The coupled thermal-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of a large-scale in situ heating experiment

摘要

The thermo-hydraulic-mechanical behaviour of a large in situ heating test, the Buffer/Container Experiment (BCE), carried out at Atomic Energy of Canada's underground research laboratory, is considered. The work can be seen as an extension of the authors' previous research, investigating the behaviour of a large-scale test, the so-called 'isothermal test', to now include heating effects. Suggestions related to the micro-macro behaviour of bentonitic buffer materials subjected to resaturation in confined non-isothermal conditions are explored. Simulation of pre-heating phases of the experiment demonstrates the ability of the model to describe the hydraulic regime in the host rock and isothermal infiltration into the buffer. Consideration of the heating phase confirms that the temperature field is well understood, with a good correlation between the numerical and experimental results.