A Numerical simulation study of the desaturation and oxygen infusion into the sedimentary rock around the tunnel in the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Miyakawa, Kazuya; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Akaki, Toshifumi*; Yamamoto, Hajime*

JAEA-Data/Code 2021-002, 26 Pages, 2021/05

JAEA-Data-Code-2021-002.pdf:2.14MB
JAEA-Data-Code-2021-002-appendix(CD-ROM).zip:40.99MB

Investigations employing numerical simulation have been conducted to study the mechanisms of desaturation and oxygen infusion into sedimentary formations. By mimicking the conditions of the Horonobe underground research laboratory, numerical simulations aided geoscientific investigation of the effects of dissolved gas content and rock permeability on the desaturation (Miyakawa et al., 2019) and mechanisms of oxygen intrusion into the host rock (Miyakawa et al., 2021). These simulations calculated multi-phase flow, including flows of groundwater and exsolved gas, and conducted sensitivity analysis changing the dissolved gas content, rock permeability, and humidity at the gallery wall. Only the most important results from these simulations have been reported previously, because of publishers' space limitations. Hence, in order to provide basic data for understanding the mechanisms of desaturation and oxygen infusion into rock, all data for 27 output parameters (e.g., advective fluxes of heat, gas, and water, diffusive fluxes of water, CH, CO, O, and N, saturation degree, water pressure, and mass fraction of each component) over a modeling period of 100 years are presented here.

Tunnel excavation analysis of siliceous mudstone using a damage model

Mishima, Seiki*; Ogata, Sho*; Inui, Toru*; Yasuhara, Hideaki*; Kishida, Kiyoshi*; Aoyagi, Kazuhei

Dai-15-Kai Iwa No Rikigaku Kokunai Shimpojiumu Koen Rombunshu (Internet), p.215 - 220, 2021/01

When the durability of the geological repository of high-level radioactive waste is evaluated, understanding the cracking behavior within the crystalline/sedimentary rocks during excavation of waste disposal cavities is important. In this study, we performed a numerical analysis that expressed the tunnel excavation carried out 350 m underground at the Horonobe Underground Research Center of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Simulated results are agreement with actual trends of fracture propagation, and the measured horizontal convergence of the tunnel was reproduced by the numerical analysis relatively well.

Long-term monitoring of the stability of the gallery in Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Sakurai, Akitaka; Miyara, Nobukatsu; Sugita, Yutaka

JAEA-Research 2020-004, 68 Pages, 2020/06

JAEA-Research-2020-004.pdf:6.4MB
JAEA-Research-2020-004-appendix1(DVD-ROM).zip:636.84MB
JAEA-Research-2020-004-appendix2(DVD-ROM).zip:457.72MB
JAEA-Research-2020-004-appendix3(DVD-ROM).zip:595.19MB

In construction and operational phase of a high-level radioactive waste disposal project, it is necessary to monitor on mechanical stability of underground facility for long term. In this research, we measured the displacement of the rock around the gallery and the stress acting on support materials. Furthermore, we investigated the durability of measurement sensor installed in the rock mass and the support material such as concreate lining and steel support. As a result, optical fiber sensor is appropriate for measurement of the displacement of rock mass around the gallery, while it is enough to apply the conventional electric sensor for the measurement of stress acting on the support material in the geological environment (soft rock and low inflow). The result of the measurement in the fault zone in 350 m gallery, show that the stresses acting on both shotcrete and steel arch lib exceeded the value which will cause the instability of the gallery. However, as, we found no crack on the surface of the shotcrete. By observation on the surface of shotcrete, thus, it was concluded that careful observation of shotcrete around that section in addition to the monitoring the measured stress was necessary to continue. In other measurement sections, there was no risk for the instability of the gallery as a result of the investigation of the measurement result.

Synthesis report on the R&D for the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory; Project carried out during fiscal years 2015-2019

Nakayama, Masashi; Saiga, Atsushi; Kimura, Shun; Mochizuki, Akihito; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Ono, Hirokazu; Miyakawa, Kazuya; Takeda, Masaki; Hayano, Akira; Matsuoka, Toshiyuki; et al.

JAEA-Research 2019-013, 276 Pages, 2020/03

JAEA-Research-2019-013.pdf:18.72MB

The Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of relevant disposal technologies for geological disposal of High-level Radioactive Waste through investigations of the deep geological environment within the host sedimentary rock at Horonobe Town in Hokkaido, north Japan. The investigations will be conducted in three phases, namely "Phase 1: Surface based investigations", "Phase 2: Construction phase" (investigations during construction of the underground facilities) and "Phase 3: Operation phase" (research in the underground facilities). According to the research plan described in the 3rd Mid- and Long- term Plan of JAEA, "Near-field performance study", "Demonstration of repository design option", and "Verification of crustal-movement buffering capacity of sedimentary rocks" are important issues of the Horonobe URL Project, and schedule of future research and backfill plans of the project will be decided by the end of 2019 Fiscal Year. The present report summarizes the research and development activities of these 3 important issues carried out during 3rd Medium to Long-term Research Phase.

Adefining the mechanism of the gas-bubble AE characteristics by two-phase flow test

Niunoya, Sumio*; Hata, Koji*; Uyama, Masao*; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Tanai, Kenji

Dai-47-Kai Gamban Rikigaku Ni Kansuru Shimpojiumu Koenshu (Internet), p.92 - 97, 2020/01

Since underground water at the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory site includes the dissolved gas, it is important to understand the quantitative behavior of AE signal waveform clearly and to develop the criteria of sorting technique. In this report, we tried to perform two types of laboratory tests (Small pipe test and Flat-plate test) in order to obtain detail data of AE signal wave form under two-phase flow. As the result, we could understand that there exists the relationship between the pressure breathing and AE generation, and that the diameter of pipe did not affect the AE behavior.

Visualization of fractures induced around the gallery wall in Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Chen, Y.*; Ishii, Eiichi; Sakurai, Akitaka; Ishida, Tsuyoshi*

Proceedings of 5th ISRM Young Scholars' Symposium on Rock Mechanics and International Symposium on Rock Engineering for Innovative Future (YSRM 2019 and REIF 2019) (USB Flash Drive), 6 Pages, 2019/12

In the excavation of a repository for high-level radioactive waste (HLW) disposal, it is important to understand the hydro-mechanical characteristics of the Excavation Damaged Zone (EDZ) induced around the gallery because EDZ can lead to the migration pathway of radionuclides. Thus, we performed the resin injection experiment at the 350 m gallery of Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory in Japan to investigate the characteristics of fractures induced around the gallery wall in excavation. In the experiment, we developed a low viscosity resin mixed with a fluorescent substance and injected to the borehole drilled about 1 m in length. After the experiment, we overcored around the injection borehole. The observation on the cut surface of the overcore under ultraviolet light revealed that the fractures were distributed within 0.8 m from the gallery wall. Fractures are interconnected each other in particular within 0.25 m from the niche wall. Furthermore, fractures with large aperture (about 1.0 mm) were developed in that region. These observed results will be fundamental information for understanding of the fracturing process in the EDZ.

The Effect of dissolved gas on rock desaturation in artificial openings in geological formations

Miyakawa, Kazuya; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Sasamoto, Hiroshi; Akaki, Toshifumi*; Yamamoto, Hajime*

Proceedings of 5th ISRM Young Scholars' Symposium on Rock Mechanics and International Symposium on Rock Engineering for Innovative Future (YSRM 2019 and REIF 2019) (USB Flash Drive), 6 Pages, 2019/12

The construction and operation of geological repositories require excavation and ventilation of galleries, with significant groundwater drainage. Desaturation of rock around galleries is unavoidable and may affect hydraulic properties and redox conditions. This study used numerical modeling to assess the influence of dissolved gas on the degree of saturation of rock surrounding excavated galleries, focusing on siliceous mudstone rock in the 140 m, 250 m, and 350-m-deep galleries of the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory, Japan. Based on previous electrical survey, the degree of saturation in the 250 m gallery was higher than that in the 140 m and 350 m galleries. In the Horonobe area, deep groundwater contains high concentrations of dissolved methane, and exsolution of this methane from pore water can affect desaturation. Simple numerical modeling, including simulation of multiphase flows, was undertaken for each gallery to confirm the effect of dissolved gas and rock permeability on desaturation. A sensitivity analysis was performed by varying dissolved gas contents and permeability. Results indicate that the dissolved gas content affects both the degree of saturation and its spatial extent, whereas rock permeability affects only the latter. Higher dissolved gas concentrations result in lower degrees of saturation with a greater spatial extent of desaturation, and higher permeability leads to greater extents of desaturation. It is therefore likely that gas content, rather than rock permeability, caused the observed variations in the saturation degree.

Characterisation of colloidal silica grout under saline groundwater; Penetration theory and injection tests in a fracture test system

Martikainen, J.*; Tsuji, Masakuni*; Schatz, T.*; Nakashima, Hitoshi*; Okihara, Mitsunobu*; Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Sato, Toshinori

Proceedings of the Nordic Grouting Symposium 2019 (Internet), 13 Pages, 2019/09

This paper shows a result of the part of the study on characterisation of penetration of the colloidal silica grout (CSG) under saline groundwater, aiming to understand the impact of salinity on grout penetration by verifying the improved penetration theory with laboratory tests. This theory was proposed to add a time factor to the existing penetration theory of Funehag, especially under the saline groundwater conditions. A series of grout injection tests by the fracture test system were performed. The CSG of one European and Japanese were injected in the system, filled with the five different groundwater simulants. All no-flow tests were successful, resulting in the formation of relatively homogeneous gelled zones. Based on the analysis of acquired , it was found that as an alternative method, designing a longer gel time by multiplying the inverse value of can be proposed to attain the required penetration. Although the results were fruitful, further investigation is necessary to develop this penetration theory.

Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project; Investigation program for the 2019 fiscal year

Aoyagi, Kazuhei

JAEA-Review 2019-008, 20 Pages, 2019/07

JAEA-Review-2019-008.pdf:3.33MB

As part of the research and development program on the geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW), the Horonobe Underground Research Center, a division of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), is implementing the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory Project (Horonobe URL Project) with the aim at investigating sedimentary rock formations. According to the research plan described in the 3rd Mid- and Long- term Plan of JAEA, "Near-field performance study", "Demonstration of repository design option", and "Verification of crustal-movement buffering capacity of sedimentary rocks" are the top priority issues of the Horonobe URL Project, and schedule of future research and backfill plans of the project will be decided by the end of 2019 Fiscal Year. The Horonobe URL Project is planned to extend over a period of about 20 years. The investigations will be conducted in three phases, namely "Phase 1: Surface-based investigations", "Phase 2: Construction phase" (investigations during construction of the underground facilities) and "Phase 3: Operation phase" (research in the underground facilities). This report summarizes the investigation program for the 2019 fiscal year (2019/2020). In the 2019 fiscal year, investigations in "geoscientific research", including "development of techniques for investigating the geological environment", "development of engineering techniques for use in the deep underground environment" and "studies on the long-term stability of the geological environment", are continuously carried out. Investigations in "research and development on geological disposal technology", including "improving the reliability of disposal technologies" and "enhancement of safety assessment methodologies", are also continuously carried out.

Fracture characterization and rock mass behavior induced by blasting and mechanical excavation of shafts in Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory

Aoyagi, Kazuhei; Tokiwa, Tetsuya*; Sato, Toshinori; Hayano, Akira

Proceedings of 2019 Rock Dynamics Summit in Okinawa (USB Flash Drive), p.682 - 687, 2019/05

In high-level radioactive disposal projects, it is important to investigate the extent of the excavation damaged zone (EDZ) for safety assessment because EDZ can provide a migration pathway for radionuclides from the facility. To investigate the quantitative differences between EDZs formed because of blasting and mechanical excavation, we studied the characteristics of fractures induced by excavation based on fracture mapping performed during shaft sinking (V- and E-Shafts). As a result, it was found that blasting excavation can lead to the formation of a large number of newly created fractures (EDZ fractures) compared with mechanical excavation. In addition, the seismic velocity (P-wave velocity) measured during blasting excavation (E-Shaft) was lower than that measured during mechanical excavation (V-Shaft). Furthermore, we found that the support pattern that reinforces forward rocks to be appropriate for limiting damage to the shaft wall.