Publications Details

Modeling brine inflow to Room Q: A numerical investigation of flow mechanisms

Christian-Frear, T.L.

A hydrologic modeling study was performed to gain insight into the flow mechanisms around Room Q. A summary of hydrologic and structural data and of predictive fluid flow models from Room Q are provided. Six years of measured data are available from the time of excavation. No brine accumulation in Room Q was measured in the first two years following excavation. However, there is considerable uncertainty associated with this early-time data due to inadequate sealing of the room. Brine may have been lost to evaporation or it may have flowed into newly created disturbed rock zone (DRZ) porosity resulting from excavation. Non-zero brine accumulation rates were measured from 2--5 years, but brine accumulation within the room dropped to zero after 5.5 years. A conceptual model for brine inflow to Room Q was developed which assumes far-field Darcy flow combined with an increasing DRZ pore volume. Numerical simulations employed TOUGH28W and used predictive DRZ porosity increase with time from SPECTROM-32 rock deformation simulations. Simulated brine inflow showed good agreement with measured brine accumulation rates for the first five years. Two important conclusions were drawn from the simulation results: (1) early-time brine inflow to the room can be reduced to zero if the DRZ pore volume increases with time, and (2) brine accumulation (inflow) rates from 2 to 5 years suggest a far-field permeability of 5 {times} 10{sup {minus}22} m{sup 2} with a bulk rock compressibility of 5.4 {times} 10{sup {minus}12} Pa{sup {minus}1}.