Hydraulic testing of Salado Formation evaporites at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site: Second interpretive report

Beauheim, Richard L.; Roberts, R. B.; Dale, T.F.; Stensrud, W.A.

doi:10.2172/10121077

Cited by 22 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In-situ permeability testing indicates a large variability in intrinsic permeability, ranging from less than 10" for anhydrite interbeds Howarth et al, 1991;Beauheim et al, 1993a) …”

Section: Salado Formation Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In-situ testing has been performed to determine the hydrologic properties for the halite and the anhydrite interbeds under both undisturbed and excavation-disturbed conditions. The Salado Formation hydrologic parameters are summarized in Section 3, and a complete discussion of parameter selection is contained in Appendix A.In-situ permeability testing indicates a large variability in intrinsic permeability, ranging from less than 10" for anhydrite interbeds Howarth et al, 1991;Beauheim et al, 1993a) …”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the effects of altered rock properties, representative of a DRZ, were examined in sensitivity simulations (Section 2.5.2). Fracturing in the interbeds, whether in response to deforming halite or nearlithostatic repository pressures, will alter the flow properties in the interbeds, although doubleporosity responses have not been observed during hydraulic testing (Beauheim et al, 1993a). The effects of interbed fracture were not included in baseline simulations, but were examined in sensitivity simulations (Section 2.5.1).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It set limits on the 10,000 year cumulative release of radionuclides to the accessible environment under both undisturbed and human intrusion scenarios. Compliance with 40 CFR 191, Subpart B is addressed biannually (annually prior to 1994) by WIPP PA, most recently in WIPP PA Department (1992a;1992b; 1992c;and 1993a), which examined release of radionuclides dissolved in brine through the Culebra Dolomite of the Rustler Formation, the anhydrite interbeds of the Salado Formation, the shafts, and a human intrusion borehole.40 CFR 268.6 is codified from the Land Disposal Restrictions of the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments (U.S. EPA, 1986) of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The current interpretation of 40 CFR 268.6 is that there must be no migration of RCRA hazardous wastes at concentrations above health-or environmentally-based standards beyond the site boundary for as long as the waste remains hazardous.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coupled multiphase flow and closure analysis of repository response to waste-generated gas at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Freeze¹,

Larson²,

Davies³

1995

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A long-term assessment of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) repository performance must consider the impact of gas generation resulting from the corrosion and microbial degradation of the emplaced waste. A multiphase fluid flow code, TOUGH2/EOS8, was adapted to model the processes of gas generation, disposal room creep closure, and multiphase (brine and gas) fluid flow, as well as the coupling between the three processes. System response to gas generation was simulated with a single, isolated disposal room surrounded by homogeneous halite containing two anhydrite interbeds, one above and one below the room. The interbeds were assumed to have flow connections to the room through high-permeability, excavation-induced fractures.System behavior was evaluated by tracking four performance measures: (1) peak room pressure; (2) maximum brine volume in the room; (3) total mass of gas expelled from the room; and (4) the maximum gas migration distance in an interbed. A deterministic approach, including baseline and sensitivity simulations, was used. Baseline simulations used current best estimates of system parameters, selected through an evaluation of available data, to predict system response to gas generation under best-estimate conditions. Sensitivity simulations quantified the effects of parameter uncertainty by evaluating the change in the performance measures in response to parameter variations. In the sensitivity simulations, a single parameter value was varied to its minimum and maximum values, representative of the extreme expected values, with all other parameters held at best-estimate values.Simulation results indicated that (1) in the absence of interbed fracturing, disposal room pressures will exceed, lithostatic, even at gas-generation rates representative of vapor-limited conditions, (2) under best-estimate conditions, brine availability was insufficient to fully exhaust the brine-dependent gas-generation potential, (3) the mass of gas expelled from the room and the gas migration distance are much more sensitive to the total mass of gas generated than to the gas-generation rate, and (4) the halite properties are important to gas migration because gas movement in the interbeds is limited by the displacement of interbed brine into the surrounding halite.Sensitivity simulations identified the following parameters as important to gas expulsion and migration away from a disposal room: interbed porosity; interbed permeability; gas-generation potential; halite permeability; and interbed threshold pressure. The uncertainty in multiphase flow parameters was not adequately characterized because of the lack of WIPP-specific data. Simulations also showed that the inclusion of interbed fracturing and a disturbed rock zone had a significant impact on system performance.The TOUGH2/EOS8 deterministic simulation and sensitivity results were similar to stochastic results obtained by WIPP Performance Assessment from a repository-scale model. Because the deterministic approach allows conceptual models to be quanti...

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“…In-situ permeability testing indicates a large variability in intrinsic permeability, ranging from less than 10" for anhydrite interbeds Howarth et al, 1991;Beauheim et al, 1993a) …”

Section: Salado Formation Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Coupled multiphase flow and closure analysis of repository response to waste-generated gas at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Freeze¹,

Larson²,

Davies³

1995

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“…Brine-permeabiliiy testing has been extensively conducted at the WIPP horizon to obtain estimates of the formation permeability of the Salado halite and associated interbeds (Beauheim et al ., 1991 and1993;and Domski et al, 1996). Saulnier and Avis (1988) conducted a series of brine-permeabiity tests in the Salado formation halite from within the waste-handling shaft at W P .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

WIPP air-intake shaft disturbed-rock zone study

Dale¹,

Hurtado²

1996

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The disturbed-rock zone surrounding the air-intake shaft at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site was investigated to determine the extent and the permeability of the disturbed-rock zone as a function of radial distance from the 6.1 m diameter shaft., a different elevations within the Salado. Gas-and brine-permeability tests were performed in the bedded halite of the Salado formation at two levels within the airintake shaft. The gas-and brine-permeabiity test results demonstrated that the radial distance to an undisturbed formation permeability of 1 x m2 was less than 3.0 m.

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Ice sheet load cycling and fluid underpressures in the Eastern Michigan Basin, Ontario, Canada

Neuzil

Provost

2014

JGR Solid Earth

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Strong fluid underpressures have been detected in Paleozoic strata in the eastern Michigan Basin, with hydraulic heads reaching~400 m below land surface (~4 MPa underpressure) and~200 m below sea level in strata where unusually low permeabilities (~10 À20 -10 À23 m 2 ) were measured in situ. Multiple glaciations, including three with as much as 3 km of ice cover at the site in the last 120 ka, suggest a causal link with the underpressures. We examined this possibility using a one-dimensional groundwater flow model incorporating mechanical loading from both ice weight and lithospheric flexure. Because hydrologic and mechanical changes during glaciation are not well characterized and subsurface properties are imperfectly known, the model was used inversely to estimate flexural loads and loosely constrained permeabilities by matching observed pressures. Acceptable matches were obtained for a surprisingly wide range of scenarios with permeabilities close to measured values and plausible flexural loads. Matches were not obtained when too many parameters were preselected, or when permeabilities were constrained to be significantly larger than measured values. In successful model runs groundwater expulsion under glacial-mechanical loads caused the underpressuring, and flexural loads were important if aquifer and sub-glacial pressures were significantly elevated during glaciation. Simulated fluid pressures in the low-permeability strata fluctuated by 30-40 MPa during glacial cycles but resulted in advective transport of only tens of meters or less. Although other mechanisms cannot be ruled out, we conclude that glacial-mechanical forcing of a water-saturated system can explain the observed underpressures.

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Hydraulic testing of Salado Formation evaporites at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site: Second interpretive report

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

Coupled multiphase flow and closure analysis of repository response to waste-generated gas at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Coupled multiphase flow and closure analysis of repository response to waste-generated gas at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

WIPP air-intake shaft disturbed-rock zone study

Ice sheet load cycling and fluid underpressures in the Eastern Michigan Basin, Ontario, Canada

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