[en] A coupled thermal-hydrologic-airflow model is developed, solving for the transport processes within a waste emplacement drift and the surrounding rockmass together at the proposed nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain. Natural, convective air flow as well as heat and mass transport in a representative emplacement drift during post-closure are explicitly simulated, using the MULTIFLUX model. The conjugate, thermal-hydrologic transport processes in the rockmass are solved with the TOUGH2 porous-media simulator in a coupled way to the in-drift processes. The new simulation results show that large-eddy turbulent flow, as opposed to small-eddy flow, dominate the drift air space for at least 5000 years following waste emplacement. The size of the largest, longitudinal eddy is equal to half of the drift length, providing a strong axial heat and moisture transport mechanism from the hot to the cold drift sections. The in-drift results are compared to those from simplified models using a surrogate, dispersive model with an equivalent dispersion coefficient for heat and moisture transport. Results from the explicit, convective velocity simulation model provide higher axial heat and moisture fluxes than those estimated from the previously published, simpler, equivalent-dispersion models, in addition to showing differences in temperature, humidity and condensation rate distributions along the drift length. A new dispersive model is also formulated, giving a time- and location-variable function that runs generally about ten times higher in value than the highest dispersion coefficient currently used in the Yucca Mountain Project as an estimate for the equivalent dispersion coefficient in the emplacement drift. The new dispersion coefficient variation, back-calculated from the convective model, can adequately describe the heat and mass transport processes in the emplacement drift example.

[en] The decay heat from radioactive waste that is to be disposed in the once proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain (YM) will significantly influence the moisture conditions in the fractured rock near emplacement tunnels (drifts). Additionally, large-scale convective cells will form in the open-air drifts and will serve as an important mechanism for the transport of vaporized pore water from the fractured rock in the drift center to the drift end. Such convective processes would also impact drift seepage, as evaporation could reduce the build up of liquid water at the tunnel wall. Characterizing and understanding these liquid water and vapor transport processes is critical for evaluating the performance of the repository, in terms of water-induced canister corrosion and subsequent radionuclide containment. To study such processes, we previously developed and applied an enhanced version of TOUGH2 that solves for natural convection in the drift. We then used the results from this previous study as a time-dependent boundary condition in a high-resolution seepage model, allowing for a computationally efficient means for simulating these processes. The results from the seepage model show that cases with strong natural convection effects are expected to improve the performance of the repository, since smaller relative humidity values, with reduced local seepage, form a more desirable waste package environment.

[en] The energy output of the high-level radioactive waste to be emplaced in the proposed geologic repository at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, will strongly affect the thermal-hydrological (TH) conditions in the near-drift fractured rock. Heating of rock water to above-boiling conditions will induce large water saturation changes and flux perturbations close to the waste emplacement tunnels (drifts) that will last several thousand years. Understanding these perturbations is important for the performance of the repository, because they could increase, for example, the amount of formation water seeping into the open drifts and contacting waste packages. Recent computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis has demonstrated that the drifts will act as important conduits for gas flows driven by natural convection. As a result, vapor generated from boiling of formation water near elevated-temperature sections of the drifts may effectively be transported to cooler end sections (where no waste is emplaced), would condense there, and subsequently drain into underlying rock units. Thus, natural convection processes have great potential for reducing the near-drift moisture content in heated drift sections, which has positive ramifications for repository performance. To study these processes, we have developed a new simulation method that couples existing tools for simulating TH conditions in the fractured formation with modules that approximate natural convection and evaporation conditions in heated emplacement drifts. The new method is applied to evaluate the future TH conditions at Yucca Mountain in a three-dimensional model domain comprising a representative emplacement drift and the surrounding fractured rock

[en] In heated tunnels such as those designated for emplacement of radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain, axial temperature gradients may cause natural convection processes that can significantly influence the moisture conditions in the tunnels and in the surrounding fractured rock. Large-scale convection cells would provide an effective mechanism for axial vapor transport, driving moisture out of the formation away from the heated tunnel section into cool end sections (where no waste is emplaced). To study such processes, we have developed and applied an enhanced version of TOUGH2 (Pruess et al., 1999) adding a new module that solves for natural convection in open cavities. The new TOUGH2 simulator simultaneously handles (1) the flow and energy transport processes in the fractured rock; (2) the flow and energy transport processes in the cavity; and (3) the heat and mass exchange at the rock-cavity interface. The new module is applied to simulate the future thermal-hydrological (TH) conditions within and near a representative waste emplacement tunnel at Yucca Mountain. Particular focus is on the potential for condensation along the emplacement section, a possible result of heat output differences between individual waste packages