Drift Scale THM Model

This model report documents the drift scale coupled thermal-hydrological-mechanical (THM) processes model development and presents simulations of the THM behavior in fractured rock close to emplacement drifts. The modeling and analyses are used to evaluate the impact of THM processes on permeability and flow in the near-field of the emplacement drifts. The results from this report are used to assess the importance of THM processes on seepage and support in the model reports Seepage Model for PA Including Drift Collapse and Abstraction of Drift Seepage, and to support arguments for exclusion of features, events, and processes (FEPs) in the analysis reports Features, Events, and Processes in Unsaturated Zone Flow and Transport and Features, Events, and Processes: Disruptive Events. The total system performance assessment (TSPA) calculations do not use any output from this report.
Specifically, the coupled THM process model is applied to simulate the impact of THM processes on hydrologic properties (permeability and capillary strength) and flow in the near field rock around a heat-releasing emplacement drift. The heat generated by the decay of radioactive waste results in elevated rock temperatures for thousands of years after waste emplacement. Depending on the thermal load, these temperatures are high enough to cause boiling conditions in the rock, resulting in water redistribution and altered flow paths. These temperatures will also cause thermal expansion of the rock, with the potential of opening or closing fractures and thus changing fracture permeability in the near-field. Understanding the THM coupled processes is important for the performance of the repository because the thermally induced permeability changes potentially effect the magnitude and spatial distribution of percolation flux in the vicinity of the drift, and hence the seepage of water into the drift. This is important because a sufficient amount of water must be available within a drift to transport any exposed radionuclides out of the drift to the groundwater below, and eventually to people within the accessible environment. Absent sufficient water, radionuclides cannot be transported and there would be no significant health effect on people, even if radioactive waste containers were damaged or corroded to such an extent that radionuclides were exposed to water.