SITE-SCALE SATURATED ZONE TRANSPORT

Abstract

This work provides a site-scale transport model for calculating radionuclide transport in the saturated zone (SZ) at Yucca Mountain, for use in the abstractions model in support of ''Total System Performance Assessment for License Application'' (TSPA-LA). The purpose of this model report is to provide documentation for the components of the site-scale SZ transport model in accordance with administrative procedure AP-SIII.10Q, Models. The initial documentation of this model report was conducted under the ''Technical Work Plan For: Saturated Zone Flow and Transport Modeling and Testing'' (BSC 2003 [DIRS 163965]). The model report has been revised in accordance with the ''Technical Work Plan For: Natural System--Saturated Zone Analysis and Model Report Integration'', Section 2.1.1.4 (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171421]) to incorporate Regulatory Integration Team comments. All activities listed in the technical work plan that are appropriate to the transport model are documented in this report and are described in Section 2.1.1.4 (BSC 2004 [DIRS 171421]). This report documents: (1) the advection-dispersion transport model including matrix diffusion (Sections 6.3 and 6.4); (2) a description and validation of the transport model (Sections 6.3 and 7); (3) the numerical methods for simulating radionuclide transport (Section 6.4); (4) the parameters (sorption coefficient, Kd ) and theirmore » uncertainty distributions used for modeling radionuclide sorption (Appendices A and C); (5) the parameters used for modeling colloid-facilitated radionuclide transport (Table 4-1, Section 6.4.2.6, and Appendix B); and (6) alternative conceptual models and their dispositions (Section 6.6). The intended use of this model is to simulate transport in saturated fractured porous rock (double porosity) and alluvium. The particle-tracking method of simulating radionuclide transport is incorporated in the finite-volume heat and mass transfer numerical analysis (FEHM) computer code, (FEHM V2.20, STN: 10086-2.20-00) (LANL 2003 [DIRS 161725]) and is described in Section 6.4 of this report. FEHM is a three-dimensional (3-D), finite-volume, finite-element, heat and mass flow-and-transport code. This report documents the features and capabilities of the site-scale transport model for calculating radionuclide transport in the SZ at Yucca Mountain in support of the TSPA-LA. Correlative flow-model calculations using FEHM are carried out and documented in the model report ''Saturated Zone Site-Scale Flow Model'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 170037]). The velocity fields are calculated by the flow model independent of the transport processes and supplied as a part of the output package from the flow model, which is then used as inputs to the transport model. Several SZ analysis model reports provide information and data needed as feed-ins for this report, and this report in turn provides technical product outputs that feed into other SZ reports. The details of inputs to the site-scale transport model are provided in Section 4.« less