In Situ Investigation of the THM Behavior of the Callovo-Oxfordian Claystone

Abstract

The thermo-hydro-mechanical behavior of the host rock is essential while designing an underground radioactive waste disposal repository, and in particular, while considering the long-term safety of the facility. In 2000, the French National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (Andra) started constructing an underground research laboratory located in the Meuse Haute Marne to carry out a research program aiming to demonstrate the feasibility of constructing and operating a radioactive waste disposal facility in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone, and to optimize its implementation. To study the thermo-hydro-mechanical effects of the early thermal phase on the clay host rock of a deep repository, Andra has performed various in situ heating tests; one of them is called the TED experiment. The aim of the TED experiment was to measure the evolution of the temperature and pore pressure fields around several heaters and to back-analyze the thermo-hydro-mechanical properties of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone. Thermal conductivity and heat capacity values were determined based on the back-analysis of the in situ measurements and compared to those measured on samples. The in situ experimental data and numerical model confirm the anisotropic behavior of the claystone. The TED experiment results demonstrate the ability of current models to predict the evolution of temperature and pore pressure in the far field of disposal cells.