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Modeling of Coupled Heat Transfer and Reactive Transport Processes in Porous Media: Application to Seepage Studies at Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Volume 12, Issue 8, 2009, pp. 725-748
DOI: 10.1615/JPorMedia.v12.i8.10
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ABSTRACT

When hot, radioactive waste is placed in subsurface tunnels, complex changes are expected to occur in the surrounding rocks. Water in the pore space of the medium may undergo vaporization and boiling. Subsequently, vapor may migrate out of the rock pore space, moving away through the permeable fracture network. This migration can be propelled by buoyancy, by the increased vapor pressure resulting from boiling, and through convection. In cooler regions, the vapor may condense, where it can drain through the fracture network. Thereafter, imbibition of water may lead to rewetting of the rock matrix. These thermal and hydrological processes may also bring about chemical changes in the rocks. Amorphous silica can precipitate from boiling and evaporation, and calcite from heating and CO2 volatilization. The precipitation of amorphous silica and calcite can lead to long-term permeability reduction. Evaporative concentration also results in the precipitation of gypsum (or anhydrite), halite, fluorite, and other salts. These evaporative minerals eventually redissolve after boiling ceases; however, their precipitation may lead to a temporary decrease in permeability. Reduction of permeability is also associated with changes in fracture capillary characteristics. In short, the coupled thermal-hydrological-chemical (THC) processes may dynamically alter the hydrological properties of the rock. A model based on the TOUGHREACT reactive transport software is presented here to investigate the impact of these THC processes on flow near an emplacement tunnel at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. We show how transient changes in hydrological properties caused by THC processes may lead to local flow channeling and seepage.

CITED BY
  1. Tsang Y. W., Birkholzer J. T., Mukhopadhyay S., Modeling of thermally driven hydrological processes in partially saturated fractured rock, Reviews of Geophysics, 47, 3, 2009. Crossref

  2. Fan Xiaolin, Sun Shuyu, Wei Wei, Kou Jisheng, Numerical Simulation of Pollutant Transport in Fractured Vuggy Porous Karstic Aquifers, Journal of Applied Mathematics, 2011, 2011. Crossref

  3. Vaudelet P., Revil A., Schmutz M., Franceschi M., Bégassat P., Induced polarization signatures of cations exhibiting differential sorption behaviors in saturated sands, Water Resources Research, 47, 2, 2011. Crossref

  4. Poinssot Ch., Fillet C., Gras J. -M., Post-containment performance of geological repository systems: source-term release and radionuclide migration in the near- and far-field environments, in Geological Repository Systems for Safe Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuels and Radioactive Waste, 2010. Crossref

  5. Finsterle Stefan, Sonnenthal Eric L., Spycher Nicolas, Advances in subsurface modeling using the TOUGH suite of simulators, Computers & Geosciences, 65, 2014. Crossref

  6. Chen Xiaohui, Thornton Steven F., Small Joe, Influence of Hyper-Alkaline pH Leachate on Mineral and Porosity Evolution in the Chemically Disturbed Zone Developed in the Near-Field Host Rock for a Nuclear Waste Repository, Transport in Porous Media, 107, 2, 2015. Crossref

  7. Xu Tianfu, Senger Rainer, Finsterle Stefan, Bentonite Alteration Due to Thermal-Hydro-Chemical Processes During the Early Thermal Period in a Nuclear Waste Repository, Nuclear Technology, 174, 3, 2011. Crossref

  8. Bonin Bernard, The Scientific Basis of Nuclear Waste Management, in Handbook of Nuclear Engineering, 2010. Crossref

  9. Li Lian, Wu Yahong, Chong Shan, Wen Qingzhi, The application of TOUGHREACT in the field of energy and environment, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 569, 1, 2020. Crossref

  10. Morway Eric D., Feinstein Daniel T., Hunt Randall J., Healy Richard W., New Capabilities in MT3D‐USGS for Simulating Unsaturated‐Zone Heat Transport , Groundwater, 2022. Crossref

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