An Assessment of Coupled Thermal-Hydrologic-Mechanical-Chemical Processes

Manteufel, R. D.; Ahola, M. P.; Turner, D. R.; Chowdhury, A. H.; ,

An Assessment of Coupled Thermal-Hydrologic-Mechanical-Chemical Processes

by R. D. Manteufel, Cent for Nuclear Waste Regulatory, Analyses, San Antonio, United States,
M. P. Ahola, Cent for Nuclear Waste Regulatory, Analyses, San Antonio, United States,
D. R. Turner, Cent for Nuclear Waste Regulatory, Analyses, San Antonio, United States,
A. H. Chowdhury, Cent for Nuclear Waste Regulatory, Analyses, San Antonio, United States,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: High Level Radioactive Waste Management 1993

Abstract:

A literature review was conducted to determine the state of knowledge available in the modeling of coupled thermal (T), hydrologic (H), mechanical (M), and chemical (C) processes relevant to the design and/or performance of the proposed high-level waste (HLW) repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The review focuses on identifying coupling mechanisms between individual processes, and assessing their relative importance (i.e., if the coupling is either important, potentially important or negligible. The significance of considering THMC coupled processes lies in whether or not the processes impact the design and/or performance of the repository. While some of the coupled processes are relatively well characterized, many warrant further investigation. The subjective assessment provided here is based on the current understanding of the processes and data uncertainties, and may have be modified as new data and information emerge. A review of the state of knowledge, such as reported herein, is considered useful in identifying potential coupling mechanisms and assessing their importance.

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