Modeling of thermal pressurization in tight claystone using sequential THM coupling: Benchmarking and validation against in-situ heating experiments in COx claystone

Xu, Hao; Rutqvist, Jonny; Plúa, C.; Armand, Gilles; Birkhölzer, Jens

doi:10.1016/j.tust.2020.103428

Cited by 22 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Thus, the pore pressure increases again due to the hydration from the outside clay formation. More physical explanation and studies about the similar phenomenon of THM processes in argillaceous host rock can be found in [58,59].…”

Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Numerical study of the chemo-mechanical behavior of FEBEX bentonite in nuclear waste disposal based on the Barcelona expansive model

Zheng

Rutqvist

et al. 2021

Computers and Geotechnics

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Experimental studies show that compacted bentonite used as a backfill material for nuclear waste repository experiences strong coupling between chemical and mechanical processes. Therefore, a rigorous description of such coupling and evaluation of its implication to the long term behavior of bentonite buffer in the repository are required. In this paper, we use a dual-structure expansive soil model, referred to as the Barcelona Expansive Model (BExM), to predict the behavior of bentonite buffer in subsurface emplacement tunnels for high-level radioactive waste. After emplacement, the bentonite is subjected to complex and coupled Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) processes. The BExM constitutive model is implemented in a multi-phase reactive transport and geomechanics simulator, TOUGHREACT-FLAC3D, and the model is verified with one benchmark test on FEBEX bentonite. We utilize a one-way Chemo-Mechanical (C-M) coupling approach, in which chemical changes affect the mechanical

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Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Numerical study of the chemo-mechanical behavior of FEBEX bentonite in nuclear waste disposal based on the Barcelona expansive model

Zheng

Rutqvist

et al. 2021

Computers and Geotechnics

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“…Each linear solve requires less than 9 outer iterations and takes roughly 30 s. Given the total number of 130 Newton's iterations, the simulation is achieved in 3800 s. If the Schur preconditioner is used, the total solution time reaches 4700 s, increasing by 24%. We emphasize that the use of the proposed preconditioner allows for a simulation whose size is incomparable to other simulations in the specific field of radioactive waste disposal [4,53,54].…”

Section: Solver Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable block preconditioners for saturated thermo-hydro-mechanics problems

Ordonez

Tardieu

Kruse

et al. 2023

Adv. Model. and Simul. in Eng. Sci.

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We are interested in the modelling of saturated thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) problems that describe the behaviour of a soil in which a weakly compressible fluid evolves. It is used for the evaluation of the THM impact of high-level activity radioactive waste exothermicity within a deep geological disposal facility. We shall present the definition of a block preconditioner with nested Krylov solvers for the fully coupled THM equations. Numerical results reflect the good performance of the proposed preconditioners that show to be weakly scalable until more than 2000 cores and more than 1 billion degrees of freedom. Thanks to their performance and robustness, a real waste storage problem on a scale, to our knowledge, unprecedented in the field, can be addressed.

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“…Based on the TER experiment, Jia et al, (2009) used a coupled theoretical formulation that incorporates a constitutive model especially developed for the COx material, to investigate thermal impact on the in-situ behaviour of the COx claystone [8]. The TOUGH-FLAC simulator using a sequential coupling scheme was employed to analyze thermally-driven THM coupled processes in COx claystone, both TED and ALC1604 experiments are simulated for model validation [20]. Tourchi et al, (2021) presented a 3D THM coupled numerical modelling of the ALC1604 experiment intended to assist in the proper interpretation of the field observations [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, we improved the ability of anisotropic heat conduction simulation, which was not considered in the original TOUGH2 code [22]. Compared to the TOUGH + FLAC simulator [20], it is easier to improve the TOUGH2Biot code to implement specific simulation functions for different site conditions and characteristics. Moreover, data exchange is carried out internally during simulation by TOUGH2Biot, thus the computational efficiency is higher compared to the TOUGH + FLAC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupled Modeling of In-Situ Behavior of the Full-Scale Heating Test in the Callovo-Oxfordian Claystone

Yuan

Gherardi

et al. 2022

Energies

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Within the context for deep geological disposal (DGD) of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) coupled numerical modeling has become significantly important for studying the safe disposal of HLW. In this work, a 3D mechanical module is incorporated into the thermal–hydraulic (TH) coupled code TOUGH2, thus forming an integrated THM coupled simulator referred to as TOUGH2Biot. The Galerkin finite element method is used to discretize the space for rock mechanical calculation. The mechanical process is sequentially coupled with the fluid and heat flow processes, which further gives feedback to the flow through stress-dependent hydraulic properties (e.g., porosity and permeability). Based on the available geological data at the Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (MHM URL) in France, the improved simulator is used to analyze the coupled THM behaviors of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone (COx) induced by thermal loading. The anisotropy of material parameters (e.g., permeability and thermal conductivity) caused by the bedding and of in-situ stresses are well considered in our model. The numerical simulation can reasonably reproduce the field observations, including changes in temperature and pore pressure at monitoring boreholes during the ALC1604 experiment. The modeling results indicate that the anisotropic effects are remarkable, and temperature, pore pressure, and effective stress along the bedding increase more rapidly than in the vertical direction. Insight into numerical results through the visual model is beneficial for helping us to interpret the field observations and to understand the complex THM problem in the COx claystone formation. The numerical method and the modeling results presented in this work can be effectively used in support of performance assessment studies of HLW disposal sites to build confidence in the safety of future applications of nuclear energy systems.

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Modeling of thermal pressurization in tight claystone using sequential THM coupling: Benchmarking and validation against in-situ heating experiments in COx claystone

Cited by 22 publications

References 35 publications

Numerical study of the chemo-mechanical behavior of FEBEX bentonite in nuclear waste disposal based on the Barcelona expansive model

Numerical study of the chemo-mechanical behavior of FEBEX bentonite in nuclear waste disposal based on the Barcelona expansive model

Scalable block preconditioners for saturated thermo-hydro-mechanics problems

Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical Coupled Modeling of In-Situ Behavior of the Full-Scale Heating Test in the Callovo-Oxfordian Claystone

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