The JAEA grouting test at the Grimsel test site; Site characterization of a fractured rockmass and preparation of DFN model and its equivalent continuous porous media model

Bruines, P.*; Tanaka, Tatsuya*; Koyama, Tomofumi*; Kishi, Hirokazu; Nakanishi, Tatsuro; Onishi, Yuzo*

To better understand the grouting process and the effect of grouting on the performance of a nuclear waste repository, the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has initiated a grouting test carried out in the fractured granite of the Grimsel Test Site (GTS) located in the Swiss Alps. This paper describes the characterization of the rock mass, how the data obtained has been used to make a discrete fracture network (DFN) model and how an up-scaled equivalent continuous porous media (ECPM) model for the purpose of numerical simulation of the grout injection process is generated. The generated DFN model and the up-scaled ECPM model was able to reproduce the measured fracture characteristics (e.g. orientation, density) as well as the hydraulic behavior observed in the field (e.g. transmissivity distribution, anisotropy, heterogeneity) and has proven to be suitable for modeling grouting behavior.