Enginyeria ambiental::Tractament dels residus [Àrees temàtiques de la UPC]Abocadors de residus radioactiusWaste Management and DisposalEngineering AerospaceEngineering Biomedical021101 geological & geomatics engineering0105 earth and related environmental sciencesNature and Landscape ConservationWater Science and TechnologySettore ICAR/07 - GeotecnicaWaste managementRadioactive wasteGeotechnical Engineering and Engineering GeologyComputer Science Software EngineeringEngineering MarineEngineering ManufacturingEngineering MechanicalRadioactive waste disposalBentoniteEngineering IndustrialEnvironmental scienceEngineered BarriersNumerical methods:Enginyeria civil::Geotècnia::Mecànica de sòls [Àrees temàtiques de la UPC]description
Previous studies on the modelling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes in bentonite-based engineered barrier systems (EBSs) showed the sensitivity of the output quantities to changes in the input parameters. To investigate the effects of uncertainties on the modelling results, to improve the understanding of the coupled processes active in the repository near field and to gain in-depth understanding of model uncertainties of different codes, a sensitivity analysis and code comparison of EBS simulations was performed within the Task Force on Engineered Barrier Systems. The analysis included variations in material parameter values, boundary and initial conditions, considered physical processes and model geometries, amounting to 60 different cases. This in-depth analysis helped evaluate the influence of parameter and conceptual uncertainties on the results of coupled THM simulations and to identify key parameters and processes. The cross-code comparison encouraged a fruitful exchange among modelling teams and led to very good agreements between the results of the different codes. Serving as a benchmark example for THM-coupled simulations of bentonite-based EBSs, the study helped increase the confidence in the modelling capabilities of several codes used for safety evaluations of repositories for spent fuel and high-level radioactive waste.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-02-01 |