Modelling heterogeneous hydration behaviour of bentonite by a FracMan-Thames coupling method for the Bentonite Rock Interaction Experiment (BRIE) at sp HRL

Sawada, Atsushi ; Sakamoto, Kazuhiko*; Watahiki, Takanori*; Imai, Hisashi*

An aim of Task 8, which was 8th modeling task of the SKB Task Forces on Groundwater Flow and Transport of Solutes, was to improve the knowledge of the bedrock-bentonite interface with regard to groundwater flow, mainly based on a set of data obtained by Bentonite Rock Interaction Experiment (BRIE) at sp. JAEA had developed an approach to Task 8 assuming that the discrete features dominate the delivery of groundwater to the bentonite columns emplaced into the vertically drilled boreholes from TASO tunnel floor, resulting in heterogeneous bentonite wetting behavior. This assumption was implemented as a FracMan Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) model for groundwater flow. Due to the assumption, no permeable rock matrix was implemented. The variability and uncertainty of this stochastic "HydroDFN" model was constrained by conditioning the model to match measured fracture location and orientation, and specific capacity (transmissivity) data observed at five probe boreholes. Groundwater from the HydroDFN being delivered to the bentonite columns, was modeled using Thames code with implementing a specific feature at the interface between the fractured rock mass and the bentonite. This modeling approach and the assumption of fracture dominated bentonite wetting appears to be able to provide a reasonable approximation to the observed heterogeneous bentonite wetting behavior of BRIE. We would suggest that a systematic investigation at pilot holes, including both geological mapping of the fractures and also testing of the hydraulic properties, might be required to get more practical prediction of heterogeneous wetting behavior in bentonite, as observed in BRIE.