Thermohydromechanical Modeling of a Full-Scale Tunnel Sealing Clay Bulkhead
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132, Issue 1
Abstract
The Tunnel Sealing Experiment (TSX) was an international project developed by Canada, Japan, France, and the United States. The TSX consisted of a clay bulkhead and a concrete bulkhead. The two bulkheads were at opposite ends of a 12-m-long sand-filled chamber. The heating phase involved the circulation of heated water through the TSX chamber to raise the temperature of the sealing system. This was done to evaluate the influence of elevated temperature on the performance of the bulkheads. Numerical analyses to simulate the thermohydromechanical evolution of the clay bulkhead and the surrounding rock of the TSX were performed using MOTIF finite-element program and compared with measured data. This paper focuses on a preliminary interpretation of the results from the fully coupled thermohydromechanical modeling of the clay bulkhead and the adjacent rock during heating. Discussion of the issues that will affect the ability to model a field application is provided in the course of comparing simulated and measured results.
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Acknowledgments
The Tunnel Sealing Experiment (TSX) is jointly funded by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), the Japanese Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC), the Agence Nationale pour la Gestion de Déchets Radioactifs (ANDRA) of France, and the United States Department of Energy Carlsbad Area Field Office through Sandia National Laboratories, their science office for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has supported activities related to the reporting of the results of the TSX and this modeling activity.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering
Volume 132 • Issue 1 • January 2006
Pages: 12 - 23
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: May 24, 2004
Accepted: May 9, 2005
Published online: Jan 1, 2006
Published in print: Jan 2006
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