Derivation of heterogeneous material distributions and their sensitivity to HM-coupled two-phase flow models exemplified with the LASGIT experiment

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Eike Radeisen - , Chair of Applied Environmental Systems Analysis, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Author)
  • Hua Shao - , Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Author)
  • Michael Pitz - , Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Freiberg University of Mining and Technology (Author)
  • Jürgen Hesser - , Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Author)
  • Wenqing Wang - , Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (Author)

Abstract

Advective gas transport in bentonite, a possible buffer material in repositories for radioactive materials, is difficult to simulate in numerical continuum models, partly due to the complicated microstructure of bentonite. To generate reliable models of repositories nevertheless, spatially distributed heterogeneous material properties can be used to allow localization of gas flow. In this study, a pore-size-dependent stochastic approach of the gas entry pressure is derived from Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry, which is used to replicate measurements from the LASGIT experiment. In addition, three benchmark tests are simulated to investigate the dependence of heterogeneous distributions of material properties on the mesh discretization, the temporal dependence, and the coupling between the processes influenced by the heterogeneous parameters. The numerical modeling results of the LASGIT experiment show that the onset of gas flow into the system and the subsequent increase in pressure and stress can be well reproduced using heterogeneous distributions. Compared to a model with homogeneous material properties, heterogeneous distributions may allow the generation of dilatancy-controlled microfractures—an important feature with regard to the advective gas flow in bentonites. However, it can be observed that the heterogeneous distributions in LASGIT are less significant, as technical gaps or differences in material types could have a greater impact.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number347
JournalEnvironmental earth sciences
Volume82
Issue number14
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2023
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Continuous approach, Dilatancy-controlled flow, Gas migration, Geomaterial heterogeneity, HM coupling, LASGIT experiment, OpenGeoSys