Calibration of the thermo-hydro-mechanical parameters of the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone and the modelling of the ALC experiment
Résumé
Andra performs a wide range of in-situ experiments at its Meuse/Haute-Marne Underground Research Laboratory (MHM URL). The purpose of these experiments is to study the feasibility of a radioactive waste repository in the Callovo-Oxfordian claystone formation (COx). An important research program has been conducted by Andra since 2005 to investigate THM response of the COx to a thermal load through laboratory and in situ experimentations. A step-by-step approach is followed, which starts with small scale heating boreholes (TED experiment) and extends to full-scale (ALC experiment). Modelling and interpretation of the TED and ALC experiments are conducted in the context of the Task E within the DECOVALEX-2019 framework. DECOVALEX-2019 is a multidisciplinary, co-operative international research effort focused on modelling coupled Thermal-Hydraulic-Mechanical-Chemical (THMC) processes. Based on the TED experiment measurements, the THM parameters of the COx are calibrated through a fully-coupled THM model using COMSOL. Then, the ALC experiment is successfully blind predicted and interpretatively modelled using the calibrated THM parameters of the COx and the proposed coupled THM model.