Coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical and Chemical (THMC) process analysis COUPLE equipment

Suzuki, Hideaki*; Fujisaki, Kiyoshi; Fujita, Tomoo ; Yui, Mikazu

The research for numerical experiments on the coupled Thermo-Hydro-Mechanical and Chemical (THMC) process in the near-field of a high-level radioactive waste repository has been initiated, in order to understand and predict the near-field long-term evolution. As a part of this research, the engineered scale experimental studies on the coupled THMC processes by COUPLE equipment have been carried out. The simulation of COUPLE equipment was carried out in order to verify THMC analysis code. As a result, the geochemical reaction of buffer material was a precipitation reaction of calcite, and the analysis result of temperature distribution, re-wetting and pore water pH of buffer material were in agreement with the experimental result.