Evaluation of gas transport models in heterogeneous porous media at different spatial and time scales in HLW repositories
Résumé
The aim of this talk is to present some examples of two-phase flow and two-component (gaswater)
transport problems at diferent scales based on TOUGH code capabilities, which have
been studied in the framework of a safety case of a high level waste (HLW) repository. The
first example presented at small scale (meters and days) is the simulation of the in-situ PGZexperiment
of nitrogen transport in the Callovo-Oxfordian (COx) clay rock. This example
shows the importance of air-entry pressure as a parameter in the COx-hydraulic properties for
enhancing simulation of nitrogen pressure in the COx. The second example is the hydrogen
transport at cell and module scales (dozen to hundreds of meters, thousands of years) of a
HLWrepository site, where the problem of interfaces is invoked. The last example deals with
the problem of the impact of piston flow of hydrogen on radionuclides transport at the scale
of the repository site (kilometers, thousands of years), where a simplified repository model
is used in order to study this impact. Finally, discussions about some studies on progress are
presented, especially modelling of hysteresis, gas-solubility and geo-mechanics, which can
have a great impact on gas transport at different scales.